Fight or flight, or fight the flight

This past summer, the number of commercial airline catastrophes was horrific and unprecedented. In only one week, three major commercial plane in- cidents, on three separate continents, killed nearly five hundred civilians. With these events occurring only a couple months after the disappearance of a 737 Malaysia Airlines plane in the Pacific Ocean, aviation organizations were frantic and the public was scared.

On July 17, Malaysia Airlines Flight 17 departed from Amsterdam en route to Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. The plane, traveling at 33,000 feet, passed over dangerous airspace in an eastern region of Ukraine that is currently controlled by pro-Russian separatists fighting against the Ukrainian government. Mistaking the Boeing 737 for a Ukrainian military aircraft, the rebels shot down the plane with a Russian missile. The results were an escalation of tensions between Western countries and Russia, increased sanctions on Putin’s government, and most tragically, the deaths of 298 passengers and crew.

The two additional plane accidents in the following week did not receive as much public attention, due to the lack of political controversy compared to the crash in Eastern Ukraine. Nonetheless, civilian casualties were immense.

On July 23, a TransAsia Airways flight that had been flying over Taiwan at- tempted to make an emergency landing because of treacherous weather. The plane crashed into a residential area, killing 48 people.

Only one day later, an Air Algerie Flight lost contact with air traffic control only fifty minutes after takeoff. The plane was carrying more than 110 people and requested permission to change its flight paths due to stormy weather. Shortly after, it disappeared over Mali. Debris from the plane were found later, but no survivors have been found.

Despite the numerous airplane disasters over the summer, LM students continued to travel internationally for family vacations, camp programs, birthright programs, and teen travel opportunities. Unfortunately, one consequence of the Internet and social media is the bombardment of news updates on crises, which can overwhelm the public and exacerbate their worries.

Junior Sophie Bennett, who visited Ireland, Scotland, and England, was one of the apprehensive LM flyers prior to boarding her transatlantic flight. While she was very cognizant of recent events involving airline disasters, Bennett also had a traumatic experience two years earlier while flying to Paris, France, which influenced her mindset. Bennett “was flying to Paris and [was] in a storm and there was an announcement saying, ‘Prepare for crash landing’, and [she] started freaking out. ([She] didn’t crash.)” Bennett explained further that despite the recent events, she tried to keep her emotions in check, “so [she] was slightly nervous because that experience and the recent news...It was in the back of [her] mind, but [she tried] not to think of it”.

In contrast, junior Alex Barnett approached flying very rationally. He trav- eled to Italy on a family vacation earlier in the summer and said “Despite the air disasters, I in no way felt in danger while traveling to Europe this year.” Barnett explained, “These crashes and disappearances are quite tragic and scary, yet their significance in terms of worldwide air safety seems exaggerated.” Furthermore, Barnett has much confidence in the system and says, “Air disasters are focused on so heavily because they are overwhelmingly sad examples of error in an extremely safe and effective transportation system. Although they are terrifying, air disasters are few and far between so I feel safe on any flight.”

LM students traveled extensively this summer and did not allow recent aviation tragedies to interfere with their trips. Students who traveled willingly this summer entrusted the global aviation system to transport them safely from one destination to another.

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