fear of flying nasa thinks so

Fear of flying? NASA thinks so

NASA Won't Disclose Air Safety Survey October 22, 2007 - 6:22am By

RITA BEAMISH AP Writer MOFFETT FIELD, Calif. (AP) - "Anxious to avoid

upsetting air travelers, NASA is withholding results from an

unprecedented national survey of pilots that found safety problems

like near collisions and runway interference occur far more frequently

than the government previously recognized."

Instead of trying to use disinformation and secrecy to make us "feel

better" how about using the resources to fix it? I remember seeing two

reports on aspects of airline safety that were interesting. One was

that the whole keep electronic gadgets off during landing and takeoff

is useless. There's already a massive EM output from the planes

electronic system such that there would be no impact if every

passenger on board were using a cell phone or laptop. The other was

this guy who was studying the blinking warning lights on airlines.

They are supposed to emit some specified luminosity but he could not

find a single plane that came close. The airlines refused to even

listen to him.

On a positive note, this from a comment on Slashdot -

NASA just released a press statement from Mike Griffin (NASA

Administrator) regarding the pilot survey:

RELEASE: 07-230

Statement by NASA Administrator Mike Griffin on Pilot Survey

WASHINGTON - Since becoming NASA administrator, I have been an

advocate for openness and transparency in the pursuit of NASA research

and analysis. As a general practice, I believe that NASA research and

data should be widely available and subject to review and scrutiny.

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