At GA Safety Summit, FAA Says 2017 May Be Industry’s Safest Year Yet

Oct. 26, 2017

At the FAA’s recent General Aviation (GA) Summit, the agency and GA community leaders recognized the work of several collaborative efforts that are reducing the industry’s accident rate, and ensured continued commitment to these efforts.

NBAA was one of six associations at the meeting, which was the last General Aviation Summit conducted under outgoing FAA Administrator Michael Huerta, who praised the industry for helping to make safety improvements in general aviation.

“We first started this group to address the stubbornly high general aviation fatality rate,” he said. “And I’m happy to report we’re seeing results from these efforts. We’re still finalizing the numbers, but it looks like 2017 will end up being our safest year yet.”

Huerta noted that the general aviation fatal accident rate continues to decline – “far below our target rate of one per 100,000 flight hours. This is a significant accomplishment. And it wouldn’t have been possible without all of you – and your commitment to advancing general aviation safety,” he told summit attendees.

Sharing de-identified safety data between operators and with the FAA is providing greater insight on potential risks before they affect aircraft operations.

“The business aviation industry continues to show a growing interest in the value of sharing safety data,” said NBAA President and CEO Ed Bolen, who represented the association at the event. “The Aviation Safety Information Analysis and Sharing (ASIS) program is facilitating a growing awareness of the value of sharing safety data, while providing helpful insight to operators regarding their individual performance.”

In his remarks at the summit, Huerta also highlighted this issue.

“As long as general aviation accidents keep occurring, we must stay vigilant and keep finding new ways to advance our shared safety mission,” he said. “General aviation’s engagement in ASIAS is crucial. We need to continue using data to identify trends and direct our [accident mitigation] efforts where they’re needed most.”

Business aviation has seen a steady growth in safety data sharing, with 62 companies now participating with the FAA’s ASIAS program.