ARTICLE: An appreciation of aviation safety trends
The FAA Managers Association web page has correctly analyzed the numbers produced by Flight Global (http://ow.ly/bp7XT ). The 2011aviation safety record was 17% better than the previous year’s statistics. That is not a meaningful measure, though, as FAAAMA noted. What is impressive and what all aviation safety professionals know is that the 20 year perspective is the true measure of merit.
In that time frame, the reduction in the accident rate is an impressive 50%. That improvement reflects better equipment, better training and better safety systems. Safety is a matter of continuous seeking of improvement; we need to scrutinize what each of us can do daily to further raise the bar.
The Dick Collins’ Magic Safety Mirror (http://jdasolutions.aero/blog/?p=442 ) comes to mind; after every flight and at the end of each day, we need to spend time considering how the accident rate can be reduced in our airplanes, in our hangars, in our towers/centers or in our office. Only by such focus will that 50% success may be replicated by 2032.
