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119 Aviation Safety Essay Topic Ideas & Examples

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Aviation safety is a critical aspect of the aviation industry. With millions of people flying every day, ensuring the safety of passengers, crew, and aircraft is of utmost importance. If you are a student studying aviation or looking to explore this field further, you may be tasked with writing an essay on aviation safety. To help you get started, here are 119 aviation safety essay topic ideas and examples that cover a wide range of aspects related to this subject:

• The importance of aviation safety in the modern world.
• The evolution of aviation safety standards over the years.
• The role of technology in enhancing aviation safety.
• How flight simulators contribute to aviation safety training.
• The impact of human factors on aviation safety.
• Analyzing the causes of aviation accidents and their prevention.
• The role of air traffic control in ensuring aviation safety.
• The influence of weather conditions on aviation safety.
• The significance of crew resource management in aviation safety.
• The challenges of maintaining aviation safety in developing countries.
• The role of fatigue management in preventing aviation accidents.
• The impact of automation on aviation safety.
• The role of regulatory bodies in ensuring aviation safety.
• The importance of effective communication in aviation safety.
• The role of maintenance and inspections in aviation safety.
• The impact of terrorism on aviation safety.
• The influence of pilot training programs on aviation safety.
• The role of safety culture in aviation organizations.
• The challenges of managing emergencies and crisis situations in aviation.
• The impact of bird strikes on aviation safety.
• The role of accident investigation in improving aviation safety.
• Analyzing the effectiveness of safety management systems in aviation.
• The impact of runway incursions on aviation safety.
• The role of airlines in promoting aviation safety.
• The significance of airworthiness certification in ensuring aviation safety.
• The challenges of managing air traffic congestion and its impact on safety.
• The role of fatigue risk management systems in aviation safety.
• The impact of aging aircraft on aviation safety.
• The importance of pilot mental health in aviation safety.
• The role of safety audits in maintaining aviation safety standards.
• The significance of cabin crew training in aviation safety.
• The challenges of managing wildlife hazards in aviation.
• The impact of pilot error on aviation safety.
• The role of safety reporting systems in improving aviation safety.
• The influence of airworthiness directives on aviation safety.
• The significance of safety data analysis in identifying potential risks.
• The challenges of managing runway excursions and their prevention.
• The impact of airworthiness inspections on aviation safety.
• The role of safety management software in aviation organizations.
• The importance of emergency response planning in aviation safety.
• The significance of safety culture surveys in assessing organizational safety.
• The challenges of managing fatigue in long-haul flights.
• The impact of runway conditions on aviation safety.
• The role of safety training programs in aviation organizations.
• The influence of weather forecasting on aviation safety.
• The significance of pilot decision-making in aviation safety.
• The challenges of managing pilot fatigue in a 24/7 operation.
• The impact of cockpit resource management on aviation safety.
• The role of safety inspections in preventing maintenance-related accidents.
• The importance of safety briefings for passengers in aviation.
• The significance of air traffic flow management in aviation safety.
• The challenges of managing pilot distractions and their impact on safety.
• The impact of automation dependency on aviation safety.
• The role of safety culture assessments in improving organizational safety.
• The influence of runway lighting on aviation safety.
• The significance of safety management training for aviation professionals.
• The challenges of managing foreign object debris on runways.
• The impact of weather-related diversions on aviation safety.
• The role of safety risk assessments in aviation organizations.
• The importance of runway incursion prevention programs.
• The significance of safety reporting culture in aviation organizations.
• The challenges of managing pilot workload and its impact on safety.
• The impact of communication breakdowns on aviation safety.
• The role of safety management committees in aviation organizations.
• The influence of air traffic control automation on aviation safety.
• The significance of safety audits for maintenance facilities.
• The challenges of managing fatigue in multi-crew operations.
• The impact of runway friction measurements on aviation safety.
• The role of safety management software in incident reporting and analysis.
• The importance of effective emergency evacuations in aviation.
• The significance of safety promotion campaigns in aviation organizations.
• The challenges of managing pilot complacency and its impact on safety.
• The impact of aircraft maintenance errors on aviation safety.
• The role of safety data collection systems in identifying trends and risks.
• The influence of runway surface conditions on aviation safety.
• The significance of safety management training for air traffic controllers.
• The challenges of managing in-flight medical emergencies in aviation.
• The importance of wildlife hazard management plans in aviation.
• The role of safety management systems in general aviation.
• The impact of runway overruns on aviation safety.
• The significance of safety climate surveys in evaluating organizational safety.
• The challenges of managing pilot distractions caused by electronic devices.
• The influence of automation failures on aviation safety.
• The role of safety audits in airport operations.
• The importance of effective emergency response coordination in aviation.
• The significance of safety culture assessments in air traffic control facilities.
• The challenges of managing pilot decision-making during emergencies.
• The impact of human error on aviation safety.
• The role of safety management software in documenting safety processes.
• The influence of runway grooving on aviation safety.
• The significance of safety management training for cabin crew members.
• The challenges of managing pilot proficiency and its impact on safety.
• The impact of maintenance-related incidents on aviation safety.
• The role of safety data analysis in identifying hidden risks in aviation.
• The importance of effective fire and rescue services in aviation.
• The significance of safety promotion campaigns in air traffic control facilities.
• The challenges of managing pilot situational awareness and its impact on safety.
• The impact of communication failures between pilots and air traffic controllers.
• The role of safety audits in airline operations.
• The importance of effective passenger evacuation procedures in aviation.
• The significance of safety culture assessments in maintenance facilities.
• The challenges of managing pilot error during critical phases of flight.
• The influence of automation reliance on aviation safety.
• The role of safety management systems in helicopter operations.
• The impact of runway contamination on aviation safety.
• The significance of safety management training for ground handling personnel.
• The challenges of managing pilot complacency during routine flights.
• The importance of aircraft inspection procedures in aviation.
• The role of safety data collection systems in proactive risk management.
• The influence of runway lighting design on aviation safety.
• The significance of safety climate surveys in evaluating air traffic control facilities.
• The challenges of managing pilot fatigue in regional airline operations.
• The impact of maintenance-related errors on aviation safety.
• The role of safety management software in trend analysis and forecasting.
• The importance of effective cabin crew training in aviation.
• The significance of safety promotion campaigns in maintenance facilities.
• The challenges of managing pilot distractions caused by personal issues.
• The influence of automation malfunctions on aviation safety.
• The role of safety audits in flight training organizations.

These essay topic ideas provide a comprehensive range of areas within aviation safety that can be explored and analyzed. Whether you are interested in the technical aspects, human factors, or operational challenges, these topics offer a starting point for your research and discussions. Remember to choose a topic that aligns with your interests and allows you to delve deeper into your chosen aspect of aviation safety.

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Aviation Safety | Importance & Strategy

Aviation safety is a fundamental objective of the International Civil Aviation Organisation ( ICAO ). ICAO is constantly working in close collaboration with the entire air transport community, to further improve aviation safety and standard .

In this article, I’ll guide you through everything you need to know about Aviation Safety. I’ll cover :

Why Aviation Safety is so important

What is aviation safety, importance of safety in aviation, safety improvement, aircraft design consideration, new technology to enhance safety, strategy to maintain safety in aviation, risk management, hazard reporting.

To keep passengers and flight crew safe while flying, Safety always comes first. Aviation safety is important because there are lives involved in every operation of aircraft.

Safety must be the number one priority for any airline in all aspects of air transportation. Due to poor safety management in aviation not only damages associated with a single airplane crash but the loss of much valuable human life.

Aviation safety is a step towards the prevention of accidents and incidents in the aviation industry. In other words, we can say “Safety is no accident”. In fact, an accident or incident is rarely by accident. It betrays many telltale signs during its building upstages that can be easily identified for timely intervention.

An accident is seldom the direct result of a single failure. Invariably, it is the coming together of various causal factors that stack up sequentially and converge into a single point in time, where the last trigger results in the overlap of all failed barriers.

It is usually, an instance of a single error or oversight, that finds unobstructed passage through a string of absent, ineffective, or failed barriers. The idea is to break the link in the chain leading to an undesirable and unsafe outcome.

Safety is of paramount importance, wherever humans are involved be it home, workplace, or in a vehicle.

In aviation, safety determines the very existence of the industry. Aviation is a complex business and involves the participation of people in more spheres than one.

From the manufacturer, maintenance, ground support, ATC, inflight to the flight crew, and even passengers, every agency plays a role in the safe take off to landing of every flight. This is achieved through an intricate network of procedures that prevent errors and omissions as well as processes that are in place to capture such lapses. People are working around equipment and in conditions that themselves have potential as hazards. This safety entails not only the safe operation of aircraft but also the safety and well being of personnel involved behind the scenes.

Aviation safety is continuously improving. This is made possible by sharing the knowledge of manufacturers, operators, and regulators.

Aviation safety has improved by the collaborative approach of the organizations that are involved in designing and production of aircraft and its equipment, oversight of regulatory requirements, operation of aircraft, Air Traffic Control, and infrastructure of the airport.

This collaborative approach is more effective than regulatory action alone because this continuously advances safety in all aspects of the global air transport system.

Identifying safety risks and introducing the best practices is an all-in-one solution to improve aviation safety.

Safety is the primary consideration while designing an aircraft. Every aircraft systems vital to the safe operation of an airplane has a backup and more than one backup in some cases. For example, an airplane equipped with twin-engine is designed to safely take off, fly, and land even if one engine fails.

The extra margin of protection is also considered while designing an airplane to allow the pilot to safely exceed the limit in case of an extraordinary emergency situation.

Airplanes are rigorously tested by manufacturers in order to ensure they meet or exceed design standards and certification requirements.

Apart from airplane equipment and technology, manufacturers study and apply human factors to the design of commercial airplanes.

New safety-enhancing technology has been developed through research, development, and collaboration. These developed sophisticated technologies have helped to improve aviation safety and provide distinct safety advantages.

Glass cockpit, FLY-BY-WIRE , Terrain avoidance warning systems like Enhanced Ground Proximity Warning System (E-GPWS) and Predictive wind-shear equipment are excellent examples of how technology has made aviation safer.

Glass Cockpit technology provides better visual awareness to the pilots.

From a proactive perspective, the best strategy for aviation safety is prevention which can be achieved through various means. One of these is the identification of any hazards before they become risks, and the finest tool for this is reporting.

Improved safety is also a reflection of risk management. The risk management is identifying the problems before they become a significant issue.

We come across hazards in everyday life all the time. It may be riding without a helmet, driving without seat belts, a damaged handrail at home, or deviating from checklists and SOPs at work. Timely reporting of these deviations can break the chain and save serious injury or loss of life.

Each one of us needs to be compliant, vigilant, and sincere in our commitment to not overlook even the smallest hazard that we may come across and to proactively intervene in time and report it immediately before someone gets hurt. We cannot choose to look the other way that someone could be us.

Workplace safety is set in the backdrop of the construction industry. It has a universal relevance especially in our field of aviation. It examines the silent and subtle escalation of errors and violations towards an accident and how there is potential for its prevention at every stage of escalation.

Let us pledge to be safe from harm to us, and to those around us – at work, at home, or in transit between the two.

What next for safety in aviation ?

Our team at AviationHunt is a group of aviation experts and enthusiasts. We aim to provide aviation insights, technical notes, best aircraft maintenance practices, and aviation safety tips.

