Need any proof of how safe it is in 2021 to travel by air? At the same time the Apollo 15 moon mission was happening, the world was having an incredibly awful day when it comes to aviation.
On July 30, 1971, 155 passengers were killed when a Japanese airliner collided with a Japanese air force jet, and 37 paratroopers were killed when a transport plane being flown by the French air force crashed.
And while there were no fatalities, a Pan Am jet hit a lighting structure as it was taking off in San Francisco, leaving several passengers severely injured. That all happened in just one day.
Looking back 50 years can serve as a reminder of how much safer air travel has become. The last commercial airline crash in the United States happened in 2009, and they have become increasingly rare in other parts of the world, too.
The features that now make air travel so safe were, unfortunately, acquired through trial and error.
But the old saying is more true than ever -- the most dangerous part of a trip on a plane is the drive to the airport.