According to a recent article in Flight International Magazine, the aviation industry is unlikely to substantially improve its safety performance until operational quality control measures are implemented more widely.

This comment was made in response to IATA statistics which indicate a slight deterioration in safety performance since 2005 2006 when all time best results were recorded.

Interestingly, a recent Flight International magazine article confirms most industry observations that many fatal commercial accidents in the last few years involve second and third tier airlines where regulatory oversight is poor. The inference is that a strong and effective regulator is a significant factor in the evolution and maintenance of a safe industry culture.  Whilst, this is certainly the case, to think that the regulator is the only or even the prime factor is overly simplistic.  Many other elements of the societal, commercial, economic and operating environment also can influence safety cultures.

The current economic circumstances affecting commercial aviation, will undoubtedly increase pressures on airlines, maintenance organizations, infrastructure service providers and governments, which, if not carefully managed by all concerned may subtly increase the risks in the system of aviation safety.  Regulators and the organizations themselves must look at their risks, controls and system defenses in the context of the tighter economic conditions.

In addition, initiatives such as Terrain Awareness & Warning System (TAWS), Safety Management Systems, the introduction of straight in GPS based approaches etc., have significantly reduced the accident rate over the past decade.  Maybe these have always been the ‘low hanging fruit’, and regulators and operators need now to look further into the human and technological elements associated with accident prevention to improve world aviation safety performance.

A possible area for attention is that of runway incursions.  Statistics indicate that a significant proportion (26%) of commercial hull losses resulted from runway incursion accidents.  To address this issue, regulators, aircraft and aerodrome operators can improve training particularly for airports which are complex and or have potentially confusing features.  Regulators could also review progress (especially in the USA) of the development and use of on-board ground based guidance systems, and encourage adoption by simplifying the certification and approval processes.