B747 safety
Statistics such as Kalitta having lost 12.5% of their fleet this year are meaningless. If they had operated only two B747's they would have lost 100% of their fleet. Dan Winterland says "Many takeoffs he conducted in B747 Freighters were at MTOW or close. It is no surprise that overruns are a common theme"
Sorry Dan, I have operated on many flights at or very near to MTOW, both Pax and Cargo. It doesn't matter whether the flight is a Pax or Cargo flight, if the Takeoff Performance Data is valid there is no reason one should be more likely to suffer an overrun than the other. Most overruns I am aware of have been the result of attempts to abort after V1 or too slow to implement the abort close to V1. Some result due to other pilot errors as is the case with most landing overruns, eg QF in Bangkok. As for the age of the aircraft being of concern, this should not be so. With proper ongoing maintenance any aircraft should have as long in service as is financially viable for the operator. The RAAF C130H has been in service for over 29 years and been subjected to much harsher operating conditions than most civil freighters, many more cycles too. The fact that they receive first class maintenance is evidenced by their longevity and the fact that in 50 years of C130 operations the RAAF has never lost an aircraft is testament to the skill of the aircrew flying them. Some other operators have suffered losses, but that does not mean the C130 is an unsafe aircraft. Same goes for the B747.