Knowledge from disaster.

Taking to the skies has only been possible for a bit over 100 years, but there are always risks associated with doing so. From some of the most terrible crashes we have gained increasing knowledge from these disasters. Immediately after the war the pilots that were employed had been much more individualistic in their attitude, less a team player. However this didn't work well in commercial airlines as it created serious tensions. The 'right stuff' as it was refereed to in WW2 was not the 'right stuff' in the post war years. United Airlines were the first to introduce psychologist in the recruitment and training of pilots and all crew members. This had a very beneficial effect and other airlines followed suit. Looking at the safety procedures also was important and the way passengers behaved immediately before a crash. Today flying is relatively safe when you consider the aircraft is zooming through the skies at about 500 mph at an altitude of 35,000 feet - its pretty amazing there are not more disasters. See a wonderful programme about this on BBC4  Impact! A Horizon Guide to Plane Crashes.