Among fatal plane crashes that occurred during the past 55 years, 415 were due to pilot error, 96 were due to other human error, 169 were due to weather, 622 were due to mechanical problems, and 68 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?

[tex]\text{Pilot error}=415/1370=0.30\\\\\text{Other human error}=96/1370=0.07\\\\\text{Weather}=169/1370=0.12\\\\\text{Mechanical problems}=622/1370=0.45\\\\\text{Sabotage}=68/1370=0.05\\\\[/tex]

The most serious threat to aviation safety is, according to this data, "mechanical failures". It can be improved by more rigorous inspection and better maintenance policies and execution.

Step-by-step explanation:

We have the data for fatal plane crashes. The sum of plane crashes is

We can calculate the relative frequency as:

[tex]\text{Pilot error}=415/1370=0.30\\\\\text{Other human error}=96/1370=0.07\\\\\text{Weather}=169/1370=0.12\\\\\text{Mechanical problems}=622/1370=0.45\\\\\text{Sabotage}=68/1370=0.05\\\\[/tex]

We can see that the most frequent cause is "mechanical problems", with a relative frequency of 0.45.