When a passenger jet roaring down the runway toward takeoff at New York’s LaGuardia Airport had to slam on the brakes earlier this month because another plane was still on the runway, Renee Hoffer and all the other passengers were thrown forward in their seats.
Hoffer wound up in the emergency room the next day after the near miss on May 6 because her neck started hurting and her left arm went numb.
“The stop was as hard as any car accident I’ve been in,” Hoffer said.
Slight quibble. Airlines are pushing to upgrade the technology that we use to manage our air space so that we can get more throughput on the runways safely.
They don’t worry quite so much about bloodying your nose, killing your dog, or destroying your guitar but they do not fuck around with capital S Safety (see Valujet) and you can only consolidate so much before your main competition for takeoffs is you, and the limitations of the system you are working in.
Cynical? Yes. Does our air traffic technology still need a massive upgrade even to maintain the status quo? Also yes.