The Nation: The Constant Quest for Safety

Could it happen again? Could two jetliners collide on another runway and produce a catastrophe to match the one that exploded at Tenerife? The experts will never say "Never," but the chances of such a recurrence are reassuringly slim. Tenerife was a freak accident at a minor airport, brought about by a chain of incidents, coincidences and human failures that are unlikely to occur again. As John McLucas, the outgoing head of the Federal Aviation Administration, told TIME Aviation Correspondent Jerry Hannifin, "We cannot say that it's...

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