Have FAA/Industry Safety Efforts Worked?

We in the general aviation (GA) community are fond of poking fun occasionally at the FAA. Most of the time, its to highlight a perceived and sometimes real tension between the community and the agency. Frequently, this takes the form of tired clichs such as, "Im from the FAA and Im here to help you," or another mythical phrase such as, "Were not happy until youre not happy." When I was FAAs lead GA executive in the early 2000s, my favorite became, "Weve just upped our standards, now up yours."

Key Takeaways:

• While the Commercial Aviation Safety Team (CAST) achieved a 74% reduction in airline fatal accident rates, the General Aviation Joint Safety Committee (GAJSC) has seen no significant improvement in the GA fatal accident rate, which has remained stubbornly stagnant for over a decade.
• Current GA safety initiatives, such as the FAAST program, are criticized for predominantly reaching already safety-conscious pilots rather than those most at risk, and for not always targeting the true root causes of fatal accidents.
• Achieving a substantial reduction in GA fatal accidents, like the proposed 50% goal, requires a new approach that includes significant changes in GA safety culture, comprehensive pilot training reform, and more effective accident root-cause analysis, particularly regarding risk management.

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