While several of my articles have touched on negligence or controversy in the world of aviation, they tend, in the end, to bolster its reputation for safety. Some people, eager for some whistleblowing or a sizzling expose, have been disappointed, expecting dirt but instead finding a pilot who ultimately asks the jaded traveler to extol, rather than revile, the experience of commercial flight, even as you're battling incipient thrombosis in 45J. As of yet, nobody from the Air Travelers Association has submitted an indignant protest to Salon, so maybe I'm on to something.
If you want to understand what inspires me, please go back and read Airplanes Don't Get No Respect. Nobody is paying me to parrot the industry's party line; the airlines have their lobbyists who can do that much more effectively than I can. If it seems I shy from the occasional opportunity to indict, it's because, with various asterisks, flying happens to be exactly as dependable as its advocates, this one included, have always maintained, and despite what David Stempler (see Air Travelers Association above) or anyone else leads you to think, neither the FAA nor the much maligned airlines are out to screw you or get you killed.
That said, I promised to indulge the morbid fascinations of some of you, and here goes. What follows is a list of the ten worst airplane crashes ever, with a short synopsis for each.
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