The plane truth : airline crashes, the media, and transportation policy / Roger W. Cobb and David W. Primo.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Cobb, Roger W.

Contributor:

Primo, David M.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Aircraft accidents.

Transportation accidents.

Physical Description:

1 online resource (219 p.)

Edition:

1st ed.

Place of Publication:

Washington, D.C. : Brookings Institution Press, c2003.

Language Note:

English

Summary:

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 detail: 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.

Contents:

Plane crashes and public policy

After the crash

Death in the skies in the 1990's

The crash of USAir flight 427

The crash of ValuJet flight 592

The crash of TWA flight 800

Plane crashes after September 11

Safety and symbolism in aviation politics.

Notes:

Bibliographic Level Mode of Issuance: Monograph

Includes bibliographical references and index.

ISBN:

9780815771975

0815771975

OCLC:

53795205