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It was fascinating to know that reporting is the best strategy for aviation safety.

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61 Aviation Safety Essay Topic Ideas & Examples

🏆 best aviation safety topic ideas & essay examples, 🥇 most interesting aviation safety topics to write about, 📌 simple & easy aviation safety essay titles.

• Air Traffic Controller Shiftwork and Aviation Safety The purpose of the research is to study the impacts of shiftwork on overall safety in airports. This study is related to the issue of fatigue development in air traffic controllers.
• Aviation Safety: Controlled Flight Into Terrain (CFIT) These errors range from drug and alcohol use by the pilots, homebuilt aircraft, use of student pilots, improper fuel management, on ground and in-flight judgment, unsterilized approach, inadequate flying skills, the inability of the flight […]
• Delta Airlines Flight 191 and Aviation Safety Later on, the shower was getting stronger, and the captain of the plane noticed lightning in the cloud before him. At that moment, the only thing the pilots could do to prevent a crash was […]
• Safety Culture in Aviation However, safety culture, in the production context, is a product of the integration of values and norms within the organization, which translates to commercial gains.
• Safety Management Methods in Aviation: The Tenerife Airport Disaster For the academic goals of systematic review of literature, the emphasis will be put on preventative solutions to minimize the impact of human factors.
• American and European Aviation Safety Agencies Even though the two organizations rely on various documents to regulate and create their ICAs, one can admit that the approach is the same.
• The COVID-19 Impact of Aviation Safety In the aviation industry, the effect of the pandemic did not only affect the economy of the industry but other aspects such as the skills and expertise of different employees.
• Risk Management and Aviation Safety It is the responsibility of the accountable manager and the senior management team to promote positive behavior and the correct implementation of the safety culture.
• The Irish Aviation Authority Safety Regulation Division The regulations of Ireland and its safety management are taken as the basis for the case study presented in the paper.
• Irish Aviation Safety Management and Strategies The analysis will also highlight the extent to which the 2020-2023 SPAS report addresses the aviation safety problems highlighted in the safety performance review of 2019.
• Safety Management Systems in Aviation Passengers booking non-refundable and unchangeable flight tickets do not have any incentive to notify the airline of their no-show, and the total weight of passengers are difficult to estimate before the date of check-in.
• Runway Incursions and Safety in Aviation Runway incursions are widely recognized as the most significant challenge to the safe operation of the runway systems. Modern researchers pay focused attention to the development of tools helping to exclude any runway incursions, but […]
• Civil Aviation Safety Authority Corporate Plan Such issues as the current strategic position described in the document, the adequacy of the plan to the existing Australian aviation safety performance, the plan’s strengths and weaknesses, are investigated; also, safety standards and guidelines […]
• Aviation Safety and Australian Corporate Plan The usage of the Australian Corporate Plan related to aviation safety and security could also contribute to the reconsideration of the existing approach to airport operations and help outline the spheres of change that should […]
• Aviation Safety: Ground Accidents and Their Prevention To understand the difference and worth of direct and indirect costs, it is possible to imagine the iceberg because of which the Titanic sank.
• Improving Aviation Safety in Africa Key stakeholders in the aviation industry, such IATA, ICAO and other regulatory bodies have recognized the need to enhance air safety in Africa.
• National Transportation Safety Board and Aviation Industry During the formation, the NTSB comprised the majority of the Bureau of safety civil aeronautics board. It is also the role of the NTSB to assist in accident investigation in other countries.
• Safety Management Systems in the Aviation Industry For this paper to be effective and achieve the purpose intended, the author is going to first outline the plans and procedures that the aviation industry is intending to put in place for the sake […]
• Aviation Safety: Maintenance and Inspection Presently, the increase in the number of accidents due to poor maintenance and inspection is a major concern to many stakeholders.
• Spark Ignition: Experimental and Numerical Investigation With Application to Aviation Safety
• Multiple Kernel Learning for Heterogeneous Anomaly Detection: Algorithm and Aviation Safety
• Fatigue in Aviation: Safety Risks, Preventive Strategies, and Pharmacological Interventions
• Learning From Aviation Safety: A Call for Formal “Readbacks” in Surgery
• Sequential Deep Learning From NTSB Reports for Aviation Safety Prognosis
• Natural Language Processing Based Method for Clustering and Analysis of Aviation Safety Narratives
• GPS Integrity and Potential Impact on Aviation Safety
• Aircraft Icing: An Ongoing Threat to Aviation Safety
• The Aviation Safety Rules and Regulations: The Impacts of Pan Am Flight 103
• Analyzing Aviation Safety: Problems, Challenges, Opportunities
• Aviation Safety Through the Rule of Law: ICAO’s Mechanisms and Practices by J. Huang Review
• The Effect of Aviation Safety Education on Passenger Cabin Safety Awareness
• Aviation Safety: Passenger Carriers vs. Cargo Carriers
• Applying Lessons From Commercial Aviation Safety and Operations to Resuscitation
• Proceedings of the First International Symposium on Volcanic Ash and Aviation Safety
• The Crew Resource Management and Its Impact on Aviation Safety
• Development and Initial Validation of an Aviation Safety Climate Scale
• Aviation Safety and Maintenance Under Major Organizational Changes, Investigating Non-existing Accidents
• A Framework for Assessing the Quality of Aviation Safety Databases
• Development of an Aviation Safety Locus of Control Scale
• Human Factors and Aviation Safety: What the Industry Has, What the Industry Needs?
• Assessing Knowledge Retention of an Immersive Serious Game vs. A Traditional Education Method in Aviation Safety
• From Aviation to Medicine: Applying Concepts of Aviation Safety to Risk Management in Ambulatory Care
• The National Transportation Safety Board and Aviation Safety Relationship
• Communication in Aviation Safety: Lessons Learned and Lessons Required
• Forecasting and Assessing Consequences of Aviation Safety Occurrences
• The Challenges in Defining Aviation Safety Performance Indicators
• Mechanical and Structural Factors in Aviation Safety
• Risk Assessment Modeling in Aviation Safety Management
• Aviation Safety Policies and Safety Procedures Review
• Volcanic Hazards and Aviation Safety: Lessons of the Past Decade
• The Effects of Emotion on Pilot Decision-Making: A Neuroergonomic Approach to Aviation Safety
• The Change Trend and Influencing Factors of Civil Aviation Safety Efficiency: The Case of Chinese Airline Companies
• Discovering Anomalous Aviation Safety Events Using Scalable Data Mining Algorithms
• Natural Language Processing for Aviation Safety Reports: From Classification to Interactive Analysis
• Bayesian Network Modeling of Accident Investigation Reports for Aviation Safety Assessment
• Loss of Control During Takeoff or Landing: Major Cause of Aviation Accidents
• In-Time Aviation Safety Management: Challenges and Research for an Evolving Aviation System
• Aviation Safety and Pilot Control: Understanding and Preventing Unfavorable Pilot-Vehicle Interactions
• The Role of Safety Architectures in Aviation Safety Cases
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Safety Matters

The evolution of aviation safety.

When thinking about flying in today’s world, most people just willingly book a ticket and hop on an airplane with the expectation that they will arrive safe and sound (and mostly on time) to their destinations.  Many of those travelers even willingly, or begrudgingly, accept that the air travel is actually the safest form of transport on Earth that can quickly and efficiently take them to virtually any place in the world.

Unfortunately, that wasn’t always the case and aviation safety has definitely been an ever evolving process that strives for continuous improvement.  This evolution has not only lead to aviation going from the least safe form of transport to the safest, but has also developed the technology that is now finding its way into other industries, such as the medical field, to improve safety and decrease risk where lives are also at stake.

Aviation Safety’s inauspicious beginning probably started on September 17, 1908 a mere four years and nine months after the Wright Brother’s first flight and only five months after the first passengers were carried by airplane.  This less than momentous occasion also included the Wright Brothers when Orville Wright crashed with passenger Thomas Selfridge during a demonstration flight for the US Army.  Wright was seriously injured and Selfridge was killed, leading to aviation’s first fatality.  Of course, as aviation grew and more planes were built, more flights were conducted and more people began to push the boundaries of the technology, there were more accidents and more fatalities until eventually industry leaders believed that some form of oversight would be needed to help aviation really reach its full potential as a mainstream form of travel; as endless crashes would not be acceptable to the traveling public.  This trend of increasing travel with an expectation for a decrease in accidents has continued to this day.

These circumstances lead to the establishment of the Bureau of Air Commerce in 1926 with the passing of the Air Commerce Act as a way to oversee regulation and promotion of air transport.

The first publicly popular safety incident was the death of Knute Rockne aboard a TWA Flight in 1931.  Due to his high profile as Notre Dame’s football coach, the public demanded inquisition and information about what had happened.  This importantly changed two major things that would determine the path of aviation safety forever.  First, it changed the practice of keeping accident causes a secret.  Second, it started the trend of using technology and design to improve the safety of airplanes.  This was part of what prompted the move away from wood and fabric to aluminum as a main construction material.

The next watershed moment in aviation history was the fatal crash of Senator Bronson M. Cutting in 1935, which lead to the creation of the Civil Aeronautics Agency in 1938.  The function of this change was to separate the regulation of air travel from the Department of Commerce, and to give the ability to regulate, investigate and ensure flight safety by giving the oversight of national airspace system, air traffic control to the Civil Aeronautics Agency and aviation safety regulation, oversight and economic control of airline routes to the Civil Aeronautics Board.

In 1956 with the mid-air over the Grand Canyon as a result of lack of radar, the regulators were again reorganized into today’s current FAA, which combined all regulatory, ATC, and Safety functions into one place (route regulation remained in effect until 1978 and investigation also remained independent).

With the modern regulatory framework established and consolidated, focus could turn to emerging technologies that could be used to enhance safety in an era of jet transport and massive worldwide expansion.  The first of these was obviously the widespread integration of radar into the air transport system, which would safely ensure aircraft separation even during inclement weather.

It should be noted that up to this point in time, investigation was primarily based on an understanding of forensic evidence available to investigators, and in those cases where there were survivors and eye witnesses, information that could be provided by those people to help piece together the chain of events that lead to an accident.  Of course this typically did little to answer the how and why of accident causal factors, not to mention contributing factors that may have played a role such as electrical failures, etc.  This made it difficult to incorporate lessons into new technologies or ways of doing things once an accident was investigated.  This lead to the next big push in safety, the Cockpit Voice Recorder and Flight Data Recorder which both became mandated in the US in 1967.  For the first time ever, investigators had a first-hand look into the operating parameters of an airplane prior to the crash, as well as some insight into what the crew was doing, thinking, or saying during the accident events.  This revolutionized air safety because it allowed investigators to glimpse details of the accident that might be able to be used to prevent future occurrences.

Of course, the now widespread usage of these technologies highlighted the fact that the vast majority of aviation accidents were related to human error.  This rendered the next step also revolutionary for aviation safety.  By identifying the details of the human role in aviation accidents safety professionals could, for the first time, identify trends and problems in human behavior and interaction and begin to educate and train pilots to work together to achieve the common goal of a safe flight.   This was the birth of Cockpit Resource Management; later revised to Crew Resource Management (CRM) when it became apparent that “all resources” were not just limited to the flight deck.  This technology alone had the single greatest benefit so far to improving the safety of aviation because it specifically taught personality and decision making norms that not only included everyone, but also got those crew members working with the same tools and technologies and improving coordination as a team.

