Like medicine, it depends.
Flying is regulated in three broad categories: private flying, under part 91 of the federal aviation regulations (FARs), charter (what you’re taking about) under part 135 and airlines under part 121.
The concept is that if you’re paying for a charter you probably have less ability to weigh the risk than if you were flying with your friend in his single engine plane, and if you’re just the general public you have the least chance of weighing the risk. Regulations are inversely proportional to your likely ability to weigh the risk. It is incredible how heavily regulated airlines are. And it works, but isn’t perfect.
Charter jets are generally going to be safer than piston or turboprops, as pilots have to be specifically licensed (called a type rating) in each specific type of jet. Typically only turboprops over 12,500 lbs gross takeoff weight require a type rating. Still, charter pilots are not typically as experienced as airline pilots. There are no guarantees for any specific flight: it’s all probabilistic.
Charter jets occasionally have accidents, even big two pilot two-engine planes flown by highly experienced crew for long established companies. See the Challenger crash on the Florida freeway recently for an example. Apparently a double-engine failure, which is statistically a vanishingly low probability. But it happens. Still, the risk is hard to appreciate it’s so low. But it’s not zero.
Few modes of transportation are safer than flying charter jets in the US, and fewer still than on the airlines. Your eight hour drive is statistically much more risky.
In 2022 almost 43,000 people died in traffic crashes. [https://www.nhtsa.gov/press-releases/tr ... for%202021.]
Yet, you probably don’t ask about the risk of piling the family in the car for 16 hours round trip on the road.
If anywhere near that many people died in airline or charter flights in a year in the whole world we’d never fly again.
But cost is a huge trade off. You’re going to be safer statistically chartering a jet from a reputable company than you would be driving, but you’d be a lot poorer too.
Flying is regulated in three broad categories: private flying, under part 91 of the federal aviation regulations (FARs), charter (what you’re taking about) under part 135 and airlines under part 121.
The concept is that if you’re paying for a charter you probably have less ability to weigh the risk than if you were flying with your friend in his single engine plane, and if you’re just the general public you have the least chance of weighing the risk. Regulations are inversely proportional to your likely ability to weigh the risk. It is incredible how heavily regulated airlines are. And it works, but isn’t perfect.
Charter jets are generally going to be safer than piston or turboprops, as pilots have to be specifically licensed (called a type rating) in each specific type of jet. Typically only turboprops over 12,500 lbs gross takeoff weight require a type rating. Still, charter pilots are not typically as experienced as airline pilots. There are no guarantees for any specific flight: it’s all probabilistic.
Charter jets occasionally have accidents, even big two pilot two-engine planes flown by highly experienced crew for long established companies. See the Challenger crash on the Florida freeway recently for an example. Apparently a double-engine failure, which is statistically a vanishingly low probability. But it happens. Still, the risk is hard to appreciate it’s so low. But it’s not zero.
Few modes of transportation are safer than flying charter jets in the US, and fewer still than on the airlines. Your eight hour drive is statistically much more risky.
In 2022 almost 43,000 people died in traffic crashes. [https://www.nhtsa.gov/press-releases/tr ... for%202021.]
Yet, you probably don’t ask about the risk of piling the family in the car for 16 hours round trip on the road.
If anywhere near that many people died in airline or charter flights in a year in the whole world we’d never fly again.
But cost is a huge trade off. You’re going to be safer statistically chartering a jet from a reputable company than you would be driving, but you’d be a lot poorer too.
Statistics: Posted by Diluted Waters — Sun Mar 31, 2024 11:21 pm — Replies 45 — Views 2735