Abstract The author of this paper shows that despite the publicity surrounding accidents involving aircraft, air travel remains one of the safest modes of travel. The paper investigates all the issues involved in ensuring the safety of air travelers, including the FAA, aircraft technology and instrumentation. The author also mentions an adoption of more stringent in-flight security standards after September 11.
From the Paper "The companies that manufacture airplanes also carry on continuous and intensive R & D. Boeing has resumed "very in-depth" Sonic Cruiser experiments, which were put on hold due to the September 11th attack. The aircraft industry is involved in constant design changes and different material utilization to improve the performance of aircrafts (Broderick, 2002). While advantages introduced by the Sonic Cruiser's could be used in today's current air traffic environment, more advanced ATC procedures or special flight-path considerations will be needed to have the plane perform as advertised closer to the ground. The planes equipped with the sonic cruisers, fast cruise speeds would be realistic today, because it will cruise at 45,000 feet and above, higher than any subsonic airliner."