By the mid-1990’s, CRM had more or less become a mature technology, it had been widely implemented, and was directly credited with avoiding or preventing many accidents or incidents that could have been far worse.  However, CRM could only do so much toward preventing future accidents because it was still fundamentally being updated and improved based on events that had already happened and could not necessarily predict or prevent accidents that could happen in the future.  In order to move safety to the next level, a system to prevent accidents would need to be developed.

In the late 1990’s the implementation of Flight Operations Quality Assurance, or FOQA, became the first push in a system that would be able to predict developing trends or problems.  Essentially, computer technology had come to a point on most airplanes where it could actually keep track of data not just on accident or incident flights, but on the thousands of other flights that occurred between such flights.  This allowed investigators, safety people, maintenance and flight ops personnel to download and track flight data over thousands of routine flights and monitor trend data such as unstable approaches, which could then be integrated into training, newsletters, policies, etc.  In addition to the front line usage, it allowed the FAA to be able to identify problem trends with things such as structural design issues which in turn allowed them to make more effective rules and regulations regarding aircraft design and certification standards, airmen training requirements, etc.

Now that trend data could be readily identified, safety professionals realized that in order to get to the root causes behind the trends identified under FOQA, they needed to get first hand insight into the actions of crew members.  As any aircrew member knows, no crew member will willingly trust divulging what mistakes they made or procedures they violated to management or the FAA knowing that they could be prosecuted or disciplined for it.  In general, all successful safety programs require a system of openness and protection in order to get all parties to actually participate seriously.  Of course there are exceptions for intentional and willful violations, but overall, the FAA, safety professionals, the airline flight departments and employee representatives sat down and designed the Aviation Safety Awareness Program, or ASAP system to encourage participation and protect those who report openly.  In fact, open reporting actually has strict guidelines for protections that aren’t necessarily provided if someone fails to report.  ASAP was eventually expanded to maintenance technicians, ground crew, flight attendants, dispatchers, ATC professionals, etc. to address trends in all areas of aviation.

Now that the aviation safety system was inclusive of all disciplines and constituents who openly reported and identified operational data, mistakes, challenges, violations or anything else of note, the safety system can finally evolve into a system that is able to actually identify accidents before they happen, which really is the end goal.  The name of this system is a Safety Management System or SMS.  SMS is a term that leaves most people saying “what?” but is essentially just a structured hierarchy to identify and classify trends, problems, changes, system issues, or any other problem that may require attention.  It relies heavily on data and input from multiple data  systems and reporting systems to help identify things that require attention either through training, policy, procedures or systems modification.  It functions based on the reality that very seldom do accidents just happen.  There are usually dozens if not hundreds of incidents prior to an accident that had similar symptoms, inputs or behaviors to the accident flight without actually resulting in an accident.  By identifying these common links, safety people, flight ops and training people can preemptively employ tools to try and mitigate and reduce these occurrences before the accident ever occurs, and thus aviation has pro-actively become the safest form of transport the world has ever seen, despite flying higher further, faster and more often than ever before.

As always Our goal with this column is to provide an active way to participate in discussions about safety or safety related topics.  Of course, reader input always helps that process, so we encourage you to send us emails at [email protected] with any safety related questions or comments you may have, no matter how seemingly small they may be.

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Colgan 3407

Dear Mr Scott Stahl, I read your article The Evolution of Aviation Safety in @Aircrew News of 06 Dec 2016 and was delighted to have come across it accidently when I was researching the same subject. It is a very well researched and analysed article and I congratulate you for the same. What I find really valuable is your focus on how certain important events evolved in to improvement of Flight Safety. I am an Aeronautical Engineer and worked in Aircraft Accident Investigation Board in the past, but never read such a beautiful account of evolution of Aviation Safety. Thank you and would like to read more of your work.

Regards, Gp Capt (Retd) DilipDani

Dear Scott Stahl,

I hope this comment finds you well. My name is Abdalla Sudi, and I am currently working on my master’s thesis focusing on aviation safety. I have come across your expertise in this field and was hoping to seek your guidance and insights.

Specifically, I am interested in the following areas:

1. The historical development of aviation safety 2. The evolution of aviation safety. like Technical factors, Human factors, orgaizational factors, safety culture, safety 1, safety 2. also systamatic approach Annex- 19 – 2013. 3. How aviation safety has evolved over time

Your expertise in aviation safety is highly regarded, and any information or insights you could provide would be immensely valuable to my research. Additionally, if you could recommend or share any relevant articles or resources related to these topics, it would be greatly appreciated.

Thank you very much for considering my request. Your assistance would significantly contribute to the success of my thesis. I look forward to hearing from you.

Sincerely, Sultan Abdalla

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Aviation Safety – Essay Sample

When it comes to flying, it doesn’t matter how experienced or confident a pilot may be. An understanding and application of aviation safety policies and techniques is crucial to protecting passengers, civilians and the aircraft itself. By understanding how to prevent flight issues before they occur and implementing preliminary safety measures, accidents, injuries and deaths from aircraft failure can decrease dramatically.

All aircraft are subject to basic safety regulations that aim to catch any possible problems before they cause harmful consequences. All aircraft in the United States, for example, must meet specific requirements before being deemed flight-worthy. Aircraft must first possess the proper tools for flight and navigation; for example, items like radios, gauges, radars and other flight tools must be present and working on an aircraft. The same applies to all mechanical aspects of the aircraft, as well as satellite navigation systems, landing gear and much more. All of these systems must be thoroughly tested and approved before the craft can be allowed to take off. This helps identify problems before they occur in the air, lowering the risk of engine failure, instrumental inaccuracy or other system failures. The plane itself must also be inspected for any nefarious objects, including bombs or other weapons.

Before boarding the plane, passengers and pilots must be inspected to ensure they are not carrying any dangerous objects. Anti-terrorism measures, especially, are important in aviation safety. Suspected terrorists, criminals or other threats must not be allowed to board the plane, and often flights may be delayed for further inspection. Pilots, co-pilots and other aircraft employees should also be assessed for health, awareness, sight, hearing and sobriety. Investigators and safety regulators are appointed to manage and maintain the safety standards for all aircraft, though they are more attentive to commercial aircraft than private.

Once in the air, there are still strict safety standards that pilots and passengers must abide by. Certain outside factors affect the safety of an aircraft, such as lightning and other weather issues, foreign objects and even collisions with birds. In the event of these mid-flight occurrences, pilots are often required to re-route their original flight path or land at another airstrip. In the event that a problem does occur mid-flight – such as an engine stall – safety regulations require the pilot to put passengers first. Safety measures, such as oxygen masks, floatation devices, inflatable boats and emergency exits are kept in most aircrafts in cases of emergency. Some aircrafts include more extreme safety measures, such as parachutes or ejection seats. Without these safety measures, flight and aviation would be a much more dangerous venture than it is today.

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Aviation Safety Essay Topic Ideas

1. introduction.

Aviation safety is a terminology encompassing a set of activities aimed at ensuring the safety of the aviation industry. It is the introduction of safety in various levels of the aviation system, including the day-to-day operation and the design of aviation infrastructure. Industrial aviation safety implies the technology of accident prevention, while continuing to imply that accidents will happen (e.g. equipment failure) and that some accidents are inevitable. However, the ultimate goal is to minimize the probability of an accident occurring. The importance of aviation safety cannot be overemphasized. Safety is unquestionably the most vital concern in the field of aviation. If aircraft are to continue to fly people and cargo throughout the world in a manner that delivers good but remains cost efficient, a dramatic breakthrough in safety performance will be required. While it is true that air travel today is already the safest means of transportation, very small improvements in the accident rate can result in large numbers of lives saved, given the tremendous volume of air traffic. As well as preventing loss of life and injury, safety improvements can alleviate the adverse public perceptions of air travel and the economic losses caused by accidents. A historical overview of aviation safety shows that the modern safety record that aviation now enjoys has been hard won. The industry was born out of technology pioneered in the military. Post-war, aviation was free of regulatory controls that were prevalent in the pre-war air mail services, so the adoption of safety practices from the civil air mail operators of the time was very slow. Only in the 1950s when military jet engine technology led to the first generation of mass air travel did the public become alarmed at the state of safety in the airlines. This eventuated in the drafting of the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) with the purpose of setting international standards for aviation safety. This was clearly a significant milestone, but the safety record of the 1960s and 70s, particularly of the developing countries, still left much to be desired. It has been said that the first assignment of more developing nations to air travel was to pave a sky full of airways with the victims of their crashed aircraft. The localization of these accidents in lesser developed areas means that they often went unnoticed by the world, yet significant progress has been made in eradicating this trend.

1.1 Importance of Aviation Safety

Aviation safety is a terminology encompassing a set of activities aimed at ensuring the mishap-free operation of air transport services. The importance of aviation safety cannot be emphasized enough. This is so because every possible means should be employed to promote safety since no mode of travel is absolutely safe. The emphasis on safety in aviation can be judged from the fact that despite significant advantages in speed, comfort, economy, and flexibility offered by air transport it has still not been able to attract the potential users of these advantages because of the assumption that it is not safe. The main reason for such an opinion is that the potential user of aviation service has knowledge of incidents that have occurred either to a person he knows, or it has been publicized to such an extent that it has greatly affected the public opinion regarding the overall level of safety associated with air travel. It is safe to say that the relative youth and consequently, the lack of extensive knowledge in the field of aircraft design and operation has been responsible for the comparatively poor degree of safety achieved by air transport as compared with the other forms of transport. This, however, is not to imply that safety has not been a primary consideration of the aircraft designer and the operator. In fact, it has been the constant aim of both groups but, because of the complexity of the field and the often unknown and hidden factors that cause trouble, they have as yet been unable to achieve the desired end.

1.2 Historical Overview of Aviation Safety

The foundation for contemporary aviation safety dates back to the early years of aviation when it was realized how important it was to learn from errors to stop them being repeated. The birth of aviation safety in the United States began in the late 1920s when a combination of political, economic and social factors led to a new era in that country's commercial aviation. It was realized how air commerce could become a major industry during the First World War. Prior to the war, the airplane had been perceived as a sport and a weapon. During the war, the airplane had demonstrated its capability for lifting heavier-than-air machines off the ground to perform specific missions of bombing, photography, attack, pursuit and command of the air. The war served to increase the understanding of aviation's potential and showed great advances in aircraft design and production. During the war years, significant advancements were also made in highways, railway, and waterway transportation. After the 1918 Armistice, it was clear that aviation technology was progressing at an undreamed of rate. The public and private sector then realized the immediate need to further aviation technology and to push for its commercial applications. (Gill, 1999)

1.3 Current Challenges in Aviation Safety

- Increasing demand As predicted by the world's airlines, traffic will continue to grow at an average rate of 4.7 percent annually. In order to meet this demand, a total of 25,000 new aircraft will be required, as well as 3,000 helicopters and 2 million new pilots. This will double the present fleet in less than 20 years. All of this will place great pressure on the world's airspace and airports. A recent Boeing aircraft (the 777) is designed to hold up to 550 passengers, which is more than the old 747s. One single accident involving one of these aircraft could result in more fatalities than the total for the previous 5 years combined. - Globalisation of manufacture Aircraft and their components are being built all around the world in differing economic conditions. As a result, safety is becoming a critical issue. The industry has recognized this and due to the many recent accidents involving newly manufactured aircraft, particularly in the third world, the U.S. government is to require certain countries to purchase insurance for all aircraft they build and would consider escalating the cost of entry into the U.S. market for non-compliant nations. - Changing work practices With the above increase in demand, the aviation industry will have to undergo fundamental changes. These include cutting costs and a move towards electronic operations and information systems. More concern is the proposed hiring of less experienced pilots by the world's regional airlines in order to combat the pilot shortage. This would result in safety being compromised. For example, in the United States, having over 30,000 new aviation employees working from non-aviation backgrounds, the aviation industry is being redefined in the United States. - Environmental impact In an attempt to combat noise pollution and save money, airlines are flying higher and using more direct routes. The reduction of lateral and longitudinal separation between aircraft is also seen as a way of increasing airspace capacity. This is having implications on the safety of smaller aircraft, as they are being forced to fly with the larger aircraft into more congested airspace. The numbers of near misses are also increasing.

