The article “Airlines Should Weigh Passengers, Bags, NTSB Says” (USA Today , February 27, 2004) states that the National Transportation Safety Board recommended that airlines weigh passengers and their bags to prevent overloaded planes from attempting to take off. This recommendation was the result of an investigation into the crash of a small commuter plane in 2003, which determined that too much weight contributed to the crash.

Rather than weighing passengers, airlines currently use estimates of average passenger and luggage weights. After the 2003 accident, this estimate was increased by 10 lbs. for passengers and 5 lbs. for luggage. Although an airplane can fly if it is somewhat overweight if all systems are working properly, if one of the plane’s engines fails an overweight plane becomes difficult for the pilot to control. 

Assuming that the new estimate of the average passenger weight is accurate, discuss the following questions with a partner and then write a paragraph that answers these questions.

1. What role does variability in passenger weights play in creating a potentially dangerous situation for an airline?

2. Would an airline have a lower risk of a potentially dangerous situation if the variability in passenger weight is large or if it is small?