Accidents often occur, is it still safe to travel by plane?

Since early 2024, Boeing has had bad luck. Successive accident incidents then sparked the question: is it still safe to fly on a plane?

The following article was translated using both Microsoft Azure Open AI and Google Translation AI. The original article can be found in Insiden Kecelakaan Kerap Terjadi, Masih Amankah Bepergian dengan Pesawat?

AFP/KAZUHIRO NOGI

Passengers arrive at the international terminal of Haneda Airport, Tokyo, Japan, March 19, 2024.

For the past three months, the aviation industry has not been in good condition. Incidents or life-threatening accidents have occurred consecutively. In early January 2024, the emergency door panel of an Alaska Airlines flight suddenly detached at an altitude of around 16,000 feet.

After that, there was an incident where one of the plane's tires came off, and the plane's rudder pedals were locked. This all happened to aircraft manufacturer Boeing, especially to the Boeing 737 MAX 9 and 8. As a result of successive accidents, Boeing was bombarded with criticism and became the focus of investigations because it was deemed negligent in paying attention to passenger safety.

Also read: Boeing Proven to Have Failed Dozens of Security Checks

Moreover, after United Airlines reported that bolts were not properly attached to the door cover and part of several 737 MAX 9 planes. The plane's tire came off during one of United Airlines' operations.

The airline has the largest fleet of 737 MAX 9 aircraft, with 79 planes. The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) of the United States will review the airline's safety procedures again. While investigating Boeing-made aircraft, the FAA has banned United Airlines and Alaska Airlines' fleets from flying.

AP/HAVEN DALEY

A car damaged by debris from a Boeing 777's tire was seen in the employee parking lot of San Francisco International Airport in the US on March 7, 2024.

There was a time when issues such as a cracked windshield or mechanical problems did not often appear in the news. However, since the detached door panel incident, any small incidents that occur on commercial flights are widely reported.

Also read: Boeing continues to be unlucky, tires come off and steering jams at United Airlines

As there is a lot of news about problems with planes, people are increasingly worried about flight safety, especially on Boeing planes.

Safest

However, according to an aerospace analyst and consultant in the US, Richard Aboulafia, aircrafts are the safest mode of transportation ever created. This is in comparison to the number of traffic accidents in the US where on average 737 people die every day.

The National Security Council estimates that Americans have a 1 in 93 chance of dying from a motor vehicle accident. Meanwhile, deaths in airplanes are too rare to be counted. At least 44,000 people died in vehicle accidents in the US in 2023.

The latest deadly aircraft accident in the United States occurred in February 2009. With 9.6 million flights in just the previous year, it is not entirely reflective of flight safety conditions that there were relatively few fatal incidents.

Also read: Boeing Fails to Maintain Security, Passengers Refuse to Fly

There is another measure that can be used to assess the level of flight safety, which is the intensity of pilots broadcasting emergency calls to air traffic controllers. Data from the popular flight tracking site, Flightradar24, shows that pilots' emergency calls have increased since mid-January, but are still below the intensity of calls in 2023.

However, emergency calls are not actually the right measure because the aircraft may not be in danger. In fact, sometimes aircraft experiencing problems do not even alert the supervisor.

AP/LU BOAN

In a photo released by Xinhua News Agency, a search and rescue team is seen searching for debris at the site of the China Eastern flight accident in Tengxian, Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, China, on March 24, 2022.

An expert panel investigating a series of plane crashes in the US, November 2023, reported that there are many factors that cause aviation accidents. Factors include a shortage of air traffic controllers and outdated aircraft tracking technology. This expert panel report is presented in 52 pages.

Also read: Boeing Stumbles Again Due to Alaska Airlines Crash

Now, the expert panel may be able to add the factor of aircraft production quality, especially that of Boeing, which has had an unlucky year. Boeing is a company worth 78 billion US dollars and a leading aircraft exporter from the US. Boeing has been operating in the field of aircraft manufacturing for a century.

Apart from Boeing, there is also Airbus in Europe which equally dominates the production of large passenger jet aircraft. However, Boeing's reputation then suffered due to the crash of two 737 MAX planes - one in Indonesia in 2018 and another in Ethiopia a year later which killed 346 people.

