Dropping like flies

Another commercial airline dropped off the radar between Burkina-Faso and Algiers last night.  Along with the two Malaysian Airlines flights so far this year, that makes 3 large commercial flights downed in various circumstances.  That take the gloss off the oft heard claim it is safer to fly than to drive a car.  It probably still remains true, but the increasing number of brushfire wars around the world and the sophisticated armaments possessed by the combatants are certainly making the choice of routes for airliners a far more difficult decision than in previous years.  I have rarely flown outside US airspace and then only to Canada and Mexico, but if I were to take an international flight near a third world hotspot, I would definitely update my life insurance policies.