For those who manage risk in aviation organizations, it can be irritating when simplistic news reports start hitting the street about who is “No. 1 in airline safety.” While the airlines that receive the highest marks probably don’t complain, you can bet they aren’t being very boastful, either. They know the challenges in monitoring everything in their operations. They know about the layers of protection they depend on, what they’ve built into their systems and integrated with other organizations, and they know that at any given time, those layers could be penetrated by some innocuous event or compromised by somebody or something beyond their control.
It’s that kind of attitude that makes a big difference in this industry. It’s why the most safety-conscious airlines are never satisfied with the protections they have built, and they are always looking for a better way to reduce their risks. It’s why the collective efforts of all airlines, their business partners an…
