As the new year rolled in, several headlines pointed to 2017 as the safest year in U.S. commercial aviation history. All told, according to one report, on January 1, 399 days had passed without a single fatal commercial passenger jet accident. Another report, this one focusing on U.S.-registered business jets, noted a 62.5 percent reduction in fatalities in 2017. Great news, right?
As an aviation safety professional, I celebrated these accomplishments for about a millisecond. Perhaps I’m jaded or have become a bit of a “safety contrarian,” but these reports add fuel to the argument that “we’re already safe”—an excuse that some use for no action. The reality is that we will never be 100 percent safe. Day in and out, there is continued evidence that many threats, hazards, and other latent conditions remain prevalent in our system.
Pilot, safety expert, consultant, and aviation journalist Stuart “Kipp” Lau writes about flight safety and airmanship for AIN.
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