"Phil" wrote

I know you're only half serious,

Yep, only half, until you really start to think about it.

but yes, that would have to be
considered. That's a risk in hybrid autos as well. EMTs and
firefighters are taking special training to handle the wrecks of these
cars. And the gasoline we use for our current airplanes poses the
risk of incinerating the occupants in a crash. I am not sure that an
electric plane would actually pose more risk.

I think there is a higher risk, perhaps by many times.

Ever seen a LiPo Battery have a catestrophic failure? One of the primary
ways a LiPo can be caused to fail in that way is physical damage. Ask the
electric RC guys. Most of them would never think of putting even a slightly
physically damaged LiPo back into service, unless it was a really cheap
plane that they wanted to see destroyed.

Now imagine a battery many thousands (or even a few hundred) times larger,
and larger capacity to match.

I'll take my chances with the gasoline fire, thanks, ANY day. That speaks
nothing of the chance of electrocution, or chemical burns or injury due to
the cell's chemestry.

I would think that the
increased reliability of the propulsion system would decrease the risk
overall. How many people are killed every year in crashes caused by
engine failures?

How much more reliable is an electric of that size ( to run a decent sized
airplane with decent performance) and power going to be, especially if it is
designed with lightness as a major design consideration? That remains yet
to be seen.

OK, even if we give the electric a given reliability superiority, that is
not going to save all that many lives. Most power failures in I.C. powered
airplanes are not that big of deal, and many times never even reported. Far
more die due to stupid pilot tricks (a broad spectrum category to lump a
bunch of other things together) than loss of power.

Nope, lots of problems to consider before we start considering an electric
aircraft. Lots more than we can maybe even consider, at the moment, even if
we were to figure out a way to make a practical airplane electric powered,
don't you think?
--
Jim in NC