Aviation safety is the study and practice of managing risks in aviation.
Risk prevention includes minimizing aviation accidents and incidents through research, educating air travel personnel, passengers and the general public, as well as the design of aircraft and aviation infrastructure.
The U.S. Department of Transportation is the primary U.S. department that is responsible for aviation safety. Its important sub-agencies include:
- Transportation Security Administration (TSA) — Regulates aviation security and operates airport screening checkpoints.
- Federal Aviation Administration — Regulates aviation safety and pilot certification and operates the air traffic control system.
There’s also the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB), which investigates accidents in public transportation, including aircraft. The NTSB was established in 1967 when Congress first created the Department of Transportation.
Originally intended as an organization within the DOT, the NTSB became its own independent organization in 1974 to ensure fair, objective investigations and recommendations. Additionally, the NTSB’s duties expanded in 1996 to include providing federal assistance to families of aviation accident victims.
While the NTSB is not involved with the operation, regulation or funding of any mode of transportation that falls under government authority, the feedback from agents investigating aviation accidents has been extremely important in crafting better safety regulations.
Many aspects are involved in aviation safety – possibly none more important than proper maintenance. When aviation maintenance is not done correctly, it contributes to a significant proportion of aviation accidents and incidents. Some examples of maintenance errors are parts installed incorrectly, missing parts, and necessary checks not being performed.
Additionally, in comparison to many other threats to aviation safety, the mistakes of an aviation maintenance technician (AMT) can be more difficult to detect. Often times, these mistakes are present but not visible and have the potential to remain latent, affecting the safe operation of aircraft for longer periods of time.
Because of the nature of the maintenance tasks, AMTs commonly spend more time preparing for a task than actually carrying it out. Proper documentation of all maintenance work is a key element, and AMTs typically spend as much time updating maintenance logs as they do performing the work.
Want to know more? Tonex offers Aviation Safety Training Bootcamp, a 2-day course designed to provide the participants with the working knowledge of the planning, designing and testing development of an effective system safety program. The development of major system safety concepts are examined with particular emphasis on system safety risk assessment, mitigation and accident prevention.
For more information, questions, comments, contact us.