Storm Cloud on the Horizon
 

Maybe Congress can buy our houses (at 2006 prices) and then we can all move closer to our bases, so we can be rested enough to fly?

They can also demand back the contracts that were had before the employee groups were raped in bankruptcy...subsequently allowing outsourcing to completely go over the edge.

I can understand why the good Senators would be so concerned – I mean 50 people killed, that must be a new record or something– we must take action. Oh wait; here are some numbers for causes of death. That’s odd I can’t seem to find aircraft accidents on this list.

Number of deaths for leading causes of death

• Heart disease: 631,636
• Cancer: 559,888
• Stroke (cerebrovascular diseases): 137,119
• Chronic lower respiratory diseases: 124,583
• Accidents (unintentional injuries): 121,599
• Diabetes: 72,449
• Alzheimer's disease: 72,432
• Influenza and Pneumonia: 56,326
• Nephritis, nephrotic syndrome, and nephrosis: 45,344
• Septicemia: 34,234

Oh, My bad, lets be more specific and look at accidental deaths – surely with all the attention aviation gets we must be the number one cause of accidental death.

THE MOST COMMON CAUSE OF ACCIDENTAL DEATH

1. Motor vehicle crashes
Deaths per year: 43,200
The winner, by a ridiculously huge (and ever-increasing) margin is: death by car wreck. Head on collision, sideswipe, single-vehicle smash-up, full car rollover, pedestrian takedown, choking on own carsick vomit, spontaneous combustion-the fun never stops for car owners. Try air travel instead; it's much safer. Do you see it anywhere on this list?
2. Falls
Deaths per year: 14,900
Then we come to the America's Funniest Home Videos category of accidental death, including falls from ladders, down stairs, over curbs, off buses, into manholes, and through plate glass windows.
3. Poisoning by solids and liquids
Deaths per year: 8,600
These would be all your commonly recognized poisons, as well as such items as mushrooms, shellfish, drug overdoses, and problems with medicines-which is a wide category, and why it is so high on the list. What they leave out is things like food poisoning or salmonella, which they classify as "disease deaths" and place on another list.
4. Drowning
Deaths per year: 4,000
This includes all sorts of drownings in boat accidents and those resulting from swimming, playing in the water, falling in, or even having a bath. The human body is what, 70% water? And we begin our lives in a watery environment, there's lots of oxygen in water what's the deal? Something for the scientists to work on.
5. Fires and burns
Deaths per year: 3,700 This would include deaths resulting from fires, such as smoke inhalation, falling beams, and sitting through Backdraft. Ironic that cancer is number two on the total deaths list, and a by-product of smoking is responsible for one of the top causes of accidental deaths. Are we getting the picture that this is a dangerous pastime? What kind of warnings do we have to put on these boxes, anyway?
6. Suffocation
Deaths per year: 3,300Call this one the "Heimlich" section, as these deaths mostly resulted from blockages of the respiratory system by food or other objects.
7. Firearms
Deaths per year: 1,500
We can thank our second amendment rights for all 1500 of these deaths; call it the "right to die" amendment. You probably don't want to know how many countries in the world do not even have "accidental death by firearms" on their top ten, or their top twenty. Suffice it to say that it's most of them. Of the 1500, you're looking at about 75% young males between the age of 14 and 25 (and getting younger every year), who unintentionally shoot themselves or someone else. For more information on the place of guns in society, click over to our pros and cons section.

8. Poisoning by gases
Deaths per year: 700
There's nothing like the smell of napalm in the morning In this category, you mostly have deaths by carbon monoxide poisoning due to faulty operation of a heating or cooking appliance, or a standing automobile. We assume, however, that the noxious gasses emitted by Uncle Albert qualify too.

9. Medical & Surgical Complications and Misadventures
Deaths per year: 500
While we are incredibly insensitive people, we did not coin the term "medical misadventure"- the National Safety Council did. How is death by surgeon a "misadventure?" While we're not sure, we suspect that this number refers to elective surgeries that people undertake, such as liposuction. After all, the removal of a brain tumor is not usually considered to be an "adventure."
10. Machinery
Deaths per year: 350
We can thank the farmers of America for the inclusion of this particular misfortune as a cause of death. Between corn-huskers and wheat-threshers, is it a wonder? The reason it is last on the list is that there just aren't enough people in farming these days. Ironically, they have all been replaced by machines. Hmm accident, or deliberate act by wanton machinery? We may never know.

Just another example of our tax dollars at work.
Scoop :confused:

Good lord, the solution wouldn't involve paying Colgan pilots enough to actually LIVE in base?

Of course not. Silly me.

Nu

These morons infuriate me! Changing our commuting rules will do nothing. How about they go after the real roots of the problem. Like PAY, no work rules, no rest rules, poor training, and the JACKWHOLE CEO's who cut massive corners to maximize their bonuses off the backs of their workers.

These IDIOTS don't even know what's going on with the industry, but they want to regulate it? Oh, no wait. They don't want to regulate it, it's a de-regulated industry to better the consumer. But wait, they want to tell us how to do everything, so it's regulated. :confused:


IDIOTS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! :mad:

I guess this would be a good way to have that pilot shortage everyone's been threatening. Who wants to make more sacrifices for this job? Not me! I'll quit.

Once again, changing our commuting rules does not cost a company anything to their bottom line. It costs you, not the government and not each company unless they agree with their unions to cover some of the cost. That is why it is the chosen path. It is in effect just another low cost option.

Johnson, I love ya brother. Yes these guys are idiots, and yes those are all problems with this industry, but none of the a fore mentioned solutions had anything to do with this accident. This accident was the direct result of a moron who should never have had a license and the FAA who allowed a child without enough experience to recognize his moronity.

Fatigue is low hanging fruit for grandstanding legislators and administrators. No one wants to tackle the real problem, unqualified and under qualified people flying passengers around.

I agree. I personally think we should go to PS to the first point of departure. Heck with PBS they can build with great efficiency schedules that would work for every pilot to live wherever they want. There would be a cost to that. Just making commuting or the lack there of law, is a lot cheaper. See above post.