I don't often find myself in three-abreast seating on an airliner, but on a recent trip to Las Vegas, Nevada, it was unavoidable. So there I was in a window seat with a white-knuckled woman seated next to me and her macho husband on the aisle.
As the airplane accelerated for takeoff, the wife clutched her husband's hand in abject fear. I could tell this wasn't going to be a fun flight. Normally I wouldn't have said anything, but I felt the need to try to soothe her mounting terror. "In a minute," I said, "you'll hear a noise as the gear are tucked away. It's perfectly normal."
She relaxed a bit after we leveled off and perused shopping opportunities in the in-flight magazine. But then, when the pilot announced we were beginning our descent for landing, her husband leaned toward me and said, "It's true, isn't it, that the landing is the most dangerous part of a flight?" He was completely oblivious of the effect his question had on his quaking wife.
I tried to avoid answering, but felt I had to say something to head off a spike in her hysteria. "I guess it's true that more accidents occur during the landing phase," I admitted. "But typically they aren't as serious as accidents that result from loss of control at altitude. The airlines have a very impressive safety record and in terms of passenger miles, you're a great deal safer in an airliner than in a car. There's really nothing to worry about," I added, smiling confidently.
But he wasn't done.
"My ex-wife's new husband has a little airplane," he said and for a moment I thought our conversation was going to be more positive. I was wrong. "When I found out he had taken my kids up in his little airplane," he continued, "I told him I didn't want him to expose them to that kind of danger. When he insisted it was safe and there was no reason for him not to, I sought a restraining order to keep him from taking them flying in his little airplane!"
It was hard to know whether he was just being a hard-ass about his wife's new husband or really concerned about his kids' safety. I tried to reason with him, but he wasn't interested in listening. He knew how dangerous little airplanes were. There was no question everything he said, intentionally or not, made his current wife more uncomfortable about flying. You can bet the two of them will continue to gladly spread the word about how frightening and dangerous small airplanes are.
Unfortunately, Mr. I'm-not-afraid-to-fly-but-you-should-be, isn't alone. Phil Boyer, AOPA president, speaking about the public perception of small airplanes at the SATS (Small Airplane Transportation System) demonstration last summer, asked, "How many of you have offered a plane ride to a friend, only to have them turn you down with a response like … you're not going to get me into one of those little things? Or perhaps you have heard the words … you mean it only has a single engine? Those of us who own 'small aircraft' are very proud of our investments-but how are they viewed by the un-aviation-savvy general public? Rich Fat Cats-Unsafe, noisy little airplanes. The public fears little planes falling out of the sky … all of these are issues and perceptions that must be changed …."
And then there was the published report from Crocker, Missouri, that related an incident where the school superintendent wanted to reward students with an airplane ride. A board member was quoted as saying, "We don't know anything about the planes. You hear about 747s crashing every now and then, but most of these crashes are small little airplanes. The liability is just too much."
If you don't think we have a problem with the general public's perception of our "small" airplanes, consider this: Last September, more than 50 people held a candlelight vigil in a parking lot across from Teterboro Airport. It wasn't a protest rally against the war in Iraq, but against noise and "health hazards" from the airport. One protestor was quoted saying, "What they turned this airport into doesn't belong in the most densely populated part of southern Bergen County."
Whether true or not, stories have circulated about parents of children in schools beneath the approach paths of airports wanting to have their children tattooed with identifying marks so when, not if, they say, an airplane crashes into the school they'll be able to identify the bodies.
How about the FAA's plan to create an AOPA-described "operationally unworkable" and expensive permanent ADIZ of 3,000 square miles-nearly twice the size of Rhode Island-to "protect" the nation's Capitol and government buildings from a perceived threat from small airplanes. A threat that has frequently been discredited.
There are other government efforts to curtail our flying. Senator Charles Schumer (D-NY) wants to keep helicopters over the water as they fly out to Long Island. His concern seems to be noise, but John LaVelle, the Brookhaven Town Supervisor, was quoted as saying, "We need to look at this from a perspective of homeland security. There is no question that it is an issue when we're dealing with things in flight."
But we, too, are to blame. Unfortunately, pilots-licensed or not-have unknowingly or recklessly contributed to the public's negative perception. A celebration in Logan, Utah, was rudely interrupted when the pilot of a low-flying airplane dropped water balloons on the crowd at the outdoor festival.
The saga of the inebriated man who "borrowed" an airplane from the Danbury, Connecticut, airport for a joyride with friends and eventually landed it on a taxiway at Westchester County Airport after the airport had closed, made national news and resulted in calls for security assessments of all airports in Connecticut.
As Pogo said, "We have met the enemy and he is us!" Every time the evening news shows an airplane that crashes short of the runway for lack of fuel the public's perception is reinforced. Every time there's a news story about an airplane that crashed because the non-instrument-rated pilot flew into clouds our image is tarnished. And we make the nightly news every time an airplane lands gear-up with eager news crews alerted and racing down the runway to catch the incident. Every time there's an incursion into the Washington, D.C., airspace and official Washington has to evacuate, there are further efforts to curtail our flying privileges.
