SEATTLE — The Federal Aviation Administration is investigating after a "possible fire" at Seattle-Tacoma International Airport on May 6. The FAA says a Delta aircraft was parked at the gate when a ground power unit may have caused a fire. It happened just a day before an Air France plane was diverted due to a technical issue.
Official public data sources do not track every air travel incident of this nature, and diversions can happen for many reasons, including weather and unruly passengers, so it is difficult to define any specific trends, but some experts say they haven't seen data indicating an increase.
Scott Hamilton is a founder and managing director of Leeham Company, LLC, which offers consulting, intelligence and analysis services within the aviation industry. He also writes an aviation blog and follows trends closely. He says he hasn't yet seen a data source showing a clear upward trend in air travel incidents; rather, he's seen more media coverage and social media amplification of events that had already been happening.
"These incidents get more attention through social media and with the internet being a 24/7 outlet, the media has to fill their web pages with content- and so they do," Hamilton said. "Quite frankly, right now, I think Boeing is getting an unfair, bad rap because you get incidents involving Boeing airplanes that have nothing to do with Boeing, the company; it just happens to be a Boeing airplane, it could be an Airbus airplane, but [when] its Boeing, Boeing gets a headline."
NBC News also examined safety-specific air travel incidents, finding a downward trend in fatal accidents and interviewing an expert who did not see a trend in more safety issues.
The FAA does track information on some specific types of incidents, including unruly passengers, and documents events it is investigating.