Running Head: Aviation vs.

Auto Safety 1






Aviation vs. Auto Safety
Wesley C. Rawson
Waxahachie Global High School






Authors Note

Wesley C. Rawson

Wesley C. Rawson is currently a senior in High School. He currently attends Waxahachie Global High
School and is a certified student pilot. He will also graduate with an associates degree in science and
has taken aerospace engineering.

Inquiries concerning this paper can be addressed to the author at 101 Schley Rd. Red Oak TX 75154 or
by phone at 469-742-3717


Aviation vs. Auto Safety 2
Table of Contents
Abstract 3
Introduction 4
General Aviation vs. Automotive 4-5
Seatbelts 5
Head-On/Mid-Air Collisions 5-6
Rumors and Controversy 6-7
Conclusion 8
Appendix A 9
Appendix B 10
.
Aviation vs. Auto Safety 3
Abstract
The ultimate goal of directing an accident investigation is to prevent similar accidents from hap-
pening again and to make operations safer system-wide. Based on the findings extracted from
the investigation, the "lesson learned" becomes a sincere part of the safety database making risk
management available to safety analysts. The airline industry is no exception. In the US, the
FAA has supported the usage of the System Safety concept in enhancing safety since 2000. Yet,
in today's usage of System Safety, the airline industry mainly focuses on risk management,
which is a reactive process of the System Safety discipline. In order to extend the merit of Sys-
tem Safety and to prevent accidents beforehand, a specific System Safety tool needs to be ap-
plied; so a model of hazard prediction can be formed. To do so, the authors initiated this study by
reviewing 189 final accident reports from the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB)
covering (FAR) Federal Aviation Regulations Part 121 scheduled operations. The discovered
accident causes (direct hazards) were categorized into 10 groups. Flight Operations, Ground
Crew, Turbulence, Maintenance, Foreign Object Damage (FOD), Air Traffic Control, Manufac-
turer, Passenger, and Federal Aviation Administration. These direct hazards were associated with
36 root factors prepared for an error-elimination model using Fault Tree Analysis (FTA), a lead-
ing tool for System Safety experts. An FTA block-diagram model was created, followed by a
probability simulation of accidents. Five case studies and reports were provided in order to fully
demonstrate the usefulness of System Safety tools in promoting airline safety.



Aviation vs. Auto Safety 4

Introduction
The number of aviation accidents and incidents per year averages around 1500, which
works out to be four accidents per day worldwide. Considering the fact that there are over 1 bil-
lion car crashes per year or 31 accidents per second, flying just seems to be the safest means of
transportation. According to a 1997 thru 2006 study by the U.S. National Safety Council, it's
approximately 70 times safer flying in a commercial jet than traveling by personal vehicle in the
United States. With fewer fatalities than bicycles, airline travel has come a long way since the
beginning of time for aviation.
General Aviation Compared to Automotive
According to the FAA forecasters, by 2030, the general aviation fleet will grow by about
50,000 airplanes and 52,000 active pilots. The forecast calls for robust growth in the long term
and predicts business use of General Aviation (GA) aircraft will expand at a faster pace than per-
sonal and recreational use.
According to the National Traffic Safety Board, the number of total accidents has stayed
constant for three years from 2010 thru 2012 at a steady 1400 general aviation accidents per
year. The number of Fatalities has also been cut in half since the early 90s. Is this because Avi-
ation is losing interest or customers? Statistics show that the General Aviation population has
more than doubled in 10 years. The safety of General Aviation is increasing while the number of
pilots is increasing. Compared to automobile accidents, there is at least one death per ten-
thousand people per year in the United States alone. Although Automobile safety has come a
long way since it started out as well, aviation is just the safest way to go.
Aviation vs. Auto Safety 5
The number of deaths and deaths relative to the total population has declined over the
last two decades. (Refer to figure 1) From 1979 to 2005, the number of deaths per year decreased
14.97% while the number of deaths per capita decreased by 35.46%. In 2010, there were an es-
timated 5,419,000 crashes, killing 32,885 and injuring 2,239,000. The 32,367 traffic fatalities in
2011 were the lowest in 62 years (1949). (Refer to figure 2)
Seatbelts Air Compared to Road
For example, say an automobile were driving at 30 miles per hour. This car hit a way and
slowed from 30 miles per hour to zero in one second. The person, not wearing a seatbelt, would
fly forward and hit the dashboard at an equivalent of 3500 pounds of force on their face. If the
person were wearing a seatbelt, the person essentially is attached to the car. This eliminates the
two feet of space that the person travels before hitting the dashboard. (Refer to figure 3)
Before safety laws were enforced upon anything with a motor, seatbelts were used, in
vehicles, to hold the person in on windy or bumpy roads to keep the driver uninjured and in full
control of the vehicle. Aviation uses this principle while in flight. Federal Aviation Regulations
FAR states that the pilot in command must wear both a lap belt and shoulder harness at all times.
The co-pilot of the aircraft must wear the lap belt at all times and is only allowed to remove the
shoulder harness while in smooth air cruising. Passengers are allowed, only in smooth and
straight and level flight, to remove any restraint system.



Aviation vs. Auto Safety 6
Head-on & Mid-Air Collisions
These are the most deadly categories in both topics. Although head-on collisions in au-
tomobiles only accounted for 2% of all accidents in the U.S., It also accounted for more than
10% of fatalities in America. This is because it doubles the impact force on the two vehicles. If
two cars are traveling at 30 miles per hour in two separate directions, they would both feel the
impact of hitting a concrete wall at 60 miles per hour.
Head-on mid-air collisions are rare in aviation there are only 1 to 2 per year and in 2010
there was zero. The only time that a pilot would encounter such predicament would be on depar-
ture or on approach. This also does not include the use of air traffic control or ATC. This is be-
cause of a FAR. It states that all pilots whose course line is easterly must fly at an odd altitude or
at an odd altitude plus 500 feet. In coordination, a course line to the west would mean that the
pilot would be required to fly at an even heading or at an even heading plus 500 feet. The ad-
vantage of an airplane is that they can fly over oncoming traffic and be within 500 feet above or
below them at all times. (See Figure 2)
The use of ATC also increases your safety significantly. By using your transponder, ATC
can track your position, altitude, speed, and has files of how many souls are on board the aircraft,
how much gasoline is on board, and the type of aircraft that you are flying. The same ATC that
controls the big airliners that the average population flies with also controls general aviation.
ATC is a very stressful job. Air traffic controllers are very well trained and experienced and have
zero tolerance for anything unprofessional. (See Figure 2)

Aviation vs. Auto Safety 7

Rumors and the Controversy
People fear both of these topics. They are the leading causes of death in America, texting
and driving being number one before drunk driving. Although these things have been attempted
both airplanes and cars, the rule is .08 with eight hours bottle to throttle. You can also text while
cruising in mid-flight, if you can receive signal, without any complications whatsoever.
Another argument stated by many people is the fact that there are less people in the sky
than there are on the road at a time. During aviation rush hour there are 15,000 aircraft in the air
around the world. There are over 250million cars on the road at any given time in the world.
This is obviously true and obviously states the fact that aviation is safer. The amount of traffic at
a given time is linear with the amount of accidents. This is far from the reason as to why aviation
is safer than automobiles. (See figure 2)










Aviation vs. Auto Safety 8

Appendix A









(Figure 1)










(Figure 2)
Aviation vs. Auto Safety 9
Appendix B

Figure 3












Aviation vs. Auto Safety 10
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