What is it about plane crashes?

While reading BBC news today, one of their most read stories is about a plane crash that killed 14 people off the coast of Moorea (link here). While certainly a tragedy, and important to the people involved, I don’t understand why it is that these sort of stories get so much press. As an example of what I mean, we never hear about fatal car crashes, yet according to the statistics here, 116 people on average die every day in the United States alone.

Perhaps it’s the rarity that captivates us… far fewer planes crash than cars. Perhaps it’s the fact that more people die in an individual crash, and so they’re easier to report on. My thoughts on the matter, however, are different. In my opinion, what scares people about a plane crashing, and therefore captivates our attention when someone does, is the lack of control.

In a car crash, people think they’re at least somewhat in control of what happens. This isn’t always true, but the illusion of control is always there, as the driver can generally at least control the actions of their own vehicle. In a plane crash,  there is only one pilot and many passengers, and most of the people reading the news aren’t pilots. When we hear about a car accident, as most of us drive, we think about how we could have avoided it. Yet there’s no good way for any non-pilot to avoid a plane crash.

Feel free to comment about other theories, if you have any ^^.

~ by akerasi on 9 August, 2007.