One of the worst parts of airline safety changes is they go by a value per life calculation that in the U.S. is
An excellent article here:
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2012-...ths-too-few-to-make-new-safety-rules-pay.html
Essentially they are not required to make changes to aircraft or crew rules if it will cost over that per death. In the states (no link here, just from a documentary i watched and news during one of the major crash aftermaths) it seems the NTSB has a difficult relationship with the FAA because they make a number of safety recommendations that are not implement as they are not considered cost savings enough per body. The airline industry has a strong lobby with the FAA and will fight tooth and nail if it might increase their costs.
Now think of countries which are less regulated. However most come from boeing or airbus which are manufactured according to rules, no matter where they are sold. That said, all the ideas in the post you responded to are excellent but sadly i doubt any will be considered cost effective enough. Many ideas have been ignored only to be pulled out again after a major crash that makes the media for days or weeks where all are lost.
jmo
maybe a better sleuther could find more about how the airlines fight new safety regs based on value per life.
That's a good article SilkySfaka. What I'm about to say isn't directed at you. It's directed to the guy in the article who said this;
I cant remember another time when cost trumped a policy decision, said Goelz, a former managing director of the National Transportation Safety Board....
I'm going to give him credit for possibly talking about a government policy based on cost. However, if he's including the private sector he's not all that bright. The private sector makes life and death decisions based on cost all the time.
Ford knew that the Pinto had a problem with exploding gas tanks
http://users.wfu.edu/palmitar/Law&Valuation/Papers/1999/Leggett-pinto.html They had an accountant sit down and calculate how much it would cost to fix it, then calculate the cost of lawsuits. Turned out that it would be cheaper to let people die and just pay off the families than it would be to fix the problem. Fortunately, this was discovered during one of the cases brought against Ford, and the judge was so pizzed off that he trebled the damages. Thus making it a loss for Ford in the long run.
Some people get pizzed off at liability lawyers for bringing outrageous suits and I am one of them too, but they've done a lot of good too on valid lawsuits. I believe the Pinto case finally outed a basic corporate tactic that had been (and still is) going on since the first business was formed. The judges precedent of trebling the damages helped make it unprofitable. Other business' took notice and raised the price of people's lives, but we all have a price on our heads.
Is it cheaper at work to remodel an area to make it safer or if they put up a sign saying "CAREFUL" are they then absolved any liability? Most of the time the sign is good enough and if you hurt yourself you weren't being "CAREFUL".
So people need to think about what price they have on their heads? GM seems to have known about the airbag problem for years and did nothing about it. It appears they thought they could cover it up. Well they couldn't and now they're gonna be in deep doo doo if they knew back in 2004. I'm pretty sure that no matter how much they are fined or hand out in lawsuits, family members would rather have the loved one back.
Most companies treat their employees with the least they can get away with. That's why unions formed. If you think your company is being gracious because they give you an extra week of vacation, they're not. They must feel that giving out another week of vacation keeps them competitive in the market. The government has to force business' to increase their minimum pay to someone and there is a lot of political wrangling over a dime increase.
Companies want you to buy something so they can make the most profit and if it kills you, but is cheaper to ignore, then bye bye. :seeya: If there are a hundred guys looking for one job, a business can pay as little as they are legally allowed and the guy who gets the job will thank God. If he doesn't like the job he's told he can find another one that another 100 people have applied for.
Airlines are no different. If the plane crashes the insurance company will pay for it. Their insurance rates will increase, but it won't bankrupt the airline.
Sorry for the :rant: but it really struck me as a dumb thing for that guy to say. JMO
Neither is the Airbus A320-214 however Captain Sullenberger did it on the Hudson River! Seriously, landing "safely" on the Indian Ocean, not so sure after seeing that strong current. It truly would be a miracle, in my opinion.
MOO
A pilot on CNN said pretty much the same thing. He said the Hudson river is smooth not choppy like ocean water. He also said that there's a reason it's referred to as the "Miracle" on the Hudson.