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Comment by madaxe_again | Hacker News Reader

You’ll have a very short list of carriers left not on the list, if any.

Human error happens with much greater frequency in aviation than you might believe - I have experienced some absolutely hair-raising moments (watched Lufthansa lose a winglet on landing while the stewardess prayed, had an aerolinias argentinas flight take off with a luggage compartment still open, and a air Bishkek flight where the wheels locked on landing and we ground down the runway at sheremetyevo on hubs), and have been told tales of others by pilots that I wish I hadn’t been told.

The thing is, most of the time, it’s nothing more than some scared passengers and a messed up schedule. “Almost” didn’t happen.

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Yeah I know a couple of pilots, one of whom does "flying scum buses" as he calls them to hot places around Europe and have a lot of horror stories. Nothing major: bits of planes falling off, people going bananas, near misses etc.

I generally don't fly these days and haven't actually been in a plane for 20 years (ex wife couldn't fly due to med issue) but I need to get out there and would like to pick the least shitty solution.

Two more to add to the list. Brand new passenger aircraft on final approach to landing and the control tower tells the pilot they've forgotten to lower the landing gears. Worse case outcome, clear good weather condition, passenger aircraft approaches landing and gets it wrong, crash and burn, passengers survive on the ground and some get runover by the fire trucks arriving on scene.

I’ve driven an airport fire appliance and that doesn’t surprise me in the slightest - I could not see a damned thing for 20 meters in front of me on the ground, as the window is a thick glass slit mounted above eye level, as it’s designed to be driven into and withstand a jet fuel fire - you have to stand and drive to see where you’re going - and that was in clear broad daylight.

Human error is just part of it.

Some environments foster correction of such errors, learning, experience-sharing, pay well for parts and maintenance, don't overwork their staff. Others not.

I think for me such insights would be gold.

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