2. Safety Regulations and Standards

The safety regulations and standards for the aviation industry have been designed to provide guidance in terms of safety and security for companies, employees, the environment, and customers. These regulations establish different methods for companies to undertake their operations. Now, the question arises as to why we need these regulations and why we can't work normally as we used to. The answer to this question is quite simple: these regulations prevent mishaps, help prevent accidents, and provide a safer working environment. These regulations define the quality on which these companies work. They also act as a safety net for an organization's safety risk management, which includes safety policy, safety assurance, safety promotion, and safety. They provide assurance that mishaps do not occur and help create a safe environment. These methods of safety risk management have been defined to promote an organizational culture of safety in a systematic way, which further benefits employees and the environment. The main motive of today's era regulations is to avoid mishaps, accidents, and injuries, and to promote high levels of safety in the aviation industry. These regulations support the transformation of the aviation environment into a safety-oriented culture. They define the limits and behavior of individuals, including what is allowed and what is not allowed, in terms of statutory compliance requirements. They also define the standards of a company in terms of safety and quality. These standards can be divided into two parts: the target and the means. The target describes the desired results. ICAO has played a leading role in terms of safety regulations and standards. It has provided numerous regulations that serve as the exact standard of the required quality, with unique and precise methods for performing specific operations.

2.1 International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO)

The International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) sets the global standard for aviation safety. It is a two-part organization that consists of the Assembly and the Council. The Assembly actions the body's policy and legislation while the Council manages its financial and technical decisions. Although only Assembly decisions are binding, the Council never requests admission and is considered to have equal authority. ICAO was created in 1944 under the Chicago Convention and is a specialized agency of the United Nations charged with coordinating and regulating international air travel. It is currently the body that governs international aviation safety. This is a change from recent years as ICAO typically had limited powers with regard to enforcement and standard making, but the creation of the standard and recommended practices and the addition of the continuous monitoring approach toward the effectiveness of the safety threat response has significantly increased their involvement. This is a result of the globally increasing demand for effective safety and the realization that ICAO is the most suitable body for reaching this target. The organization mainly legislates its policies on international flight and as such, the policies and legislation will be directed by its 190 member nations. An example of an ICAO policy that affects recent safety issues is the exemplary implementation date for ICAO-backed safety management systems to be November 2009. This illustrates ICAO's role in forming safety regulations with this stipulation being created to resolve the recent high number of air travel incidents. These policies and regulations will be mainly directed by its 190 member nations.

2.2 Federal Aviation Administration (FAA)

The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), established in 1958, is an agency of the United States Department of Transportation with authority to regulate and oversee all aspects of civil aviation in the U.S. The Federal Aviation Act of 1958 created the organization under the name Federal Aviation Agency. The agency adopted its present name in 1967 when it became a part of the United States Department of Transportation. The FAA is responsible for the advancement, safety, and regulation of civil aviation, both within the U.S. and abroad. Its major roles include regulating U.S. commercial space transportation, the development and operation of airports, control of air traffic, management of airmen and its safety programs. The FAA is the sole civil aviation authority and sole regulator of U.S. airspace. It has extensive jurisdiction which it uses to promote safety in the aviation industry, an example being the 2008 FAA Reauthorization Act suggested by Stephen LaTourette, which intended to improve safety and create a new era for non-military aviation. This act embodies the intentions of the FAA, often perceived as being almost militaristic, in that safety is its primary concern. In the contemporary era of globalization, the FAA is playing an increasing role in the aviation safety of other countries. Owing to incidents such as the crash of Korean Air flight 801 in 1997, the FAA provided large amounts of support to countries in the Asia Pacific region to improve their safety. This has initiated the development of the International Aviation Safety Assessment program, and country-specific SAA programs. The aim of these initiatives is to assist states with improving their aviation safety oversight and regulatory systems. With a global vision, the FAA has an increasing sphere of influence grounded in the principle of raising safety and regulation standards. This will carry on into the future and continue to develop in response to an ever-advancing aviation industry.

2.3 European Union Aviation Safety Agency (EASA)

EASA was established on the 15th July 2002 and it is the centerpiece of the European Union's strategy for aviation safety. Its stated mission is to promote and achieve the highest common standards of safety and environmental protection in civil aviation. As a means to the achievement of its stated mission, EASA is tasked with the following: - To establish a system for the certification of the pilots and other aeronautical personnel to ensure that all meet adequate standard, and to create the commonality of safety and educational standards throughout Europe. - To provide efficient and effective rulemaking with simple and clear regulations to increase the efficiency of civil aviation in both cost and safety in all its operational areas. - Ensuring the highest and most consistent possible level of safety and environmental protection in products, operations and services in the entirety of the EU, and further by working in close conjunction with other international aviation communities. - The aggregation and analysis of safety information to publicly recognize hazards and to aid in the resolution of these hazards, and to develop and retain some of the best experts in the field of aviation safety. Looking at the information on EASA's responsibilities and aims posted above, we can draw various conclusions on the implications of EASA's existence to different sectors of aviation. With regards to cadet level pilots and professional pilots, EASA's effort to standardize safety and education undoubtedly means the enhancement of safety in training and commercial aviation, and hope to see that the cost of getting such qualifications will not hinder the aspiring professionals from hopping onto an aviation career. For the more experienced commercial and private pilots, the simplification and clarifications of regulations will provide hole-less rules on safety and operation, and thus enhance the safety levels during normal and adverse flight conditions across the different sectors of aviation operations. For the people involved more in the development and provision of aviation services and products, i.e. airline owners and engineers, they will see a great deal of follow up to the regulations created. This ensures that their products and services will meet consistent safety quality and that the resources spent on the certification of their products and services will generate a greater output. Last but not least, for the people involved in safety analysis and the resolving of safety hazards, it provides a greater number of opportunities for people to get involved in the replenishment of aviation safety, and such efforts will bring forth a more active role of safety management into the aviation industry.

2.4 National Aviation Authorities (NAAs)

To ensure that aviation safety regulations and standards are adequately implemented and observed, states form their own aviation authorities. These NAAs recruit the best qualified personnel to enforce regulations and inspect air carriers, airports, and aviation-related equipment. Each authority's periodic assessments of local airlines serve as valuable safety oversights. The extent of some NAAs' activities in safety promotion and education has varied, but most now accept their role in safety consciousness raising. NAAs have traditionally operated within a legal framework of minimal safety requirements and have concerned themselves with ensuring that the operator simply meets these minimums. This is changing in many parts of the world with NAA safety oversight being refocused to risk-based assessment and performance-based oversight. Due to the variability of NAA resources in different states and regions, there is a wide disparity in oversight quality. This has led to a range of ICAO compliance by NAA's. ICAO has been working with member states to address this compliance variability issue and to attempt to bring oversight quality to a more consistent level. The ICAO Universal Safety Oversight Audit Programme (USOAP) is operational and its goal is to provide an efficient safety oversight audit tool for the use by the States, to determine the State's safety oversight capabilities and deficiencies, resultant from an obligation to comply with the global aviation safety plan. The program aims to assess the status of State safety oversight organizations, determine the capability of the States to oversee their aviation industries and target resources at States safety oversight deficiencies with a priority on significant safety concerns. This program has been a significant development in ensuring the standardization of safety oversight on a global basis.

3. Human Factors in Aviation Safety

Human error has been cited as the primary cause of over 70% of commercial aviation accidents. In an attempt to further understand and reduce human error in aviation, NASA began researching the area of "human factors" in aviation in 1978. Since then, empirical and analytical research has been conducted in many areas of aviation. The goal of this research is to mitigate the frequency and severity of aviation accidents, thus saving lives and improving industry productivity. There are many reasons why the implementation of human factors research and practices can greatly improve aviation safety. In this statement, I will outline the more prominent areas of civil and military aviation where human factors can make a difference. An example of an attempt to understand the nature of the error in order to improve accuracy and safety in aviation is the study being conducted at The University of New South Wales on the problem of "friendly fire" in military aviation. This study was funded by the United States Office of Naval Research and investigated the circumstances and possible cognitive causes of identification errors of ground targets. The knowledge gained from such an in-depth investigation is extremely useful in identifying points of intervention aimed at reducing errors and improving the safety and success rate of military operations. Several other specific areas of military aviation have been investigated in the aim of improving platform and personnel safety and efficacy in fulfilling the mission. In civil aviation, much research has been conducted in attempts to improve air traffic control procedures and systems. This has involved investigations of the work of the controllers and the factors influencing errors, as well as the interactions between controllers and between controllers and the automated systems recently implemented in many areas. The expected improvements in safety and efficiency arising from these investigations will be quite significant given the extent to which modern aviation depends on ATC services. Error is a part of human nature and we cannot change that; what we can do is learn from errors in the past and make changes and put practices in place to stop similar errors happening again in the future. Human factors is a constantly advancing field and with international cooperation in the gathering of knowledge and implementation of safe practices, the aviation industry can only become safer in the future. Pilot error is the most often cited cause of aviation accidents. Errors may be a result of many factors including inadequate pilot training or experience, overloading or fatigue, inadequate flight planning, equipment issues, or miscommunication and distractions in the cockpit. Studies have been conducted aimed at both the prevention of errors and the mitigation of their effects. Although the belief may be that the best way to beat pilot fatigue is for the pilot to simply get more rest, it is unrealistic to expect that fatigue will not be problematic in a 24-hour industry such as aviation. In the long term, changes in work/rest schedules or duty times is a good way to reduce the risk of fatigue, while the short-term effects of fatigue on flight safety can be reduced through education of pilots on fatigue effects and the biology of sleep, as well as self-identification and removal from duty when fatigued with the assurance of no penalty.

3.1 Pilot Error and Fatigue Management

Pilot error is a cause of between 60% and 70% of all aviation accidents. These figures vary from one type of operation to another. Airlines have a very good safety record due to the fact that their pilots are generally well rested and their aircraft are operated within a methodical environment. It is in general aviation, particularly in private and recreational flying using light aircraft, that error rates are highest. The reasons for this are several. Light aircraft are often operated in adverse conditions. Their pilots frequently have less training and experience than their commercial counterparts. Light aircraft pilots are often poorly supervised and errors frequently go unreported. With smaller profit margins and the need to satisfy customers, the pressure to complete flights is sometimes higher in the airline environment. Steps have been taken in recent years to remove the stigma associated with reporting errors and to back this up with genuine legal immunity. This should increase the error reporting rate in all sectors and hence provide better data on the frequency of different errors. Control of flight and ground vehicles is called "the decision making process applied to course maintenance in the face of system irregularity". This spans a wide range of activities from maintaining flight track in IFR conditions to taxiing around a hole in a grass strip during adverse weather. An error occurs whenever the outcome of an intended action is different from that which was intended. Error rates can be reduced by more comprehensive training, standard operating procedures and practice of specific activities such as instrument approaches.

