Amazing how a thread can go off the rails in only a few hours from the initial post ... and, invariably, when I am tucked up in bed and not keeping an eye on things ..
The discussion has the potential to be of value if we, as practitioners, maintain a rational environment ... the Passenger, in respect of his/her anxieties, is the tip of the iceberg in that many customers have an intrinsic (if often irrational) fear of flying ...
Points to note ..
(a) the views held by passengers (who are not expert) may vary enormously but are pertinent as they (the passengers) pay a significant part of the bill for running the aircraft which our flying folk operate. It is not unreasonable that we consider those concerns. This present thread is not much different in philosophy to the situation arising for any non-expert person dealing with matters which are conducive to anxiety ... how many of us (having little expertise in surgical practices) are really comfortable in hospital as the mask comes down over the face .. ? Same story, different scenario ...
(b) none of us has all the answers.
(c) if any poster (passenger or crew) puts a view which is considered to be "wrong" then, by all means, speak to the topic .. but keep in mind that, in this forum, we play the ball ... not the player.
(d) for the Passenger, neither the Industry nor the practitioners are faultless and this is equally valid in any area of human endeavour. However, the demonstrable risk is very low. With regard to your first post, competent published statistics make it clear that, generally (while acknowledging that one can tweak the numbers to support this case or that), one is at lower risk in the average airliner than the average car .. I, for one, am far more nervous on the road than in the air ...
(e) considering the mistakes made by an airline, crewmember ... whoever ... the frequency of a consequential incident is quite low (if you like, the incidence of detecting and correcting errors is high .. this is the underlying principle of the QA systems within which we operate) and the frequency of a resulting accident is extremely low. Overall, the risk level of airline flying for the customer is way down there in the weeds, regardless of whatever prejudice any individual customer may exhibit.
More importantly, this Industry directs a lot of effort toward learning from mistakes to reduce the incidence of similar mistakes in future ...
It is just unfortunate that some Industries (nuclear and aviation, in particular) attract an intrinsically high anxiety level in the general public ....
(f) it has been observed that the pilots are "the first to arrive at the scene of the crash" .. therefore it is quite reasonable to presume that the piloting fraternity has a very earnest and real vested interest in keeping the risks down and safety up ...
(g) in respect of fines .. it is likely that the Passenger is unaware of how the FAA often does business. Further, anyone who gives undue and uncritical credence to that which is reported in the popular press is likely to be mislead to a greater or lesser extent..
(h) the Passenger or anyone else, for that matter, is perfectly entitled to choose with which carrier he/she will/won't fly .. there ought to be no concern with such a view ... surely ?
The upshot is that, if the tone of this thread doesn't improve rapidly, I will either padlock it or move it to a forum where this sort of undisciplined banter is more appropriate.