Well it looks like safety (or the lack thereof) is the topic of the day around here and with all the hand wringing about how doomed we all are I feel like something is being completely overlooked. When evaluating my chances of being killed in my airplane I examine what type of flying I'm involved. That is to say, I take all the crashes in recent memory, subtract out the ones involving dip****s not checking weather at all and flying straight into IMC without training, low level acro, close formation in super high powered warbirds, zero margin of error airshow performances, completely ignoring indications of an ailing engine, intentional scud running, and a few other categories that I can't think of just now. What I'm left with is a group that, in my opinion, has an acceptable safety record. Looking at all aviation accidents together is like lumping unlimited hydroplane racing in with canoing on freakin' Golden Pond. Let's keep our heads here so that we don't scare our families, friends, congressmen, etc.