Plane Crashes versus Mass Shootings

[kairos12]

FAA crash and mass shooting investigations often appear similar to me:

1. Both involve multiple investigating agencies.

2. Mass casualties are always present.

3. Survivors and first responders are often traumatized long after the event is over.

4. The site of the event is combed over for months after-wards.

5. Investigators want to know how it happened to prevent it from happening again.

How FAA investigations and Mass Shooting Investigations are different.

1. When the FAA finds a cause, faulty door latch, improper oxygen system, landing gear failure, etc. they identify and replace the part to a plane does not crash by the same cause again.

2. Mass shooting investigations search high and wide for a why, mental illness, video games, bullying, many different theories. The piece that is always found at a mass shooting is a FIREARM. OFTEN A FIREARM WITH A CAPACITY TO FIRE MANY ROUNDS IN A SHORT PERIOD OF TIME.

3. So, despite the 180 or so mass shootings since Columbine the defective part continues to be found at every scene.

4. We as a people would never accept a lobbying organization preventing the elimination of defective parts from an aircraft. Apparently, our politicians accept it when it comes to murdering our children.

[cali]

1. I don't think that this is useful comparison

[Jackpine Radical]

4. I think the OP's intention was to make a point, namely,

that we know at least one thing to do about mass killings, but we're unwilling to do it.

But I agree that it was a less-than-elegant way to frame the point.

[Pretzel_Warrior]

8. It's a GREAT comparison. It's like wringing hands and saying

Oh, the Gods must be angry instead of objectively analyzing root cause. The number and type of weapons of mass destruction in the hands of private citizens is a major reason that this happens in the U.S. but not other industrial societies.

[Recursion]

2. They're also both high-coverage, low-probability

Driving to the airport is much more dangerous than the flight you take from it, but that's not how we perceive it.

[99Forever]

3. Worth repeating:

"The piece that is always found at a mass shooting is a FIREARM. OFTEN A FIREARM WITH A CAPACITY TO FIRE MANY ROUNDS IN A SHORT PERIOD OF TIME."

[CakeGrrl]

5. Simple difference: To the NRA, the gun isn't the "defective" part; the shooter is.

And their faulty-logic solution to removing that defective part is to make sure others are armed to prevent that individual from killing.

[kairos12]

7. Miss the Point

Last edited Mon Dec 17, 2012, 07:45 PM - Edit history (1)

We would have as many plane crashes as mass shootings if, like with firearms, we lack the political will to do anything about the problem.

That would include the political will to make sure not everyone who wants a military grade weapon can get one.

[redwitch]

10. I think you have a good point.

For some reason Americans accept that mass shootings are unstoppable and so we do nothing. Maybe the Newtown massacre will change that? I sure as hell hope so. I am so sad and depressed about it. How in the world are the families and friends of these victims ever come to terms with their loss?

[kairos12]

12. Observation

I am also greatly saddened by this past week's events. Maybe I didn't make my point as well as I could have. It seems to me that civil aviation authorities do everything possible to make sure they are not combing through wreckage. If they can find the mechanic's wrench in the engine before the plane takes off we are sparred the site of the FAA combing through a disaster. It just seems like to me that we are endlessly combing through mass shooting sites without acquiring the political will necessary to prevent the next disaster. Close the gun show loop hole for example.

Enjoyed your post.

[Zoeisright]

11. You are fucking wrong.

The OP compared disasters, and how we react to them. After plane crashes, we learn and change. After gun massacres, nothing happens.

[LeftinOH]

9. Good points. We learn and change procedures after every plane crash. n/t