When we talk about airplanes these days, we talk mostly about luxuries. We talk about the fact that some airlines are starting to get in-flight Wi-Fi. We discuss the security hassles and changes that are taking place with getting on our planes. What we don’t talk about is the nuts and bolts of the airplane itself (or rather, the bearings and fasteners, as the case may be).

Despite the fact that aircraft components don’t make for the most compelling topic of conversation, they remain far more important than the luxuries and security checks that make up the bulk of our airplane chat. The fact of the matter is that you’re in just as much risk of death from faulty construction on an airplane as you are from a terrorist who may be riding with you.

Neither of these scenarios is likely to happen to the average person who is flying. But it’s interesting to note that equally risky aspects of flying get talked about with such varying degrees of human interest. Think about it; when was the last time that you were sitting on a plane and someone made an uneasy joke about the bearings being bad? And when was the last time that someone made a joke about terrorists?

The latter was probably far more recent because it’s a problem that’s caused our fears to grow. Of course, you shouldn’t start getting excessively paranoid that your plane is going to break down. It’s not likely. But you should remember that the things we talk about most aren’t necessarily the things that are most important to our daily function.

Technorati Tags: bearings, fasteners, aircraft components