Senator Barack Obama Involved in Aircraft Mishap on 12 January 2008

United States Senator and presidential candidate Barack Obama was a passenger in a Gulfstream 2 aircraft that collided with another aircraft on the ground at Midway Airport in Chicago. Senator Obama, members of his campaign staff, and Secret Service agents had just flown in from Nevada, where he had been campaigning. The left wingtip of the Gulfstream hit the right wingtip of a parked and unoccupied Cessna 208 aircraft.The impact was so minor that no one on the plane noticed any damage until later.

While the incident caused no injuries and only minor aircraft damage, it does bring up a potential public policy issue. Specifically, the issue of what should be considered an acceptable air transportation risk for presidential candidates. A comparison can be made with the policy on Secret Service protection for presidential candidates. Prior to the assassination of the presidential candidate Senator Robert F. Kennedy in 1968, there were no clear standards or legal requirements for physical security of presidential candidates. Security decisions were largely left up to local law enforcement and to the candidates' campaign staffs. After the assassination, the US Congress authorized protection of major presidential and vice presidential candidates and nominees.

The nature of the US presidential electoral process demands that candidates have to travel a great deal during the months leading up to the election. The candidates typically use a variety of air travel options, from scheduled commercial airliners to privately chartered aircraft. While there are risks with any type of air travel, the risks are higher for some kinds of flights. Senator Obama's aircraft was operating as a nonscheduled air carrier flight under Part 135 of the Federal Aviation Regulations, which are less strict than the Part 121 regulations for larger air carrier aircraft, and more strict than the Part 91 regulations for general aviation. Historically, the accident risk has been highest for Part 91 flight operations, significantly lower for Part 135 operations, and lower still for Part 121 operations. For example, in 2006 the NTSB estimated that the accident rate for general aviation flights was about four times greater than the Part 135 accident rate, and about 50 times greater than the rate for Part 121 air carrier flights.

The potential policy issue is whether exposure to air travel risks faced by presidential candidates should be limited by requiring that flights taken by candidates meet some minimum standard. A realistic limitation could take many forms, such as use of only approved aircraft operators or airlines, or perhaps requiring that candidates use government or military air transportation. The reasons for even considering such a a policy are the potentially negative political and social impacts of having a candidate seriously injured or killed during a campaign, especially from managable risks such as those associated with air travel.

Fortunately, Senator Obama was not injured in his aircraft mishap. However, given the risks that he and the other candidates will continue to face, it seems reasonable to consider some kind of risk reduction policy now, and by doing so perhaps preventing a catastrophic disruption to the political process.

Related Resources
Selected Fatal Events Involving US Political Figures
NTSB Accident Rate Estimates for 2006

Turbulence Event on an Air Canada A319 Flight on 10 January 2008

The aircraft was on a scheduled domestic flight from Victoria, BC to Toronto, ON. The aircraft had a possible encounter with moderate to severe turbulence while in the vicinity of the Canadian Rockies. The crew diverted to Calgary, where injured passengers and crew members were treated for minor injuries. The aircraft was not seriously damaged, and there were no fatalities among the five crew members or 83 passengers.

For further details, please choose one of the podcast options below:

Audio: MP3 | Video: iPod/MP4 | WMV | Google Video | YouTube

To download a copy of the MP3 audio file or one of the MP4 or WMV video files, visit the AirSafe.com podcast home page at http://podcast.airsafe.org.

Related Resources: Turbulence Risks http://www.airsafe.com/cabin/turb.htm

To obtain a PDF file or PowerPoint presentation of the contents of this podcast, please contact AirSafe.com at http://feedback.airsafe.org/.

Accident Updates for Events in Venezuela and Iran

There have been two significant airline safety events in just the first few days of 2008. The first on 2 January 2004 was a nonfatal takeoff accident involving an Iran Air Fokker 100. The second was occurred two days later when a Transaven Let 410 crashed near the Los Roques archipelago near Venezuela.

For further details, please choose one of the podcast options below:

Audio: MP3 | Video: iPod/MP4 | WMV | Google Video | YouTube

To download a copy of the MP3 audio file or one of the MP4 or WMV video files, visit the AirSafe.com podcast home page at http://podcast.airsafe.org.

Related Resources: A list of fatal events involving Iran Air is available at http://www.airsafe.com/events/irlines/iranair.htm

To obtain a PDF file or PowerPoint presentation of the contents of this podcast, please contact AirSafe.com at http://www.airsafe.com/contact.htm.