3.2 Crew Resource Management (CRM)

A key cornerstone to reducing errors in the cockpit has been the development of Crew Resource Management training. CRM methodologies are designed to mitigate error by providing a better framework for crew cooperation and increasing situational awareness. Beginning in the late 1970s with a National Aeronautics and Space Administration research grant, CRM training has now been made mandatory for all Part 121 (major airline) pilots by the Federal Aviation Administration. The college term "CRM" can be used very broadly to describe a multitude of philosophies and training methods, ranging from the highly specific to the infuriatingly ambiguous. In this context, we'll discuss modern CRM as practiced in the airline industry today and relate it to its similarities to other safety critical industries. CRM training encompasses a wide range of skills, knowledge, and attitudes. In a very broad context, the overall aim is to foster a climate or culture where deviation-free operation becomes a long-lasting reality. This is far from the situation in today's airline business, where the ratio of negative to positive reinforcement is often skewed by the punitive repercussions to active failures. High workload, punitive management, and the frequency of situational and operational deviance from ideal best describe the atmosphere in which contemporary commercial pilots operate. A strong, healthy culture is one where frontline operators are comfortable in voicing their concerns about safety and operational issues, pilots monitor one another and self-monitor their own performance. This optimal culture is heavily reliant on effective leadership from management and supervisors and this can be a target for change and improvement in the safety climate.

3.3 Training and Education for Aviation Personnel

Training and educating aviation personnel promotes their team performance, error management, and proficiency in decision making both on individual and group levels (Training in Aviation, 2010). To be effective, the training must integrate the goals of skill development, training with scenarios, decision-making and error management skills, and increased situational awareness using an advanced technology platform. This training will better prepare an aviation professional to function in the modern flight deck environment. Topics to be considered should include: - Technical and tactical training: which emphasizes both aircraft systems management (technical training) and achieving training in the context of the phases of flight and mission requirements (tactical training). - Training during skill degradation: by providing effective training or retraining in aviation personnel whose proficiency has eroded due to a lack of recent experience, or those engaged in the use of automation in monitoring intensive environments. - Undergraduate and Graduate education: with an increased emphasis in curriculum development on subject areas such as aviation physiology, aerospace medicine, human factors, and safety and accident investigation. A cadre of research professionals with advanced degrees in these areas will then be developed to serve the needs of the aviation community.

4. Technological Advances in Aviation Safety

Modern aviation has developed a unique safety net for travelers, which makes it the safest mode of transport in the world. Essentially, the general public does not have a model on the intricacy and innovation of the aviation industry safety programs to enable the safest means of movement from one point to the next. Most people perceive aviation as simply flying from point "A" to point "B" without incidents, which in reality there are three diverse classifications of safety that consist of: (1) continuous, (2) sporadic, and (3) catastrophic. This has been achieved through continuous improvement, utilizing technology and education as the means to improving safety performance. The industry uses safety data collection and analysis, safety information dissemination, and learning from safety information to build on the safety net, continually striving towards the goal of no accidents. 4.1 Aircraft Design and Safety Features In the beginning of the jet era, the design of aircraft and the materials used were simple and mechanical based knowledge. Since then, the aviation industry has moved to an electronic based knowledge, as computers and technology rapidly advanced. Although one great problem exists in aviation improving safety through aircraft design and that is the average age of an airliner is roughly 30 years old. This is a great hindrance to safety advancement as although new aircraft are being designed, they don't reach full circulation round the fleet for 15-20 years, so there is a mix of old design and new design features. Regardless, the future of aviation is looking towards the use of composite materials. This will allow for the manufacturing of aircraft to a design specification rather than building a design around materials available. This is very important as in recent times it has been a requirement for safety improvements to older designs to be cost efficient. The ability to manufacture to a design specification will allow for greater certainty in safety performance. Other developments of future aircraft are focused on the use of fly by wire, which can already be seen in Airbus aircraft. This is useful as computer control is much more reliable and flexible compared to mechanical control linkages and has potential for the prevention of aircraft incidents caused by human error.

4.1 Aircraft Design and Safety Features

Aircraft are designed and built with safety in mind, however this is only the first step to being safe. The real safety enhancing components follow in the form of safety features in the aircraft once it is complete. It could be argued that safety features in aviation are a result of accident investigations, and the learning that results from them. This reactive method is improving safety, although the implications of an accident are, as we all know, tragic and could sometimes be deemed "too high a price to pay". An example of a modern safety feature influenced by a previous accident is that of anti-icing systems. After an incident in 1982 where a flight from Washington to Miami crashed due to icing on the wings, resulting in 78 fatalities, the FAA made it a requirement for all new aircraft to be fitted with a form of de-icing system. This was a clear case of learning from previous mistakes, with the intention of preventing reoccurrences of similar incidents. Other features such as GPS, TCAS (Traffic alert and Collision Avoidance System) and Enhanced Ground Proximity Warning Systems (EGPWS) are technologies developed relatively recently, involving more advanced computerized systems to deliver detailed information and warnings to assist the flight crew. These all take a more proactive approach to safety by preventing accidents, and are designed and implemented with the knowledge and understanding of human errors that lead to accidents.

4.2 Air Traffic Control Systems

Air traffic control systems regulate air traffic due to growing safety concerns in the aviation industry. The National Airspace System (NAS) was established to address the problem, and the FAA was created for the same purpose. Every day, the system safely and efficiently accommodates 50,000 flights in the US, only possible through air traffic control skills and technology. Air traffic controllers take a huge responsibility to ensure aviation safety and provide service to increase safety and efficiency in the airway and at airports. This task is not feasible without ATC system advancements and changes in ATC procedures. Technology plays an enormous role in advancing air traffic control systems. With radar, controllers can monitor air traffic 100 miles from the airport, in the en route phase of flight, and at altitudes up to 60,000 feet. Newer technology such as ADS-B and datacomm is being implemented to replace radar, which is a step towards accessing a more accurate and safer tracking system with reduced separation standards, ultimately allowing more aircraft in the sky. Meanwhile, the ground-based radar system is being upgraded with the system replacement program. This allows controllers to pinpoint an aircraft's position to within an accuracy of 20 feet, compared to the several miles of standard radar. The newest form of technology is satellite, where controllers can monitor oceanic and remote area flights. With growing technology, air traffic control safety and efficiency capabilities will continue to increase.

4.3 Safety Management Systems (SMS)

In focusing on the future, the ICAO has declared that as of 2009, ICAO will be increasing their aviation safety and look at advancements over the last decade by closely working with the ICAO Air Navigation and Safety Board and the Air Transport Committee. It has been agreed that the future of civil aviation safety activity will be concentrated on the safety and efficiency benefits of the global air traffic management (ATM) modernization programme. This is designed to offer seamless air traffic services by using the most cost-effective means and to deliver a safe and environment-friendly system. Recent technological advancements include the introduction of the new SMS, the advancements and development of the Flight Data Services (FDM/S), and the introduction to automatic dependent surveillance (ADS-C). A Safety Management System is a comprehensive management system designed to manage safety. It includes policy, objectives, safety risks management, air traffic and services, continuous improvement, emergency response planning, and aviation safety promotion. SMS is a structured system in preventing accidents and ill-health to people and damage to property and the environment connected with the company's activities. SMS will provide an effective decision-making technique and risk management through the process, manage safety systems already in place effectively, and will provide the capability to review the status of the safety of the system. Early indications of the application of SMS will promise to enhance aviation safety through proactive risk management and the comprehensive safety monitoring of air navigation services. The expected outcome is a major reduction in the number of safety occurrences and their associated risks. SMS will therefore be beneficial in reducing and mitigating current and future safety risks in air traffic control and the ongoing modernization of ATM and CNS. Any reductions in safety occurrences will add to the increase in the capacity and efficiency of the ATM systems. It is clear that any enhancement in safety will benefit the efficiency and regularity of international aviation. SMS has been successful with the implementation of system and services by Air Services Australia and other ANSPs. The ICAO Universal Safety Oversight Audit Programme (USOAP) has recently conducted a review of the SMS requirements and implementations by the Member States in 2007.

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The Foundation for Aviation Safety works with leading experts in the aviation industry, including pilots, engineers, mechanics, technicians, flight attendants, air traffic controllers, flight dispatchers, and safety regulators, to ensure the accuracy and credibility of our information. By working closely with these professionals, we are well prepared to provide powerful advocacy to the projects we undertake.

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The Evolving Role of Training in Aviation Safety

Thanks, Chris Lehman. Good morning, everyone, and thank you for being here at this important gathering – billed as the “world’s largest gathering of aviation training professionals.” It’s great to see such a turnout. Training is such an important part of keeping our system safe. It’s such an important part of our joint mission of keeping aviation safe.

It’s my privilege to be here. This morning, I want to talk about:

• The evolving role of training in aviation safety.
• How the FAA evaluates risk, and how that view has evolved in recent years.
• How the industry itself is changing, and what challenges that presents.
• The importance of all of us working together to keep the system safe.

Let me start by talking about the FAA’s approach to safety, and how that’s evolved.

For most of our history, safety was a function of accident investigation. Safety was forensic. There would be an accident; we would study the causes; then we would implement changes to make sure that accident never happened that way again.

And that was a successful system. We have reduced commercial accidents in the U.S. to a very low rate. The last U.S. accident was the Colgan accident in Buffalo in 2009. While we have learned many things from that accident, and I’ll talk about those today, we had to develop other methods for finding and mitigating risk in the system. Fewer accidents led to a new approach.

Because there still is risk.

• We continue to experience a lot of growth and change in aviation.
• There’s more automation on the flight deck and in air traffic control systems.
• We are also integrating new types of aircraft in the system, like commercial spacecraft and unmanned aircraft.

While these changes are important and welcome, they are also complex from a safety standpoint. They introduce potential sources of safety risk. So how do we manage this risk? We have to spot the unsafe trends before they become accidents.

To do this, we have developed a risk-based decision making system.

Risk-based decision making focuses on finding risk before an accident occurs. We do this by collecting large amounts of safety data from many sources

• Air traffic controllers.
• Airway technicians.
• Commercial pilots.
• Dispatchers
• And other aviation professionals, and through other sources.  

We then use this data to conduct risk analysis to identify potentially high risk areas. Then we target our resources to address these higher risk areas.

• Collect the data,
• Analyze the data,
• Identify risks, and
• Mitigate the risks.

Working with all of you is a key to the success of this approach. We need your data, your experiences, and your ideas to make this work.

In fact, engaging with our stakeholders is key. We do that at conferences like this one, and sometimes through a more formal approach, like the rule making process.

In the area of training, we’re engaging stakeholders through the Air Carrier Training Aviation Rulemaking Committee, the ACT ARC, which we established one year ago. This effort represents a major commitment by both the FAA and industry to determine voluntary initiatives air carriers can take to improve pilot, flight attendant, and dispatcher training. 

