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In the United States, guns kill about 80 people a day, while approximately the same number perish in automobile accidents. Cars and guns kill one or two people at a time in frequent, randomly distributed incidents. Ordinary disasters, all of them, often seen as neither particularly noteworthy nor newsworthy.

But horrific massacres are different, spurring calls for serious regulatory reform.

In the 1950s and early '60s, five or six passenger airliners crashed in the United States every year, with grisly and well-publicized results. So dangerous was airline travel perceived to be that aircraft manufacturers, airline companies and government regulators worked together for decades to improve safety. Their task was made easier by public opinion.

Planes weren't love objects like cars or guns, with enthusiast groups wanting more danger, not less. Few wanted to fly in fast but crash-prone planes, like the ill-fated de Havilland Comet. Planes didn't have to look cool — they just had to be safe and functional.

Today, flying a domestic airliner is safer than any other form of transportation. There were no crashes in 2011 or 2012. The last fatal crash in Colorado occurred on March 3, 1991, when United Airlines Flight 585 crashed near Widefield, killing all 25 passengers and crew....

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