Matt Whiting wrote:

As I recall, the pinto and others had the tank behind the rear axle
where it was susceptible to a rear-end collision.

Every Ford auto from the Model-A through at least the 70s had the gas tank in that
location. Most other cars did too. The problem with the Pinto is that the rear axle
housing was designed in such a way that it could easily puncture the tank in a
rear-end. And Ford was aware of this. And Ford deliberately decided to do nothing
about it because it would cost a few dollars more per car to build a safe housing.
And someone leaked the memos about that.

Airplanes don't hit
tail first very often and don't get rear-ended all that often either.

And airplanes *really* hate having several hundred pounds of weight located around
the tail.

George Patterson
In Idaho, tossing a rattlesnake into a crowded room is felony assault.
In Tennessee, it's evangelism.