Originally Posted by MasterOfAnxiety

As a fellow nervous traveler, I try to find information on this topic too. I'm usually laughed at by pilots or at least reassured that flying is extremely safe. And like, yeah, I know that there's only been one fatality in commercial aviation in the US in the last 10 years. Nor have the E145 or E175 seen any fatal accidents. But as others have said, safety is more nuanced than the total number of fatalities. My main concern is poor maintenance, as mechanics seem to be criminally underpaid ($16 per hour?!) at most regionals, especially considering the complexity and importance of the job.



Consider the following Indeed.com review from a former Envoy mechanic:





Or perhaps this quote from a former Republic mechanic:





And of course, Envoy and Republic are *good* companies. I hate to imagine the standards at some of the more questionable regionals.



Honest question - what should passengers make of comments like this? Disgruntled employee? Problem with safety culture at Envoy? Bad management at this particular hangar? What happens when maintenance is lacking because management wants to save a few bucks? Does the FAA actually have the capacity to crack down on all this stuff, or do they only have time to go after the worst offenders?

Originally Posted by flynd94

So you’re an outcome based pilot? As long as we get from point A to B without bending metal/killing someone it was safe....😳

Originally Posted by ZeroTT

No form of transportation is safer than US 121.

Originally Posted by MasterOfAnxiety

Asckshually, high speed rail in Japan (bullet train / Shinkansen) has had 0 passenger fatalities since it was first implemented in the 60's.

Originally Posted by FlyF35

Thanks guys for the replies. I would like to hear comments from Pilots and FOs who are currently working for the regional. They would know this best to some extent? Thanks.

Originally Posted by ZeroTT

This is definitional, but yes. Not killing any passengers for a decade means that the system is safe. The outcome is what matters.

Process is important. Process delivers outcomes. But the outcome stands by itself. No form of transportation is safer than US 121.

Originally Posted by Hou757

Expressjet has the best training by far. I would not hesitate putting any family member or friend on an Expressjet a/c.

Originally Posted by rickair7777

That's a good trend, but not a guarantee of safety.

The Concorde was the safest airline type then world had ever seen. In a few seconds it went from the safest type in history to the most dangerous. Turns out it had systemic problems all along, just took time for odds to catch up to them.

Processes and systems are what guarantee safety over the long term, not yesterday's performance. I've lived through a few regional cycles, and we entering another cycle of rapid attrition, hiring, and upgrade at the regionals... there is no way that will not be a factor. The only mitigation is that there's probably not going to be a lot of regional growth (mature scope).