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Letter of the Week: Airshow Crashes, Media Sensationalism and Improving Safety

Gemini Sparkle

Key Takeaways:

  • The International Council of Air Shows (ICAS) has actively improved safety since 2007, implementing measures like a safety officer and risk mitigation, which has contributed to a decrease in accident rates, though continuous vigilance is required.
  • Television media tends to sensationalize airshow accidents, leading to an exaggerated public perception of their frequency, despite the industry maintaining an excellent spectator safety record with no fatalities since 1951.
  • Achieving further safety improvements in both airshows and general aviation requires fundamental changes in pilot mindset and increased effort, as the easily implementable safety gains have largely been realized, yet the author believes more progress is possible.
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After our piece last week on the risky nature of airshow flying and the challenging process of improving safety given all the variables (“Airshow Crashes: The Cost of Doing Business? Going Direct, by Robert Goyer), we received a number of emails from our readers, one of whom is John Cudahy, the president of the International Council of Air Shows, whom we referenced in the blog. Cudahy weighs in with some nuanced views on the subjects that Goyer raised in his blog and sets the bar for safety even higher.

Mr. Goyer:

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