Saw the comments about flying being safe. Depends on your definiton of
safe.
General aviation (typically small planes) lose about one person per 60,000
flite hours.
If you assume an average airspeed of 100 mph, you come out with a significant-
ly higher fatality rate per mile than for autos.
Night flying is much more dangerous than day flying. Same holds true for
driving cars.
Flying in bad weather has a bad safety record, especially for pilots not
rated to fly in bad weather.
The scheduled air carrier in the USA are a different story. They have
demonstrated safety that is better than the automobile. I am not up to
speed about the safety records in other countries so will not comment.
In general avaiation flying, when flying with an instructor (if I remember
correctly) it is about twice as safe as the number for the overal general
aviation category.
Corporate flying, which is also part of genereal aviation, tends to be
safer.
As for horseback riding, I have not seen a good set of statistics. Not
only do I not know how many yearly (annual :-) ) deaths and/or injuries
there are, I do not know how many riders there are or how many h9ours
or miles are ridden per year.
Rather difficult/challenging to even begin a comparision without that.
Even with it, it will be difficult because I can already hear the remarks
about not comparing apples to oranges, etc.
Just as an interesting sidelight that points to the underlying paradox of
safety: Why in California are motorcycle allowed to bypass the freeway
on ramp traffic control lights (just like car pool vehicles) when in fact
the safety record for motorcycles (based on my understanding from various
sources/inputs) is atrocious. Save a little fuel and help the energy
crisis of the 1970's and its aftermath and increase your chances of ending
up in the hospital or the morgue.
Love the irrational behavior of us humans. NOT. (NO wonder so many
ahhhh never mind. :-(
Joe jpu@kaiwan.com