I can’t remember a time we had this many plane crashes in a seemingly short period of time. Could be the advent of social media and the 24-hour news cycle that ensures everything and anything gets reported on, which wasn’t the case say 20 or 30 years ago but still, you get an uneasy feeling that air travel is not as safe as experts want us to believe.

While enormous measures have been undertaken to limit risks and calamities, the sad and scary truth is that there is no guarantee that when you board a plane, anywhere in the world, you will make it to your destination safe and sound. 

Perhaps more alarming is the ease with which planes are being targeted by terrorists. We only used to watch this kind of thing in the movies and to think that it is actually happening now is terrifying. 

Last year in July, a Malaysia Airlines Flight MH17 crashed in eastern Ukraine after being hit by a Russian-made missile. 283 passengers, most of whom were Dutch nationals were killed. Reports suggested that at least 80 children were among the dead, including three siblings who were going on holiday with their grandfather. 

We’re now hearing about another crash in Egypt’s Sinai Peninsular which also appears to have been targeted by terrorists although Egyptian and Russian authorities have been reluctant to admit so, even after ISIS-affiliated militants claimed they launched the attack to "punish” Russia for getting involved in the Syrian conflict. 

As with Malaysia Flight MH17, there were no survivors from the 224 tourists who were on board. Every time a plane crashes, I ponder what I would do if God forbid I ended up on a doomed flight. 

Would I cry, scream, pray or just close my eyes and wait for my death? Would I even have enough time to think?

Those thoughts always leave me feeling depressed and angry that somewhere out there, a bunch of criminals get together and plan their next attack on unsuspecting innocent people they obviously don’t know or even care about. 

Amazingly, some people survive plane crashes, only a handful but some nonetheless. 

Cars have airbags and I wish planes had the equivalent too, to shield passengers, since planes almost always end up on the ground and it’s the sheer force of hitting the ground too fast that kills most people. I’ve always said I’d carry a parachute and at the first sign of trouble, jump out of the plane to safety but with a bomb or missile attack, you probably wouldn’t even be able to locate your parachute. 

Remember that advise to shelter under a solid surface or item, for example a table during an earthquake or building collapse? Well it wouldn’t work for flights under attack. I believe there are several geniuses out there who can figure out ways to keep not just the planes but passengers safe as well from these kinds of attacks. 

The hard part was getting planes to fly. Surely, devising means to keep them there can’t be that difficult! Come on all you smart people!