I know many members of this ARC are in the audience today, and I thank you for your commitment and hard work on this. Already the ARC’s work is making a difference. It has recommended ways to improve pilot knowledge and skills to manage the flight path of the airplane. This is helping us to address the risk of pilot skill atrophy as the reliance on flight deck automation grows.

The committee has also made recommendations to improve helicopter air ambulance training, like setting minimum hours for initial and recurrent training, and developing guidance for line oriented flight training, or LOFT – a way to train the crew by simulating real-life scenarios involving accident scenes and danger zones.  

In addition, the committee is looking at ways to develop alternative education, training and experience pathways to qualify for an Airline Transport Pilot, or ATP certificate.

This work is ongoing, and we look forward to receiving additional safety recommendations. Some of these recommendations may become rules, but many of your companies will adopt safety procedures long before the rule becomes final. This early adoption is a result of industry engagement, and allows us to mitigate risk faster than the traditional rulemaking approach.

Risk-based decision making is not the only way we have safety enhancements.

I mentioned the 2009 Colgan accident. After that tragedy, Congress enacted the “Airline Safety and FAA Extension Act of 2010” to enhance flight safety. One provision in that law requires all first officers to have an ATP certificate so they have a stronger foundation of aeronautical knowledge and more experience before flying for an air carrier.

It takes 1,500 flight hours to obtain an ATP, and this has caused some to raise concerns about the pilot applicant pool. The FAA was given authority to make some adjustments to the law, and we issued a rule giving pilots credit for structured academic and military training, so they can meet the standard with fewer than 1,500 hours.

The FAA is open to discussing other ways to strengthen the pilot pipeline, but this will require cooperation from across the industry.

While the law passed by Congress in 2010 focused on pilot qualifications, the FAA recognized that we also had to make more targeted interventions to address other areas that the Colgan accident brought to light: including pilot fatigue and basic pilot skill proficiency.

We used fatigue science to help us update the flight and duty rules in a way that helps ensure a flight crew member arrives at work rested and ready to fly.

We also issued rules targeted at strengthening training for a pilot’s stick and rudder skills. After Colgan, it was understood that pilots should have more experience in recognizing the cues of an actual stall, and reinforce their ability to recover from that stall.

Specifically, the rules require that air carriers must now implement training programs by 2018 to address the recognition, prevention, and recovery from full stalls. Again, we believe these targeted training interventions will drive down these risk factors.  

Simulator Training

Another source of safety innovation is technology. Simulator and related technologies have improved dramatically in recent years. Training simulators are a key part of pilot training. We looked at what changes should be made to rules that apply to simulators. We saw that current rules for simulators required that pilots be trained and evaluated up to the stall warning, but not up to the full stall. So we’re proposing improvements to simulator models so they can be used to train pilots to recover from a full stall. 

We’re working to address another factor in the Colgan accident – icing conditions. We’re proposing to require that industry incorporate more accurate aerodynamic icing models. Our plan is to issue a final rule in 2016, so that industry has time to modify their simulators by March 2019, which is the deadline for the air carriers to implement full stall and upset recovery training programs.

These changes will enable us to mitigate many of the factors that contributed to the Colgan accident.    

Aviation Training Devices      

Technology advances also hold promise for general aviation. We are enacting new opportunities for use of aviation training devices, or ATD’s, to enhance GA safety.

ATD’s are an effective, safe, and affordable way to obtain pilot experience. The technology has come a long way. They’re more realistic and capable of simulating all kinds of weather conditions.

We’re in the process of issuing a rule that would increase the number of allowed credit hours in an FAA-approved ATD to count towards a pilot’s minimum 40 hours of instrument time required for the instrument rating. This change will relieve some of the burdens on GA pilots seeking to obtain aeronautical experience.    

Flight Attendant and Dispatcher Training Guidance

Similar safety advances are being made in flight attendant and dispatcher training. The FAA will be issuing some specific guidance to improve training in these areas.     Many of you are familiar with our Advance Qualification Program, or AQP. In pilot training, AQP provides a way for trainers to conduct a task analysis of the pilot’s duties. They can collect data on pilot performance, and then focus the training toward tasks that need more reinforcement. For instance, if the data shows that a pilot is highly proficient at performing ILS approaches, then training resources can be focused more toward other kinds of skill reinforcement.

The FAA will be issuing specific guidance on how to develop these kinds of data-driven training programs for flight attendants and dispatchers. We’ll do that through a revision to the AQP Advisory Circular later this year.    

Professionalism

Let me close by saying safety is our mission at the FAA, and certainly rules and policy guidance are essential to achieving our goal of providing the safest, most efficient aerospace system in the world. An equally vital component is the professionalism we expect from pilots, cabin crew, dispatchers, mechanics and trainers. Your participation in this conference is a result of your professionalism.  

Everyone here has a unique set of expertise when it comes to flying. Let’s continue to bring this expertise together, so we can bring about even better, more targeted training solutions to ensure safety. The FAA looks forward to continuing our collaboration with industry. With your continued engagement, and your expertise, there’s no doubt we’ll be successful. 

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Reasons why Aviation Safety is Important

To an average air traveler, the importance of aviation safety is rarely recognized in conscious thought, we usually only consider aspects of safety when some horrific accident occurs. But on a daily basis, on thousands of commercial and military flights, the lives of countless passengers are dependent upon the implementation of safety regulations adopted to protect the publics interest. The implications of aviation safety not only save lives while people travel through the air, but ensures the safety of everyone going about their daily business on the ground as well. An airplane crash into a large metropolitan area that is densely populated would most assuredly result in countless ground fatalities, and in retrospect it is amazing that those types of incidents are so few in number.

In the United States, the Federal Aviation Administration oversees many of the efforts concerning aviation safety, along with the education of flight crews to assure maximum safety precautions are followed at all times. Pilot and Navigator certifications, pilot ratings and even the credentials of aviation mechanics are scrutinized to make certain that only the best trained and most conscientious individuals are employed within the commercial airline industry. Due to the enormous responsibility these individuals shoulder, the consequences for non-compliance of aviation safety rules is usually harsh and costly, to both individuals and air carriers that may employ them.

In terms of economics, the importance of aviation safety is staggering, and is understood by few in the general public. With every air traffic accident, a segment of the public is more hesitant to fly, resulting in a loss of revenue to the airline industry. Approximately 40 percent of all tourists travel by air, so a small decline in this area due to safety concerns can easily result in hundreds of millions of dollars transferred to other travel industries. In terms of commerce, 45 million tons of freight is transported annually by air and 10 percent of the world’s GDP is generated by airline industries. There are also 14 million jobs around the world that are tied to air travel. If there were even a 1 or 2 percent decline in air travel and freight movement due to aviation safety concerns the result would be an economic disaster, impacting not only the airline industry in the country of origin, but globally for some period of time to come. For this reason alone, aviation safety is of equal importance to every country and economy on the planet.

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• Flight Safety

Aviation safety is an important aspect of flight management as it is aimed to ensure the safety of the passengers, crew and flight attendants. Flight safety can be enhanced in various aspects through efficient coordination of all the players involved. Lack of cooperation and honesty are the major contributors of poor safety observance in aviation where the professionals are blamed for failure to prevent the reoccurrence of an incidence. In addition, the culture of holding aviation professionals accountable for errors that discourage front-line operators from sharing safety information does not only increase the level of negligence at an individual level but also increases the likelihood of recurrence of an incidence. 

The purpose of this paper is to explore the implications of how the climate of cooperation and honesty as well as aviation culture has contributed to the increase in safety lapse in aviation. The essay discusses whether cooperation and honesty are enough in the prevention of lapses in aviation safety. In addition, it provides possible recommendations to avert the problem. 

Introduction

Aviation safety in the runway ranges from the enhancement of airport marking and signage to improvement in training, new flight deck displays, alerts and controls. There are various runway safety strategies applied by big airlines such as research in flight deck design solutions and developed system to provide the crew with adequate information and awareness with the aim of promoting safety and flight operation efficiency. In the aviation context, safety is a state at which damage to persons and/or material goods can be minimized or maintained at tolerable levels through a process of risk identifications and safety risk management. A safety management system is an important quality management tool that can be used in controlling risks. Most of the airlines that are prone to incidences of safety and security lapse lack an effective safety management control structure. A safety management system can provide an organization with a constructive framework to support a sound safety culture that can be actively used to control exposure to risks. With the gradual increase in aviation activities and declining resources, the effectiveness of safety operations has declined even more. Organizations are required to seek better safety strategies and practices to develop and implement a structured safety management system to control risks and achieve the required legal responsibilities in flight operations. The essay highlights some of the common mistakes and errors done by aviation professionals in reporting, investigation and prosecution of safety incidents and how the concept of culture has contributed to the degradation of flight safety. 

Reporting of Mistakes and Errors and Its Impacts on Aviation Safety

Records of aviation history have numerous accounts of accidents and tragic losses. Since the late 1950s when safety in aviation became paramount, the drive to reduce the number of accidents has been enforced leading to unprecedented levels of safety. Despite all the available innovations realized recently, one fundamental question that aviation professionals need to answer is why aircraft accidents still occur. 

According to Howell, Van and National Research Council, about 70-80% of civil and military aviation accidents are due to human errors. Most accident reporting systems are not designed in compliance to any theoretical framework. Even in situations where there is an efficient error reporting system, human attitude towards error reporting and safety enhancement has contributed to poor performance in accident prevention. The roles of flight deck human errors have been revised in the recent past through massive inspection and maintenance. 

Aviation inspection and maintenance tasks are often the complex part of the organization as individuals are required to perform various tasks in different environments under great pressure, little feedback, and at times difficult ambient conditions. The characteristics of these situations and a combination of general human erring capacities result to various forms of errors. For instance, failure to fix the horizontal stabilizer screw in a Continental Express flight led to 14 fatalities resulting from in-flight leading-edge separation. 

Communication and reporting of such a problem were a major factor leading to the crashing of the plane. Human errors are classified based on their behavioral, conceptual, and contextual nature. This classification describes the error in terms of their ease of observation from the surface. The classification also includes the partition of the errors on such dimensions as their formal qualities like omission, commission and extraneous, immediate consequences like nature and the degree of damages or injuries, observation consequences, whether active or immediate, as well as recoverability and the responsibility of the parties. These classes help analysts in mapping of the surface characteristics to the causal mechanisms. While human errors that result in accidents are the most salient, inspection and maintenance errors have other major consequences that impede efficiency and productivity of airline operations causing inconvenience to the flying public. Such consequences include delayed flights, flight diversion to the nearest airports, air turn backs and gate returns. 

Criminalization of Aviation Accidents

Criminal investigations and prosecution of the parties involved in major aviation disaster continue relentlessly worldwide. In the last decade, various criminal proceedings have been commenced to solve aviation accidents in various countries like Greece, Brazil, France, Turkey, Spain and Indonesia. While the criminal investigations have existed for decades in the aviation industry, the current proliferation of these investigations is alarming. In fact, only 27 criminal proceedings that stemmed out from airlines or aviation industry were opened in the period of 19 years in the 20th century, compared to 30 criminal prosecutions during the first decade of the 21st century. 

