3 2.0 Background 2.1 Aviation safety is stressed from the highest to the lowest levels in US Military organizations, in the civil airlines, and in business aviation. It is stressed in every other facet of civil aviation, as well, but these major organizations have highly stylized and effective standardization, training, and accident prevention programs. Still accidents occur because of human error. Basically, an accident is nothing more than an event that occurs after a number of small omissions, errors or minor events trap the principle operator such that he or she can no longer intervene, and the accident occurs.
Accident analysis shows that in hindsight the accident was preventable.
2.2 Those organizations dedicated to VIP or civil airlift have achieved exceedingly low accident rates. Regardless, there is a perception among many passengers that flying is unsafe. It appears that this is the perception of many in the media. No matter how good the aviation safety record, or how low the risk is to fly, compared with other modes of travel, the specter of imminent danger seems to exist. This is not to say that the risk, no matter how low, is acceptable, but rather that reasoned analysis will show risk to be much lower than perceived.