Resource of the Week
by Shirl Kennedy, Deputy Editor
We often review sites here that have a broad range of content. This week's choice is a niche site that runs deep. If you travel a lot, if you're interested in aviation safety or security, if you sometimes have a need for aviation/accident statistics...you will want to bookmark this well-stocked fishing hole, maintained by a noted airline safety analyst and author.
Air Travel Safety--Hub
Source: Dr. Todd Curtis AirSafety.com
While you can likely find everything that's here at some other location on the Internet, it would require a time-consuming scavenger hunt. We love "one-stop shopping" sites, and this one aggregates aviation safety news, statistics, fact sheets, links to databases and many other key resources. Click on the Recent Fatal Events to get a chronology of recent fatal airline accidents, with brief description and links to other relevant material on the site. To the right of that link, in the center of the page, you'll find links to the site's Most Requested Information," including Fatal Events by Airline, Fatal Events by Aircraft Model, and Fear of Flying Information Resources.
Dr. Curtis has aggregated a lot of links to federal government data, such as:
+ Fleet Information for Selected U.S. Carriers -- "Each link produces the airlines FAA certificate and fleet information from the FAA's National Vitals Information System."
+ Key Aviation Accident and Incident Databases -- "The following links are to databases that are maintained by national aviation or aviation safety authorities. The database entries contain a variety of information on accidents and incidents involving civil aircraft. The most extensive databases are from the NTSB and FAA in the U.S. and may be searched by specific criteria."
+ U.S. Government Airline Safety Information -- "Included here are links to incident data, accident data, safety and security policy, and safety-related sanctions against airlines and other aviation related organizations."
You'll find a lot of extremely specialized information here, too, such as:
+ Air Rage Information Resources -- "Reasons for such behavior include excessive alcohol consumption, smoking bans, crowding, and long flights, psychological feelings of a loss of control, or problems with authority figures."
+ Celebrity Crash Cases -- "...information on aircraft crashes involving celebrities. These crashes, both fatal and non-fatal, involve personal aircraft or commercial aircraft."
+ Fatal Events with a Sole Survivor -- "...from 1970 to the present involving either jet airliners or large turboprop driven airliners where there was only a single survivor."
+ Major Airline Accidents by Country -- "The following links provide background information on fatal or significant airline accidents by country. The region links will take you to a listing of key airlines in the region, and their estimated fatal event rates."
+ Post Accident Information Checklist, which appears to be aimed at journalists covering airline crashes.
Got an airline-related gripe? Use the online complaint form here, and "AirSafe.com will forward the e-mail to the Office of Consumer Affairs in the Department of Transportation." If airline safety is of particular interest to you, sign up to receive AirSafe.com News, a free weekly e-mail newsletter that "provides a concise roundup of the latest changes in airline safety and security, including information about recent airline fatal events, accident investigations, and aviation security issues."
According to information on the site, it has been up and running since July 3, 1996 -- "just two weeks before the crash of TWA Flight 800." Dr. Curtis, who holds degrees from Princeton and MIT, is the author of Understanding Aviation Safety Data: Using the Internet and other Sources to Analyze Air Travel Risk. He served in the United States Air Force and worked for the Boeing Corporation as an airline safety analyst. A private pilot and registered professional engineer, he is an expert in "aviation risk assessment and bird strike hazards to aircraft." He also maintains a website for the Bird Strike Committee USA, which focuses on "(u)nderstanding and reducing bird and other wildlife hazards to aircraft".
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