Question

Among fatal plane crashes that occurred during the past 70 ​years, 313 were due to pilot​ error, 77 were due to other human​ error, 349 were due to​ weather, 678 were due to mechanical​ problems, and 435 were due to sabotage. Construct the relative frequency distribution. What is the most serious threat to aviation​ safety, and can anything be done about​ it? Complete the relative frequency distribution below. Cause Relative Frequency Pilot error nothing​% Other human error nothing​% Weather nothing​% Mechanical problems nothing​% Sabotage nothing​%

Answer 1

We are asked to construct relative frequency distribution given the following data: 313 plane crashes were due to pilot error, 77 were due to other human error, 349 were due to weather, 678 were due to mechanical problems and 435 were due to sabotage.

Relative frequency is calculated by dividing the individual frequencies by the total frequency.

Cause	Frequency	Relative Frequency
Pilot error	313	0.169(313/1652) or 16.9%
Other human error	77	0.042(77/1652) or 4.2%
Weather	349	0.188(349/1652) or 18.8%
Mechanical problems	678	0.366(678/1652) or 36.6%
Sabotage	435	0.235(435/1652) or 23.5%
Total	1652	1.000

The most serious threat to aviation safety is the occurrence of mechanical problems since from our data out of all the other causes of fatal plane crashes, mechanical problems has the highest relative frequency. To avoid the occurrence of mechanical problems, maintenance checks on the plane parts should be done.