<P> On manned aircraft, cockpit instruments provide information to the pilots, including flight data, engine output, navigation, communications and other aircraft systems that may be installed . </P> <P> When risk is measured by deaths per passenger kilometer, air travel is approximately 10 times safer than travel by bus or rail . However, when using the deaths per journey statistic, air travel is significantly more dangerous than car, rail, or bus travel . Air travel insurance is relatively expensive for this reason--insurers generally use the deaths per journey statistic . There is a significant difference between the safety of airliners and that of smaller private planes, with the per - mile statistic indicating that airliners are 8.3 times safer than smaller planes . </P>

Where did the idea of airplanes come from