The Plane Truth: Airline Crashes, the Media, and Transportation Policy

by Roger W. Cobb, David M. Primo

" Flying is an extremely safe way to travel. Fewer than 14,000 individuals perished in U.S. airline disasters during the twentieth century. In contrast, nearly three times as many people lose their lives in automobile accidents every year. Yet plane crashes have a tremendous impact on public perceptions of air safety in the United States. When a crash occurs domestically, media coverage is immediate and continuous. Government teams rush to investigate, elected officials offer condolences and promise to find the cause, and airlines and plane manufacturers seek to avoid responsibility. Regulations are frequently proposed in response to a particular incident, but meaningful change often does not occur. In The Plane Truth, Roger Cobb and David Primo examine the impact of high-visibility plane crashes on airline transportation policy. Regulation is disjointed and reactive, in part due to extensive media coverage of airline disasters. The authors describe the typical responses of various players—elected officials, investigative agencies, airlines, and the media. While all agree that safety is the primary concern in air travel, failure to agree on a definition of safety leads to policy conflicts. Looking at all airline crashes in the 1990s, the authors examine how particular features of an accident correspond to the level of media attention it receives, as well as how airline disasters affect subsequent actions by the National Transportation Safety Board, Federal Aviation Administration, and others. Three accidents are considered in USAir flight 427 (September 1994), ValuJet flight 592 (May 1996), and TWA flight 800 (July 1996). The authors also discuss how the September 11 terrorist attacks turned attention away from safety and toward security. Cobb and Primo make several policy recommendations based on their findings. These include calling on lawmakers and regulators to avoid reactive regulation and instead to focus on systematic problems in a"

Genres: Economics, Aviation

207 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 2003

Reviews

[Mike · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a good book on the inner workings of the NTSB and FAA in the 1990s. It is a technical book written for people who have an understanding of government regulations or who need such information. It is not a disaster book from the human impact point of view. Some of the information on the inner workings of the NTSB and FAA may be dated as the book was written in 2003. I did find the information on the 3 plane crashes to be interesting. As someone who teaches hazardous waste shipping regulations and shipment of hazardous materials by air, I can say that I strongly disagree with any assertion that SaberTech, the shipper involved in the ValuJet crash, was not the primary responsible party in that crash.

[Wayne · Rating 2 out of 5]

Rather dull and plodding chronicle of the interactions among the NTSB, the FAA, the FBI, and various US government congressional and house committees when it comes to aviation safety. An expose of how media attention affects policy outcomes following major airline accidents.