Apparently, drunken pilots and the lost-luggage lotto aren't enough travel worries for us to bear.

According to an article by the Associated Press, "NASA is withholding results from an unprecedented national survey of pilots that found safety problems like near collisions and runway interference occur far more frequently than the government previously recognized."

The article goes on to say that "NASA ordered the contractor that conducted the survey to purge all related data from its computers."

First, I don't know why NASA did this survey rather than the TSA or some independent organization, but that, I suppose, is beside the point. The real point is that the survey apparently uncovered some safety issues that they're now hiding from us. Issues like the fact that there are actually twice as many bird strikes and near mid-air collisions than are reported to the public.

The article suggests that NASA is anxious to avoid upsetting air travelers. Hence the censorship. Ignorance is bliss. And, in that ignorance, people will continue to buy airline tickets. And they dare to call this a democracy.

What it appears like, in this situation, is that NASA is being a whore to the air transportation industry. Keep us dumb and keep us flying.

Really makes you want to board a plane, doesn't it?

At this point, I think I'd rather walk.

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