December 17 is a historic day in aviation.
In 1903, 106 years ago, the Wright brothers made their first flight.
It was a monumental event then, but today their flight wouldn’t cover the distance from one wingtip on a Boeing 747 to the other.
Their feat was pretty amazing and we honor their achievement, but today’s modern airliners just aren’t Orville and Wilbur’s airplane anymore.
Modern commercial airplanes are technological miracles compared to the Wright Flyer. The most significant improvements that have made flying the safest way to travel on the planet have been made in engines, air traffic control, and the study of human factors–how to make aviation even safer by eliminating the human causes of accidents.
Speaking of safety and airplane crashes, did you know you have a better chance of being elected President of the United States than being killed in an airplane crash? And to achieve that statistical crash, you would have to fly once a day every day for 63,000 years.
While it’s tempting to feel more “in control” when driving in a car, facts say it just isn’t so.
So today we remember the Wright brothers for getting us started on our way to the safest and fastest way to travel.
