Question

Among fatal plane crashes that occurred during the past 55 ​years, 415 were due to pilot​ error, 96 were due to other human​ error, 169 were due to​ weather, 622 were due to mechanical​ problems, and 68 were due to sabotage. Construct the relative frequency distribution. What is the most serious threat to aviation​ safety, and can anything be done about​ it?

Answer 1

Relative frequency:

`\text{Pilot error}=415/1370=0.30\\\\\text{Other human error}=96/1370=0.07\\\\\text{Weather}=169/1370=0.12\\\\\text{Mechanical problems}=622/1370=0.45\\\\\text{Sabotage}=68/1370=0.05\\\\`

The most serious threat to aviation safety is, according to this data, "mechanical failures". It can be improved by more rigorous inspection and better maintenance policies and execution.

Explanation:

We have the data for fatal plane crashes. The sum of plane crashes is

We can calculate the relative frequency as:

`\text{Pilot error}=415/1370=0.30\\\\\text{Other human error}=96/1370=0.07\\\\\text{Weather}=169/1370=0.12\\\\\text{Mechanical problems}=622/1370=0.45\\\\\text{Sabotage}=68/1370=0.05\\\\`

We can see that the most frequent cause is "mechanical problems", with a relative frequency of 0.45.