A few days ago a jet carrying an entire hockey team crashed in Russia. According to www.themoscowtimes.com 43 people died in the fatal plane crash. Pilot error and mechanical malfunction are thought to be the cause of the crash but this does make me wonder if the planes used by airline companies get inspected enough and properly.
After this crash the entire fleet of the same type of airplane are going to be suspended for a one time inspection, says www.flightglobal.com, but I'm wondering how long it has been since the last inspection of these planes. I work at an airport and I know that we are very particular about our aircraft and any that come in to our shop. Our airplanes get inspected every 100 hours of flight time and annually. All private aircraft have to be inspected annually, which is a very extensive process. When a plane is in the shop for an annual they basically take it apart and put it back together, inspecting the airframe, the motor, and all mechanical moving parts and rivets. I feel very safe flying in our planes that we own, but I'm starting to rethink the safety of airliners. After a Southwest Boeing 757's fuselage ruptured in flight all 683 in their fleet were ordered to be inspected within 30 days. According to /minnesota.publicradio.org they have to be inspected every 30-300 cycles after. One cycle is 30 take off and landings. This does make me feel a little better but what a lot of people don't know is that a lot of airplanes are 20-30 years old if not older. Over time things just wear out no matter how many times some guy looks at it with a flashlight and taps it with a screwdriver.
I would just like to see a little more effort with airlines and their inspections just because of how many people fly everyday and how many people are fit on to one plane at a time. I couldn't imagine the repercussions if a bridge maintained by the city collapsed with two cars on it. I hope that many other airlines see the importance of inspections after the crash in Russia that killed an entire hockey team and multiple passengers and crew.
