Air Safety

Air safety is a term encompassing the theory, investigation and categorization of flight failures, and the prevention of such failures through regulation, education, and training.

The International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) takes the principles and techniques of international air navigation and fosters the planning and development of international air transport to ensure safe and orderly growth. They adopt standards and recommended practices concerning air navigation. Civil aviation is a powerful force for progress in our modern global society. It is a catalyst for travel and tourism, the world's largest industry.

Twenty four hours a day, 365 days of the year, an airplane takes off or lands every few seconds somewhere on the face of the earth. Every one of these flights is handled in the same, uniform manner, whether by air traffic control, airport authorities, or pilots at the controls of their aircraft. Behind the scenes are millions of employees involved in manufacturing, maintenance, and monitoring of the products and services required in the never-ending cycle of flights. In fact, modern aviation is one of the most complex systems of interaction between human beings and machines ever created.

This clock-work precision in procedures and systems is made possible by the existence of universally accepted standards known as Standards and Recommended Practices, or SARPs. SARPs cover all technical and operational aspects of international civil aviation, such as safety, personnel licensing, operation of aircraft, aerodromes, air traffic services, accident investigation and the environment. I believe without SARPs and the ICAO, our aviation system would be at best chaotic and at worst unsafe.