Review of Fatal Airline Events of 2007

Seattle, WA - January 4, 2008 - AirSafe.com has released its annual review of fatal airline events of 2007. There were a total of eight fatal events in 2007, including four that resulted in the deaths of everyone on board. While there were no events in North America, there were three in Asia, two each in Africa and Europe, and one in South America. The eight fatal events of 2007 is the lowest number of fatal events tracked by AirSafe.com in the last decade, a number also equaled in 2006 and 2003. For the 10 year period 1998-2007, AirSafe.com has listed 111 fatal airline events from around the world.

This annual review is available as a podcast episode in several formats:

Audio: MP3 | Video: iPod/MP4 | WMV | Google Video | YouTube

To download the audio file or one of the video files, visit the AirSafe.com home page at http://www.airsafe.com, or follow the link from the AirSafe.com Foundation at http://podcast.airsafe.org.

The videos are also available on YouTube at www.youtube.com and Google Video at video.google.com. You can find video links and download instructions at http://podcast.airsafe.org.

A printed list of the eight fatal events of 2007, along with several other noteworthy aviation safety events from last year, is available at http://www.airsafe.com/events/fatal07.htm

To obtain a PDF file or PowerPoint presentation of this annual review, please contact AirSafe.com at http://www.airsafe.com/contact.htm.

What's New on AirSafe.com - December 27, 2007

One Laptop Per Child Program Reaches 60% of Goal
With a few weeks left before the December 31st deadline, the AirSafe.com Foundation has reached the 60% mark for purchasing, evaluating, and placing OLPC to laptop computers. To find out how the Foundation's plans, or to make a donation, please visit http://www.airsafe.org.

New Podcast - Evacuation Issues
This podcast has an overview of a crash involving an Air France A340 in Toronto, Canada on 2 August 2005, including a digital recreation of the accident. Also discussed are evacuation issues brought up by this event, and advice for passengers that may help them survive a crash.http://podcast.airsafe.org, or you can link to one or more versions of the podcast below:

Audio: MP3 Video: iPod/MP4 | YouTube | WMV | Google Video

What's New on AirSafe.com - December 12, 2007

One Laptop Per Child Program Reaches 40% of Goal
With a few weeks left before the December 31st deadline, the AirSafe.com Foundation has reached the 40% mark for purchasing, evaluating, and placing OLPC to laptop computers. To find out how the Foundation's plans, or to make a donation, please visit http://www.airsafe.org.

New Podcast - Aircraft Crash Positions
The new podcast demonstrates six basic types of brace positions passengers and cabin are likely to take during an emergency, illustrating the positions derived through years of research by the FAA and the aviation industry. You can visit the podcast page at http://podcast.airsafe.org, or you can link to one or more versions of the podcast below:

Audio: MP3 Video: iPod/MP4 | YouTube | WMV | Google Video


Update to "Things You Should Not Bring On Board"
Just in time for the holiday travel rush, the "Things You Should Not Bring on Board" hazardous and prohibited goods page has be updated to reflect the latest suggestions from the TSA. A new page was also added to address how passengers traveling internationally should carry liquids, aerosols, and gels purchased at duty-free shops.

Things You Should Not Bring on Board
http://airsafe.com/danger.htm

Issues with Liquids, Gels, and Aerosols Purchased at Duty-free Shops
http://www.airsafe.com/issues/security/dutyfree.htm

AirSafe.com Wants Your Feedback
Whether you are a new visitor, or have been coming back since 1996, AirSafe.com wants to know what you think, and also what the site should do to improve. Please go to http://feedback.airsafe.org and submit your comments.

Need a Holiday Gift Idea? Look no further!

What's New on AirSafe.com - December 6, 2007

One Laptop Per Child Program Extended
The AirSafe.com Foundation continues to work with the OLPC to purchase, evaluate, and donate their laptop computers to children in the developing world. To find out how the Foundation's will evaluate and use these laptops, please visit http://www.airsafe.org.

New AirSafe.com Feedback Form
AirSafe.com and AirSafe.com Foundation have a new feedback form at http://feedback.airsafe.org. Feel free to submit suggestions, insights, or other information to AirSafe.com.

MD83 Accident Update
The investigation of the November 30th MD83 crash in Turkey continues, and the analysis of the Flight Data Recorder and Cockpit Voice Recorder is under way. One current issue being investigated is whether the aircraft deviated from its intended landing route. As information becomes available, AirSafe.com will update its Atlasjet page at http://airsafe.com/events/airlines/atlasjet.htm.

You may also want to review the audio and video podcasts made just after the event: Audio (MP3), Video (MP4, WMV, YouTube)

Suggested Gifts for the Holidays
Holiday Items
Books by Dr. Todd Curtis of AirSafe.com