Originally Posted by
FrequentHopper
It is NOT the place of the airlines and their management to determine what "safe" is -- it's the job of the FAA. Airlines that knowingly violate the law by flying planes that are noncompliant with safety regulations should be fined. Airlines that conduct egregious violations ala Southwest should be shut down and their senior management imprisoned for violation of the safety regulations.
With this I most strenuously disagree. It may be because of my political persuasion, but I've never believed that a government agency knows better. Never. Not the FAA, not the FDA, not the TSA. None of them.
When airplanes crash and people die due to airline negligence, their liability is measured in the hundreds of millions of dollars. Airline execs are (IMO) far too greedy to permit survivors of dead passengers to hit this kind of lottery, so they have a very real incentive to keep air travel safe. What's the FAA's incentive?
In addition to airline maintenance personnel, airplane manufacturers are the real experts at determining what "safe" is, IMO.
Additionally, pilots don't want to fly (and will refuse to knowingly fly) unsafe aircraft. They don't want to die.
The FAA knows best and should be the ones to protect us? Nope. I trust airline management far more than bureaucrats. YMMV.