prettyproofer wrote:

I'd love to hear Patrick's take on Airbus models.

Airbuses are among the safest planes ever made. After 16 years of commercial service, this incident was the first concerning the A330 model involving passenger deaths.

Accidents will happen to all types of aircraft, but as Patrick keeps telling us, properly operated modern aircraft are all remarkably safe.

The article at http://airtravel.about.com/od/safetysecurity/qt/safestairplane.htm tells us:

The Safest Airplanes in the World - World's Safest Airplanes

By Arlene Fleming, About.com

What makes one airplane safer than another? Are certain airplanes better than others? For those who travel, knowing what types of aircraft are the safest to fly on may be a factor in choosing your flights.

Beyond the structure of an airplane, certainly maintenance of a plane is a huge factor regarding safety. An airline's safety record also comes into play, as an airline may have a similar fleet with other airlines, but a very different safety record from each other. And there are the uncontrollable factors - weather, bird strikes, or ground debris to name a few.

Declaring one type of aircraft the safest in the world is not a simple task. If all airlines had exactly the same maintenance standards, and flew in the same conditions, it would perhaps be easier to pinpoint. Looking at statistics of how many incidents and crashes a type of airplane has incurred is one way to assess safety.

Airsafe maintains a list of Fatal Event Rates for Selected Airliner Models. According to their statistics the 5 safest types of airplanes are: Airbus A330, Airbus A340, Boeing 777, Boeing 717, and Boeing 737 (600-900 series). No turboprops are included in the list.

prettyproofer continued:

Also, how can the French government be involved in the investigation of the crash, since it owns a 20 percent share in Air France?

How can the US justice department investigate US politicians, since they're all part of the same government?

A government consists of different entities, not all dependent on one another. It's quite a slur to say that France's accident investigation organisation can't be trusted to impartially investigate French airlines, state-owned or not.

And as iCowboy remarked:

Because the Bureau d'Enquêtes et d'Analyses pour la sécurité de l'Aviation Civile will not be investigating in isolation. Other European agencies will almost certainly supply staff and facilities and Airbus' other partners will want to know more. Also the NTSB will probably be brought in for expertise and because the plane used General Electric engines.

Kerry, we need to respond to Senator Specter's decision to join President Obama's efforts to change American into a European Welfare State.

Certainly, because obviously there is no worse fate for a country than to turn into a "European Welfare State".

I though I was relatively well-informed, but I'd never before heard that Portugal had decriminalised drugs.

If you dislike the cartoons, no one's forcing you to read them.

By the way, talking of repetitiveness, I think you've made your point fairly clear by now.

Like Tom The Bug, TV is highly repetitive, with simple jokes anyone can understand

Have you actually read any other TTDB comics? I doubt it.

For me, the first reference that sprang to mind wasn't Talking Heads, but the books of Philip K. Dick, where "reality" is often found to be a construction hiding something very bizarre indeed.

(For a good time, also check out Stanisław Lem's The Futurological Congress.)

Andrew, as far as I'm concerned, you've written so much interesting and informative stuff on, and about, How The World Works, that you're more than entitled to post the occasional more personal piece. And you tied it in nicely with the worldwide financial crisis, so that takes care of the wider significance anyway. :)

timbuktom writes:

Remember that aircraft stalls have nothing whatsoever to do with the engines. During all this stuff, engines can be functioning fully or totally out of service. Stalls involve airflow over and under the wings and airspeed.

Since stalls have something to do with airspeed, and since airspeed has something to do with engines — namely at what efficiency the engines are functioning, if at all — I would venture that stalls do indeed have something to do with engines.

Sheesh.

vanwebster writes:

Mr. Smith repeats an often used mis-statement that Bernoulli’s principal governs the flight of wings. While a properly designed wing uses Bernoulli’s principal to increase the efficiency of aircraft wings, wings fly due the resulting forces caused by the angle of attack of the chord of the wing on the oncoming air stream.

Mr. Smith actually wrote:

I'll be chided for a less than nuanced explanation, but truly that's the gist of it: Bernoulli's pressure differential, together with the simple, hands-out-the-window deflection of air molecules, provides the essential and indispensable component of flight: lift. Even a sheet of plywood will fly if there is enough power and the angle of attack is correct.

I think it's unfair to blame Mr. Smith for your lack of reading comprehension.

'Nuff said.

Salon is the wrong address for your criticism, saman65. It is one of the few mainstream media establishments that has been consistent in its (well-deserved) criticism of the Bush administration.

I'm a foreigner, but have been a paying subscriber of Salon since Salon Premium began, mostly to support its journalism.

Joan, you have a great magazine, and you've been consistently right, even while the mainstream US media was sunk in delusion. You have been a voice of sanity in the wilderness.

I have the perfect solution to the Israel/Palestinian conflict, one which will satisfy everyone's needs and grievances, and give the region lasting peace. Unfortunately, it is too long to fit within the size limit of letters to the editor.

You're whack.