Next month, I am scheduled to give a presentation at the International Union of Aerospace Insurers’ (IUAI) annual general meeting. The topic is “2012: Blip or Step-Change.” This speaking engagement is significant on a number of fronts. First of all, the IUAI meeting is being held in Bermuda and, as most of you probably are aware, there are worse places to spend a few days in early June. Secondly, I recently marked my one-year anniversary at Flight Safety Foundation, so I’m interpreting Foundation President and CEO Kevin Hiatt’s approval to take on this engagement as a vote of confidence.
Most important, however, is the subject. Was the much-ballyhooed safest year since the dawn of time, or least since the dawn of aviation, a blip on the continuum or does it mark a permanent change? Has the industry achieved an unmatched, sustainable level of safety excellence?
As we all know by now, the data show that 2012 was the safest year on record for …
