After the Crash: The Passenger Response to the DC-10 Disaster

Through the analysis of CAB market-share data, an attempt is made to estimate the extent to which fears arising from the Chicago DC-10 crash displaced passenger traffic onto other kinds of aircraft. Factors that could distort simple “before-after” comparisons are discussed and a procedure to correct for them is proposed. The results suggest that, less than a year after the accident, there was no detectable resistance to flying the DC-10.