Some perspective:
On 9/11, 4 flights were hijacked. 246 people died in aircraft that day.
According to my calculations, in any given hour in the US, 225,250 are in the air.
I arrived at this by taking flights/day in the US, and then multiplying that by an average occupancy of 106.
So, even if you were IN THE AIR at the time of the 9/11 attacks, your chances of dying were
246 in 225,250
or .001
or 1 tenth of 1 percent.
I know this is precious little comfort for those who loved the ones who died, but it does put our airport and flight safety neurosis into perspective, IMO.
Call me crazy, but I'd rather go through a normal metal detector, sit in a big, comfy seat, and take those chances.
