Originally Posted by cmd320

Yes



Yes



Not sure what you mean by this. I'm an IR commercial pilot, certainly not ATP however.



Yes. I have two good friends who are my neighbors, one was an AA A300 pilot, the other is currently a United 777 pilot. I also have a family member who flies A320 series aircraft for an airline which I will not name. This family member has arranged for me to ride jumpseat on their flights a few times. I also have a good friend who used to work for both NASA and the NTSB. My grandfather was also a pilot, and I have two good friends who are Air Force pilots.

In addition, I am actually quite knowledgeable on accident investigation and previous accidents.

DL1141: pilots violated the sterile cockpit rule to converse with FAs during the pre-takeoff checklist and hence failed to properly configure the aircraft for takeoff resulting in a runway overrun on a clear, pleasant day.

DL5191: crew taxied to the incorrect runway and proceeded with the takeoff without a proper check of heading prior to departure, resulting in an overrun.

AA1420: due to a line of severe storms associated with a cold front, both the airline and crew decided to rush the flight out in order to beat the inclement weather. This did not happen and resulted in the crew attempting an arrival during a severe thunderstorm. While this decision did not cause the accident, and everything likely would have been fine had the crew properly armed the spoilers for landing, the sadly missed this important item causing an overrun.

AA965: crew failed to properly navigate an approach into Cali Colombia and also accidently left speedbrakes deployed throughout much of the approach. When the GPWS sounded to alert the crew to an imminent ground impact, a climb was attempted, however with deployed speedbrakes the aircraft could not climb at its proper rate resulting in a CFIT.

You can be as sensationalist as you like, but the reality is all pilots and all airlines can make mistakes. Based upon your logic no one should be flying AS as they failed to properly perform maintenance on an aircraft at one point resulting in a crash. Similarly AA should be avoided as well after failing to follow the proper maintenance procedure on an aircraft resulting in a major accident in Chicago.

You can twist things as much as you like to imply that US airlines are safer than many other reputable airlines around the world, however to use a blanket statement to imply reputable foreign airlines should be avoided because they are not as safe as US airlines is simply twisted sensationalism. There is no reason to imply an airline such as BA, CX, QF, SQ, LH, NH, QR, EK, etc. should be avoided in favor of AA/DL/UA on a basis of safety. Such implications are inaccurate, misleading, and hold no ground with rational individuals.

Now, if you meant to imply airlines such as SD, EP, JT, or YT should be avoided, you may have a point.