Week 9 Eleni Pallotta

I have a bit of an odd topic that I would study if I were to undergo research on a specific artifact.  I would choose to study the commercial transport aircraft: Boeing 747.  Specifically, I would research the history of the aircraft and how technological innovations have changed the safety features of the aircraft since they were first produced.  Despite how random this question is, it stems from my fear of airplanes and my fear of flying.  Although I know it is extremely unlikely that anything would go wrong during a flight, the thought of me plummeting from the sky halfway to Italy during my trip to Europe this summer always lingers in the back of my mind.  I feel that if I knew more about the aircraft, its history of safety features, and how the safety features have been modified over time, I would likely be (somewhat) less afraid of stepping onto one of them.  I don't think it is obvious for flyers to know all the safety features of the aircraft so studying it would align with Winner's argument regarding the study of artifacts as mentioned in Alan's post for this week.

(Retrieved from http://www.boeing.com/commercial/747/)