Air travel is generally considered to be safe, however there are a number of circumstances that can occur which can cause injury or death. Airplane crashes are becoming more common. When we fly, we rely on the conduct of pilots, mechanics, and airline employees to be consistent with the standards required in their industry. Unfortunately, circumstances such as equipment failure, fires, acts of terrorism, air rage, and negligent conduct can and do occur on flights. aviation accident lawyers specialize in this area.

Airline and airport security is regulated by federal Aviation Administration (FAA). The FAA has created broad security regulations and recommendations which each airport must comply with. Additionally, airports must have programs to comply with FAA regulations. Such programs include the use of airport security personnel, security training courses for airport employees and the use of metal detectors. To be frank, Penney and Associates are prepared to represent you in any type of aviation accident.

Wikipedia reports that approximately 80 percent of all aviation accidents occur shortly before, after, or during takeoff or landing, and are often described as resulting from ‘human error’; mid-flight disasters are rare but not entirely unheard of. Among other things, the latter have been caused by bombs, as in the 1988 Lockerbieincident, mid air collisions such as in the 2002 Uberlingen crash and structural failure, as in the 1954 Comet disasters and 1988 Aloha Airlines incident.

An accident survey of 1,843 aircraft accidents from 1950 through 2006 determined the causes to be as follows:

• 53%: Pilot Error
• 21%: Mechanical failure
• 11%: Weather
• 8%: Other human error (air traffic controller error, improper loading of aircraft, improper maintenance, fuel contamination, language miscommunication etc.)
• 6%: Sabotage (bombs, hijackings, shoot-downs)
• 1%: Other cause

The survey excluded military, private, and charter aircraft.

A study by Boeing determined the primary cause of Airline hull loss accidents (worldwide commercial jet fleet), from 1996 through 2005, to be:

• 55%: Flight crew error
• 17%: Airplane
• 13%: Weather
• 7%: Misc./Other
• 5%: Air traffic control
• 3%: Maintenance

That study included 183 accidents, with known causes for 134 of them. The remaining 49 were unknown, or awaiting final reports.

Previous Boeing studies showed higher rates for Flight Crew Error:

• 70%: 1988 – 1997
• 67%: 1990 – 1999
• 66%: 1992 – 2001
• 62%: 1994 – 2003
• 56%: 1995 – 2004

Aircraft manufacturers are often slow to accept that aspects of design might play a role in accident causation, finding it more convenient to state that human crew members were responsible. In fact, the complex interaction between the human crew and the aircraft often creates a fertile ground in which human error may flourish.