Compliance Is Not Enough for Bizav Safety Culture, Wyvern CEO Contends | Aviation International News

Bizav Safety Compliance Isn’t Enough, Says Wyvern CEO

Bates links emotional intelligence and safety culture, poses questions for leaders

By Amy Wilder • Writer

July 17, 2026

Audits, certificates, and safety management system (SMS) documentation demonstrate compliance at a point in time but don’t by themselves prove that an operator is tracking how risk changes between those checkpoints, contends Sonnie Bates, CEO of aviation safety intelligence provider Wyvern.

Bates cites his own doctoral research, based on data from 257 U.S. business aviation participants, that found that emotional intelligence was a strong predictor of safety culture. He offers five questions for leaders to reflect on before their next audit: What has changed since the last safety review? Where is drift occurring? Are weak signals reported early enough? Do corrective actions change behavior? And Does the SMS influence operational decisions?

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