VOICES

* EDITOR’S NOTE: We asked passengers and employees at John Wayne Airport

about their thoughts following Sunday’s crash of EgyptAir Flight 990.

“I think everyone is very sad. My husband is an airline captain and my

daughter is a flight attendant. I think we are naturally more aware the

days following a major accident. We are on our toes because we don’t know

what happened. But we try to do everything right every day. The fear of

aviation accidents is something I live with every day. But it is what

they want to do.”

-- Betty Scott, security checkpoint supervisor at John Wayne Airport.

“Overall I still feel that flying is a safe way to travel.”

-- Tai Do, 27, whose girlfriend was flying to San Francisco on American

Airlines.

“This can happen anywhere. It’s just strange that it’s happened in that

geographic location three times now. You have JFK Jr., TWA 800 and now

EgyptAir 990. I have been flying with the same carrier for 16 years. I

have faith in the people in charge. You have to have faith, otherwise you

will be taking the bus.”

-- Edwin Berger, who was traveling from Venezuela on business.

“I guess working for the industry, I feel safe in the hands of the

Federal Aviation Administration. I also think the safest time to travel

is right after an airplane disaster. Everybody’s watching. All the

maintenance records are being looked at.”

-- Linda Johnson, customer service agent for Alaska Airlines.

“It was business as usual at JFK Airport. Unless I saw it on the news, I

wouldn’t have realized there was a crash.”

-- Jen Nassimos, 22, Costa Mesa, who arrived at LAX from New York. Her

United Airlines flight was delayed for more than an hour due to problems

with the plane’s fuel line and brakes.

“Nothing really changes because we do everything perfectly every day. We

take our jobs very seriously. Things have to be perfect. We have to have

feelings for the people who are flying. We have to treat every one of

them as if they are our brother or sister. But it hurts.”

-- Nilofar Malik, afternoon duty manager at the airport’s security check.