Celebs and rich people zip around in private jets—and often let everybody know about it in social media flexes—while ordinary schmoes fly commercial. A story at Vanity Fair might help those in the latter category with their feelings of envy:
- "In most things the ultrarich are much more protected than the rest of us," writes Jeff Wise. "They even live longer. But when it comes to air travel, those who fly private are actually at a significant disadvantage."
- Specifically, prior to the crash over the Potomac River last month, the last fatal domestic plane crash in the US occurred in 2009. By contrast, private jets see an average of three fatal crashes a year.
Wise's story runs through the reasons in depth. One factor "lies in how wealthy people are allowed to take investment risks that average people aren't." That is, if you have a private jet, there's a greater onus on you to make sure it's safe on a given day. "Commercial passengers, by contrast, can't be expected to assess the safety of their air carriers"—they have the FAA to do that for them. Another factor is a shortage of skilled pilots in the private sector, particularly as major airlines keep raising salaries, which also result in pilots with relatively little experience flying particular jets. And at least on the lower end of the private market, those jets tend to be older and less sophisticated.
Yes, private jets are subject to federal safety rules—more so for those chartered by a private party rather than owned by the passengers—but operators have been known to flout them. The story looks at multiple fatal crashes, concluding with a quote from the friend of a woman killed in a crash out of Las Vegas. "The normalization of flying around in private jets leads the public to believe it's safer than driving on the freeway," says Amy Fulmer. "The only time they learn otherwise is when it's too late." Read the full story. (Or check out other longform recaps.)
,
uBlock 
,
and
Ghostery 
)
