Usually when you're interviewing an aviation safety expert, it's because something bad has

happened, like a crash, a glitch, or a close call. And when you ask them, should Americans feel

safe flying, you almost always hear some version of this. So I still believe that the commercial

aviation safety in this country is safe.

I think you should not have any fears of this.

That's aviation safety consultant, Jeff Guzzetti, speaking with NPR earlier this month.

And if you still need convincing, here's David Grizzle.

He was chief operating officer and head of air traffic control for the FAA during the Obama administration. You heard him on this podcast two weeks ago.

I would not hesitate to fly anytime, anywhere, with my grandchildren. The system is safe. And they're right. Flying is safe, close to 200 times safer than driving per

mile traveled. But Grizzell's endorsement of air travel safety included a follow-up.

At the same time, the margin of safety is narrower than what it was 10 years ago.

We heard a similar sentiment from William McGee, a senior fellow for aviation and travel at the

American Economic Liberties Project.

I usually say, look, you know, statistically, this is still by far the safest form of

transportation and we need to put things in perspective.

But I will tell you that I myself am a little worried right now. There are many reasons for their concerns, a long-brewing shortage

of air traffic controllers, technology dating back as far as the 1980s, and decades of underfunding.

That's the backdrop for what happened in the skies above Newark Liberty International

Airport over the past month, a series of incidents in which air traffic controllers lost communications

or radar systems. One of them shared their story with NPR. Consider this. An air traffic controller who worked through one of the outages says the problems at Newark are self-inflicted.

How did the situation get this bad?

And what could fix it?

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