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"Nothing hampers the progress of civil aviation more than fear," says Jeremiah Dempsey, general manager of Ireland's Aer Lingus. The other side of the equation is that, as planes become safer, more people will become less fearful and will fly. Since 1962, the proportion of Americans who have been up in a plane has climbed from 33% to 38% . But as more people fly, the casualty toll will climb too—unless the one-in-a-million chance of accident can be cut still lower.
Everyone—airline officials, pilots, Government regulators, airport chiefs—will have to work toward reducing the possibility of error as the planes grow to take on larger loads. Douglas is already test-flying an expanded DC-8 that can carry 250 people; Boeing plans soon to start building a 500-passenger 747; and Lockheed intends to market a 700-seat commercial version of the C-5A in the early 1970s. Saving just one of those planes would easily save $10 million worth of airplane and a priceless amount of humanity—which would make almost any effort to improve an already excellent safety record a worthwhile investment.