Investigation on Delta Airline Flight 191 Crash over Dallas Texas

In August 2nd, 1985, Delta airline flight 191 was on regular schedule providing domestic service from Fort Lauderdale in Florida to Los Angeles through Dallas. This Lockheed L-1011 flight encountered a microburst as it approached the taxiway 17Lat Fort Worth International Airport in Dallas. The pilot was attempting to escape the weather event, but it was unfortunate that the aircraft crashed onto the ground about a mile along the runway. The aircraft hit a moving car north of the airport and also impacted on two water reservoirs, which disintegrated it completely. This accident resulted to the death of 136 passengers and 11 crew members on board as well as the driver of the car. Only 16 passengers survived the crash.

Investigations by the National Transport Safety Board revealed that the crash was caused by the pilot’s decision to fly across a thunderstorm, lacking training on the procedure of avoiding a microburst and lack of hazard information on the display screen. Numerous agencies dealing with public safety responded to the crash and begun investigations immediately. However, the main blame for the accident was put on the pilot’s error basically because he decided to fly through a thunderstorm. NTSB also condemned the airport authorities for the lack of a system that would notify the emergency services in the neighboring towns in good time. Even though the on-site emergency services were notified immediately, the communication center could not notify the other emergency services immediately thus delaying the rescue operations. The DPs also failed to request more ambulances from the neighboring communities like Hurst, Irvine and Grapevine; although Hurst ambulances responded almost immediately after the crash report had been overheard from a radio-frequency scanner. 

According to Adair, Captain Edward Connors had been an employee of the airline since 1954 and had qualified as a TriStar pilot upon passing all proficiency checks. The NTSB noted that the flight crew aboard the flight had flown with the captain for a considerable amount of time to understand one another. Since he qualified in 1979, Connors subsequently passed all proficiency tests of the en route inspection, and he had received constructive comments from his assessor in regards to cockpit discipline and standardization. In his entire career, Connors had logged for over 29,300 flight hours, and three thousand were on this particular type of plane. Rudolph Price was the first officer and was described as an ‘above average first officer’ with excellent knowledge of a TriStar type of aircraft having logged 6500 flight hours and 1200 on the TriStar.  Nick Nassick was the second officer with 6500 flight hours logged 4500 of which was in the Tri-Star and was described as observant, alert and highly professional. 

Despite the Crew’s experience and long-time service in the TriStar type of airplane and conversance with the route, the NTSB passed the blame on the pilots on the allegation that they were not able to decide effectively on the course of action after the microburst. This investigation triggered massive criminal accusations against the crew, and it was evident that had they survived the crash, they would have been brought to justice. Unfortunately, the criminal allegation against the pilots was unwarranted, even though it is too commonplace in investigations of aircraft accidents. Sanctions and criminal investigations should be reserved for deliberate acts of sabotage, and these kinds of criminalization in aviation accidents are not in anyone’s’ best interest. The notion that criminalization of accidents serves as a deterrent measure is unjustifiable. According to contemporary aviation professionals, laying blame on the aircraft crew is just a scheme by airport authorities and aviation companies to seek better ways of enhancing security and public safety in their aircrafts. As illustrated by Howell, Van and National Research Council, aviation firms and individuals already have their internal ways of deterring bad acts since they are in the safety business. Flight crew risk their own life all the time in the flight deck as they exercise judgment, and any effort to delay in getting the plane down in case of emergency can lead to a tragedy. 

This kind of assumption by the airport authorities and airlines is erroneous because it increases the likelihood of reporting errors and hazards to the relevant people as they happen. Just like in the case of Flight 191 of Delta Airlines, the airport authorities failed to warn the pilot of bad weather leading to the crash. Such decisions have a negative impact on aviation safety because various departments required to improve on several aspects would not otherwise do so because the crew are to blame for most of the reasons in case of an accident.

The Concept of Just Culture in Aviation Safety

Just Culture is a culture where the front line operators and other highly responsible personnel go unpunished for actions, errors omissions, and decisions they take, which are commensurate to their experience and training, but due to gross negligence, willful violation and destructive actions that cannot be tolerated. It means that punishing the pilots and the air traffic controllers with fines and license suspension can discourage other front-line operators from reporting any kinds of errors and mistakes leading to the consequential reduction in safety information. It is thus fundamentally important to encourage the development of an environment where various occurrences are reported and acted upon through the investigation and development of preventive actions like retraining and improved supervision. 

The concept of just culture does not necessarily mean that there is a complete protection of the frontline operators in case of an aviation accident or incidents. No one should be above the law. The process of interpreting the suitable and undesirable actions and behaviors is the responsibility of the judiciary. In fact, the administration of integrity and justice in different domains of criminal laws constitutes the pillars of the state’s sovereign functions even in civil aviation organizations.

This concept should replace the blame game in aviation industry because it can help to constantly improve the aviation systems at the core because all the employees can feel a little safer to raise their hands when they spot a mistake; they make an error or bad choice. This approach can support the system in self-updating its performance to reduce the occurrence of high risk events. If the entire aviation industry learns from the experience, it can be more efficient and safer in the future because the safety can be improved through the process of uninterrupted learning. The profitability of airlines can be strengthened due to increase of stability, efficiency and risks that are proactively managed. The morale of the employees can be highly increased because every person has a chance to be treated fairly and empowered to do the best within their position other than leveling blame to people who did not have another choice apart from doing what they did. 

Flight safety is usually a shared responsibility and a collective effort because it involves the cooperation of all flight departments and personnel involved in running a flight. Airport authorities, Air Traffic Controls (ATC), aeroplane and avionic manufacturers, as well as the flight operators, have a special challenge and responsibility to ensure that there is a sustainable safe environment at the airport. Airports authorities must focus on providing visible and understandable signage signs as well as well-maintained and defined surfaces. They must provide safe and efficient airplane controls including the separation procedures and services. There is always a need to facilitate improvement through effective guidance and oversight. 

Blaming culture has been a common excuse for poor performance in aviation in regards to human safety. Negligence, lack of responsibility and accountability have been the major contributors of accidents and incidents in-flight and off-flight. Reporting mistakes and errors lack had its impact on the declining state of aviation safety among some airlines and airports. Poor safety control and measurement have also led to criminalization of the wrong people and leaving the culpable serving in the unsafe aviation industry. Therefore, a change would be required to transform the mode of operation in and out of the flight to improve the rate of operational safety. 

Recommendation

Aviation safety management is part of the airport operation which comprises of taxi, take-off, approach and landing operations that take place from the ground up to 2500 feet within a distance of five nautical miles from the airport. The solutions to flight deck designs should be developed along the following areas along the runway. To reduce this effect of blame and criminalization of the flight crew upon the occurrence of an accident, it would be necessary for all airlines and responsible units to develop the concept of ‘just culture’ in their operations to ease the problems related to aviation safety. 

Once the causal factors in specific areas have been determined, the flight’s research and product development team can identify potential flight deck designs to assess their practicability, effectiveness and feasibility. These measures can help improve the rate of cooperation and honesty among aviation professionals by promoting the culture of information sharing thus improving the rate of aviation safety. With the right tools and system in place, reporting incidences can be enhanced by reducing the blaming culture because every department and the personnel involved can be held accountable in case of occurrence of an avoidable incidence. 

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Safety management.

Description

Safety management is commonly understood as applying a set of principles, framework, processes and measures to prevent accidents, injuries and other adverse consequences that may be caused by using a service or a product. It is that function which exists to assist managers in better discharging their responsibilities for operational system design and implementation through either the prediction of system’s deficiencies before errors occur or the identification and correction of system’s deficiencies by professional analysis of safety occurrences.

Safety management implies a systematic approach to managing safety, including the necessary organisational structure, accountabilities, policies and procedures.

Safety management is an organisational function, which ensures that all safety risks have been identified, assessed and satisfactorily mitigated.

The objective of safety management in the aviation industry is to prevent human injury or loss of life, and to avoid damage to the environment and to property.

The primary focus of safety management in aviation is on safety of flights encompassing also all associated and support services, which can have an impact on safety, for example air navigation services, aerodrome operations management, etc. Occupational safety and related health & environmental issues fall outside the scope of SKYbrary articles on safety management and are generally dealt with by a separate management system.

Introducing Safety Management in Aviation

The concept of proactive safety management in aviation originated in the mid 1990s. It encompasses a business-like management approach to the safety of flight operations.

In retrospect the initial and fragile “fly-fix-fly” system (1920s - 1970s), was reactive in nature, i.e. the emphasis was put on individual  risk management , intensive training and accident investigation. This approach was gradually replaced by a new system-based concept. From the 1970s to the mid 1990s the adopted model was mainly influenced by the progress of technology and shifted the concern towards  human error . The focus was to contain and mitigate the human error through regulation and training; lessons were being learned from incident investigations and other industries. In spite of substantial investment of resources in human error mitigation, the major reason for safety breakdowns continued to be attributed to unsatisfactory human performance as a recurring factor. From the mid 90’s onwards, a new approach towards managing safety was adopted, proactively utilising and analysing routinely collected safety-related data.

Reactive Safety Management

According to the  ICAO Safety Management Manual (Doc 9859)  safety management in the aviation industry is a combination of the two described perspectives, traditional and modern. The reactive (or traditional) safety management approach is useful when dealing with technological failures, or unusual events. It is generally described by the following characteristics:

• The focus is on compliance with the minimum safety requirements;
• The level of safety is based on  reported safety occurrences , with its inherent limitations, such as: examination of actual failures only; insufficiency of data to determine safety trends; insufficiency of insight regarding the chain of causal and contributory events; the existence and role of latent unsafe conditions.

Proactive Safety Management

The proactive approach in the safety management is based on following a risk management strategy that includes  identifying hazards  before they materialise into  incidents  or  accidents  and taking the necessary actions to reduce the safety risks. Components of a proactive safety management strategy are:

• Unambiguous  safety policy  ensuring the senior management commitment to safety;
• Hazard identification  and  risk assessment  using state-of-the-art risk assessment methods;
• Safety reporting  systems used to collect, analyse and share operational safety related data;
• Competent  investigation of safety occurrences  with sole purpose of identifying systemic safety deficiencies;
• Safety monitoring  and  safety oversight  aimed to asses safety performance and eliminate problem areas;
• Dedicated safety training for personnel
• Safety lesson dissemination  and sharing best practices among operators and service providers;
• Building a corporate  safety culture  that fosters good safety practices and encourages safety communications in a non-punitive environment

None of these components will, on their own, meet expectations for improved aviation safety management. An integrated use of all these components will increase a system’s resistance to unsafe acts and conditions. The consistent integration of the components of proactive safety management is commonly referred to as a  Safety Management System  (SMS).

The growing recognition of the role and importance of safety management has led to the progressive implementation of safety management systems by aviation service provider organisations (airlines, air navigation service providers, airport operators) in the last few years. This process is managed and monitored by States through dedicated  safety programmes  in line with  International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO)  recommendations.

Improving corporate safety performance by proactively managing the safety of provided services is increasingly recognised by all aviation sectors as a prerequisite for sustainable business management and operational growth.

The Cost of Safety

Safety comes at a price. All organisations have limited resources to devote to safety, and must deal continually with the conflicting goals of safety versus productivity, efficiency, or customer service objectives, which ultimately determine profitability. Financial health in any business will be influenced not only by good management and internal efficiency, but by the external economic environment.

A stated commitment to safety is necessary but not sufficient to enable safety improvements. The commitment must be supported by appropriate resourcing - of technology and equipment, training and expertise, policies and systems that promote operational safety.

