17 BILLION COST OF FLIGHT DELAYS

I HAVE A VERY CLOSE RELATIVE WHO WORKS HARD EVERY DAY FOR A BIG AIRLINE AT A BIG AIRPORT AND IN HIS DEFENSE I'M WRITING THIS..THOSE 17 BILLION IN FLIGHT "DELAYS" ARE 80 % EQUIPMENT FAILURES (CAN'T DISCLOSETHEM ALL ..FAA) THAT ARE MECHANICS' OR PILOTS' DECISION TO HALT FLIGHT....PERHAPS THE FLYING PUBLIC WOULD RATHER TAKE OFF ON AN "UNSAFE" PLANE AND TAKE THEIR CHANCES..QUIT YER BITCHIN' ..SAFETY FIRST ..IF YOUR LATE..YOUR LATE BUT YOUR STILL ALIVE.. I'VE BEEN FLYING FOR 50 YEARS ON EVERY AIRLINE ..EVERYWHERE.. I'LL WAIT..BETTER SAFE THAN SORRY OR DEAD