I used to say something similar, but then someone challenged me to listen to all the ATC conversations, so I did. There are literally thousands of mayday's and

I used to say something similar, but then someone challenged me to listen to all the ATC conversations, so I did. There are literally thousands of mayday's and pan-pans called every year, many that come dangerously close to a crash. The passengers rarely even know something is going horribly wrong. It seems those planes are really old and falling apart. At least, that is the perception I take away. I am really impressed with the flight crews ability to work as a team to get the thing on the ground upright most of the time while remaining calm on the radio. Don't get me wrong, I love flying and plan to get my pilots license some day. I am just not a fan of the aging fleet and very dated technology.