One indicator of a positive  safety culture  is the extent to which these resources for safety are immune from an organisation’s financial situation. The commitment to safety should be consistent and visible regardless of any financial pressures facing the organisation, whether internally or externally generated.

The extent to which an organisation’s financial health operates and is committed to safety (as stated) will be apparent from information about the following decisions and practices:

• What budgetary changes affecting safety are made when ‘times are tough’? For example, is some safety-related training seen as dispensable and is cut or postponed?
• To what extent are productivity or efficiency pressures increased at these times? For example, is ‘cutting corners’ encouraged or condoned more often?
• Do management priorities, messages and most importantly their actions change from a focus on safety to other organisational goals, such as the ‘bottom line’?

Related Articles

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Further Reading

• ICAO Doc 9859 - Safety Management Manual, Fourth Edition - 2018;
• ICAO Annex 19, Safety Management , 1st Edition
• ICAO Integrated Safety Management website ;

EUROCONTROL

• Newsletter: Safety Management in Air Navigation Services ;
• Safety Regulatory Requirement - ESARR 3, Use of Safety Management Systems by ATM Service Providers
• Best Practices for the Staffing of Safety Management Activities ;
• SMS COST Model
• Cost of SMS: EUROCONTROL Approach & Associated S/W Tool  2011
• SMS Roadmaps and Safety Indicators: Can We Build Them Without Safety Culture?  by Tony Licu, 2012

EUROCONTROL & FAA

• CEOs on Safety Culture , Action Plan 15 White Paper, Oct 2015.
• Transforming Risk Management
• CAP 642: Airside Safety Management .
• Safety Risk Management at the State Level ; Dr Hazel Courtney, UK CAA and Amer Younossi, USA FAA. - presentation given to  IASS 2015 , November 2015.
• Safety, Security, Quality, Risk and Business Continuity Management - Roadmap 2020+ , Skyguide, March 2021
• Experience Sharing on Safety Assessments- Example From Other Industry : IAEA  presentation from SASI Workshop, June 2009
• Development of the Aviation Safety Index (ASI) & Other Safety Dashboards  presentation by Dr. David Harrison, NATS at ANSP CEO Conference, 2013
• Challenges in Safety Management: DFS's View  presentation, 2015
• Operational Risk & SMS Synergy at RYANAIR  presentation by Cpt. Andrew Elbert, 2015
• Experience Sharing to Enhance Safety from an Airline Perspective - easyJet
• Going Solid & Flirting with the Margin  and  A brief look at going solid and the dynamics of safety  presentation by Richard Cook, 2015
• Safety I and Safety II: The Past and Future of Safety Management  by Erik Hollnagel, 2013
• Proactive Safety: Looking for Things That Go Right  DFS, 2013
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• SMS Cost Model & Link to Safety Maturity  by Compass Innovative Solutions Ltd, 2011
• Mind the Gap!  DFS, 2014
• What does Work-As-Imagined (WAI) And Work-As- Done (WAD) Mean?  Erik Hollnagel, 2014
• Learning from All Operations: Expanding the Field of Vision to Improve Aviation Safety , Flight Safety Foundation, July 2021

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Emphasising the importance of a safe and secure aviation industry

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Posted: 18 March 2020 | José Luis Nieto - AENA | No comments yet

Despite often being seen as an inconvenience and the reason for longer journey times, José Luis Nieto, Head of the Security Division at Aena, discusses the importance of airport security in ensuring safe travel and limiting the number of industry-changing security issues.

Aviation security challenges

It can be said that the aviation sector, and in particular airport security, has not been able to convey the importance of passenger, aircraft and airport facility security.

Air transport is now one of the most popular modes of transport among passengers due to its main advantages against other modes of transport: Speed, punctuality and security.

Speed has always been one of the main driving forces throughout the history of aviation, and what passengers value most. Punctuality is another highly-valued factor for passengers, guaranteeing the optimisation of time. Last but not least, the security of air transport is the pillar on which customer trust is built for this transport mode; it is what makes planes the chosen method for both personal and business journeys.

The need for security within the aviation industry

Airport security plays a key role in engendering trust in passengers when it comes to air transport. It seems obvious that air travel would not have evolved the way it has in recent years if it weren’t secure, if passengers hadn’t trusted that their flight would arrive at its destination without any life-threatening incidents. Security, therefore, is not only a pillar for the development of aviation but has actively contributed to the passenger number growth we have witnessed in recent years. Personally, I would even go as far as to say that this mode of transport would have become extinct if, throughout the years, passengers hadn’t put their faith in air travel being safe and secure.

The real challenge for aviation is to implement security measures that can respond to threats and affect passengers as little as possible, and with positive perceptions

History has shown that aviation has had to face changing threats year after year. This means that legislators, airports, airlines, passengers and staff have to adapt their processes; altering air travel, regulations and, in turn, the customer experience. This is air travel’s greatest challenge, maintaining the highest level of security, whilst affecting efficiency as little as possible, and still continuing to offer the best experience and quality to passengers and airlines alike. It’s no easy feat, but this is the direction we have to go in and what we must make the most effort to work on. This way, we’ll achieve reliable air transport for the millions of passengers that use it worldwide.

How aviation has evolved

If we look back at the history of aviation, we can see moments in which the threats to air travel changed the way we fly. These threats have palpably affected the pillars of aviation mentioned previously (speed, punctuality and security). As passengers, we’ve modified the way we travel – the way we pack our case, for example – compared to when we travel by train, bus or in our family car. Airports and airlines have also adapted to growing security requirements with appropriate protocol, employee training and large investments to achieve efficient and cost-effective air travel. There have been many situations regarding security that have affected air transport and, among them, are three that I believe to be the most significant.

Pan Am Flight 103 from Frankfurt

In 1988, Pan Am Flight 103 from Frankfurt exploded over Lockerbie in the United Kingdom, having stopped off in London en route to its final destination of Detroit. It is known not least because all 259 people on board were killed in the crash, but also because, from this moment on, the compulsory inspection of 100 per cent of hold baggage was introduced worldwide. This increased luggage processing times, meaning passengers now had to arrive earlier for their flights. This increase of journey times affected not only security, but the future of air travel speed. Thanks to this measure, air travel is now much more secure, despite having increased journey times.

The 9/11 terrorist attacks

The 9/11 terrorist attacks in 2001 are the most relevant to date; shaking the future of aviation and transforming airport security forever. From this moment on, every country implemented a security model that was based on the inspection of all passenger belongings with restrictions on items able to be carried in hand luggage; increased training requirements; and employee inspections on entering security-sensitive areas. It also provoked huge changes in international civil aviation, supposing the introduction of security measures by every country to mitigate the threat to commercial aviation. It greatly affected the passenger experience, as items that were previously permitted were removed from hand luggage and waiting times at security increased significantly.

The result was that many passengers felt uncomfortable and a negative effect on how people perceived air travel, as well as its security measures. This change required airports to invest in security measures, such as equipment inspections and cameras, as well as resources and personnel. It also negatively affected revenue, as passengers spent less time in commercial areas due to the increase in waiting times at airport security.

Nineteen years on, and the process is now widely accepted as the norm by frequent flyers. These measures have affected flight times and the quality of service perceived by passengers while passing through airport security.

Liquid explosives in 2006

In 2006, a terrorist group attempted an attack with carry-on liquid explosives. Once again, the repercussions for airports were huge; having a negative impact on how air transport and security were viewed by passengers. To this day, it continues to generate controversy among travellers. The most common items currently removed at airport security checkpoints worldwide are liquid containers of more than 100ml, normally water, alcoholic beverages or toiletries.

Again, the implementation of new security procedures adversely affected the speed and punctuality of flights. However, most frequent flyers are now aware of these rules and restrictions. There are still passengers who are not aware of these regulations, resulting in misunderstanding and confusion. Once again, security affected passengers’ perception on quality of service.

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Security measures within airports

There are many more identifiable situations in which how a threat has been responded to – in regard to security processes – creates a more complicated experience for passengers. However, these ultimately make aviation more secure. This has transformed air transport and the way we travel in recent decades.

Throughout history, we have seen new threats appear, and this has generated more legislation and requirements that must be met by passengers, airports and airlines. The main consequence is that the passenger experience at some airports has deteriorated – not only because of the increased waiting times at security, but also because of having less time to enjoy the shops and services available. Passengers generally perceive these security measures as something that increases their journey time and is responsible for flight delays. It can be said that the aviation sector and, in particular, airport security, has not been able to convey the importance of passenger, aircraft and airport facility security.

On some occasions, I have heard that the security measures are excessive and negatively affect the fluidity of air travel, to which I always respond with a reflection on what would have happened if there had not been a response to new threats that have arisen throughout history. It is true that there are no statistics for the amount of incidents that have been prevented by the application of security measures to date, but we do know that we have not experienced similar security incidents that have resulted in the loss of human lives. It is clear that the processes and security measures that respond to the threats have been a great investment; achieving secure and reliable air transport for passengers. The survival and growth of air transport has been ensured by a robust security model capable of responding to emerging threats. The real challenge for aviation is to implement security measures that can respond to threats and affect passengers as little as possible, and with positive perceptions.

Passengers create negative connotations in regard to security checks due to the frequent queues that occur as a result

This journey does not end here. Threats continue to evolve, we are still dealing with existing ones while new ones continue to appear, such as cyber-threats. Even more current threats have recently emerged, such as drones on the airport premises, leading to several occasions on which operations have been suspended at several airports. We must continue to work on and adapt the processes in order to maintain, above all, the levels of security that we have achieved to date.

The challenges are an issue for the entire airport family – for legislators, airport passenger operators, and for airlines. Will we be able to mitigate current and future threats, while maintaining air transport’s pillars of speed, punctuality and security? It takes work and dedication on the part of the entire air transport value chain to achieve this. New technologies, with greater detection capacities, and the training of security personnel are key to achieving the highest levels of security, giving priority to the quality of passenger experience. From where I stand, I believe that this is the path we must continue down if we want to keep advancing towards air transport that is, above all, secure, whilst maintaining the speed and punctuality we have achieved up until now.

Finally, I wonder, if air travel were not secure, would it have users? Would there be any passengers if we didn’t have guaranteed security? What would happen if, once a month, a plane crashed due to a deliberate attack? Would passengers have the confidence to fly on aircraft in which all the passengers had not passed security checks? I sincerely believe not. Perhaps, one day, we should do a social experiment, offering two flights to the same destination, one of which has passed all the security measures, the other of which has not. Which one would you choose? For me, it’s a no brainer.

In short, the existence of air transport makes sense because it is secure, and secondary to that are its other qualities, such as speed, punctuality and the varied commercial and complementary services. Let’s keep moving forward!

Related topics

Accidents and incidents , Airport crisis management , Passenger experience and seamless travel , Safety , Security , Terminal operations , Terrorist attacks

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He has experience in customer service, operations and now oversees the security function and is also the Chief Operations Officer. 

Peter has been instrumental in co-ordinating the preparation and implementation of a COVID-19 response plan for not just MBJ, but to guide the operation of all agencies operating on airport. The aim of this plan was to ensure a safe environment for staff and the travelling public; therefore, this plan was instrumental to establish consumer/travellers/public confidence and provided information and guidelines on the new protocols implemented at the airport.  

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