Americans are not the sveltest people on the planet, to put it kindly. And as it turns out, all that excess weight is not only dangerous to the individual who carries it — it’s dangerous to anyone who flies on a plane with them.
You see, the airlines have apparently been in denial about the true average weight of the flying public — and it may have actually caused at least one plane crash.
The actions were prompted by the January crash of a US Airways commuter plane in North Carolina that may have been within current weight limits but may still have been overloaded.
— snip —
Since 1995, most airlines have assumed a weight of 180 pounds for each adult passenger in summer and 185 pounds in winter; checked bags are assumed to weigh 25 pounds each.
180 pounds. Uh huh. Have ya been through a midwestern airport lately?*
*As a born and bred midwesterner, I am allowed to make snarky observations like this.