In the last five years, Boeing has suffered losses of 24 billion US dollars. They are increasingly in the red due to having to delay the delivery of the 737 and 787 Dreamliner long-haul aircrafts because they have to fix their production systems and quality. It briefly improved, then fell again because of a panel door that came loose on Alaska Airlines.

AP/KELLY BARTLETT

Passengers near the fuselage hole (fuselage) of Alaska Airlines Boeing 737 Max 9 with flight number 1282 which was forced to return to Portland International Airport, USA, January 5 2024.

The investigative team is examining the door panel screw that was found to be missing since Boeing's manufacturing process. Since then, Boeing has faced a barrage of criticism, from the FAA to the Federal Investigation Bureau (FBI). "There are problems with Boeing in the past and it seems to have not been resolved," said FAA Administrator Mike Whitaker last month.

Also read: Boeing is Getting Dizzy

Boeing CEO David Calhoun stated that he accepts the investigation results and takes responsibility for what happened to the Alaska Airlines plane. "We are the ones who caused this problem," he said.

Production error

The causes of problems in aircraft manufacturing can vary. Some are due to design errors. In the original Boeing MAX, the failure of one sensor caused the flight control system to direct the aircraft's nose downward with great force.

This occurred before the MAX plane accidents in 2018 and 2019. However, damage or failure in one part alone cannot bring down a plane. There must be other causes that lead to its downfall.

Another factor is due to errors in the manufacturing plant. This happened in the case of the detached door panels. Manufacturing quality is also now increasingly highlighted. Aboulafia believes that if the errors lie in the design, fixing them will be much more difficult. However, if the problem lies in the manufacturing process, the repair should be easier.

AP/TED S WARREN

In this picture taken with a fish-eye lens, a Boeing 737 MAX 8 aircraft is seen on the assembly line during a brief media tour at the Boeing 737 assembly facility in Renton, Washington, US, on March 27, 2019.

Earlier this month, the FAA asked Boeing to inspect cable bundles around spoilers on MAX aircraft. This order was issued because there were reports that an electrical cable was damaged due to installation errors. As a result, a plane rolled 30 degrees in less than one second on a flight in 2021.

Also read: Boeing Plane Crashes Again

Even "small" incidents are now becoming a concern. LATAM Airlines, which uses a Boeing 787 when flying from Australia to New Zealand, experienced a sharp drop in altitude this month.

Boeing is soon to remind airlines to check the switch on the motor that moves their pilot seats. The cause is said to be a flight attendant accidentally pressing the button, which is suspected to be the cause of the sudden altitude drop of the aircraft.

Also read: Passenger Safety and Health, New Challenges for Aviation Business

Investigations into several incidents have shown the possibility of errors in maintenance. However, many incidents that have almost occurred were also caused by pilot or air traffic controller errors, such as just this week.

Investigators have revealed that an American Airlines plane passing through a runway in Texas, USA, had some of its hydraulic channels on the brakes not properly reinstalled. Four days earlier, the plane underwent maintenance and brake replacement. There was also an American Airlines 777 plane that had to make an emergency landing in Los Angeles, USA, with deflated tires.

A small piece of aluminum sheet is also known to be missing when the 26-year-old United Boeing 737 landed in Oregon last week. There was also a "foolish" incident due to air traffic controller negligence.

GETTY IMAGES/AFP/NATIONAL TRANSPORTATION SAFETY BOARD

In this photo from the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB), one investigator is seen speaking in the cockpit while inspecting the Alaska Airlines Flight 1282 Boeing 737-9 MAX on January 7, 2024 in Portland, Oregon, USA.

As a result of the negligence, a FedEx cargo plane that had just landed in Austin almost collided with a Southwest Airlines jet that was preparing to take off. Both planes were not at fault. The error lies with the supervisor who allowed them to use the same runway.

Also read: Flight Delayed, Passengers Open Emergency Door and Walk on the Wing

Former US National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) member John Goglia stated that the issues of flight control, engines, and structural integrity are now concerning.

No translation provided as it contains a number of borrowed words in Indonesian and specialized terminology.