Flight Safety Digest July 1992

Stuart Matthews Welcome Address STUART MATTHEWS Chairman, Board of Governors, Flight Safety Foundation For those of you who keep track of such things, financial support, the Foundation was also buf- this really should be the fifth annual seminar. feted severely. But events of a year ago — notably the Persian Gulf War — necessitated our postponement of That was the bad news during 1991. We had to last year’s meeting. make some difficult decisions and make some severe cutbacks in both people and expendi- While the war was paramount in our minds, tures. However, all that is behind us and I am other difficulties beset us simultaneously. World pleased to tell you that the numerous belt- economics were — and continue to be — in tightening measures taken in the last year have various states of disarray, budget deficits abound been successful. and everyone wonders whether or not there will be an international “peace dividend.” As we begin to see signs of an economic re- covery, the future outlook for the Foundation The aviation industry itself fell victim to lag- is very promising. Indeed, I am more optimis- ging world economies. As turbulence hit the tic about the Foundation’s financial situation air transport industry, upon which we rely for than I have ever been since I became chair- FLIGHT SAFETY FOUNDATION • FLIGHT SAFETY DIGEST • JULY 1992 1 Maintaining High Safety Standards in the Turbulent ’90s man. We are now on an even keel; the seas are people to so many conferences in so many calmer and a fair wind is blowing to help us places. “Industrial tourism,” as I have heard it along. called, has to be curtailed. Industry is asking us (even telling us) to reduce it or industry Even with the cuts we had to make, the Founda- may not continue to support us. At the Foun- tion has continued to provide all of its basic dation, we have been listening and seeking to services to members. It has become more task respond to the message. oriented and, although on a lesser scale for the moment, we are once again embarked on a com- Perhaps mergers or consolidation of various prehensive program of renewed safety efforts. like-minded organizations might come about someday as a way to reduce costs. However, While there are other organizations within the for the moment, each group has its own par- air transport industry concerned about avia- ticular focus, therefore a more appropriate way tion safety, the fact is that the Flight Safety is to reduce travel costs. We have listened to Foundation is the only non-profit, non-parti- industry and this year the Flight Safety san, non-political, totally independent insti- Foundation’s major conference, the Interna- tution of its kind covering all aspects of flight tional Air Safety Seminar, will be held jointly safety. It provides a neutral forum, such as with another respected body, the International this one, for industry to discuss and dissemi- Federation of Airworthiness (IFA). nate objective information aimed at improv- ing aviation safety. Many of us belong to both organizations. This year, instead of two separate conferences in Of course, this effort also means a need for two widely separated places, we will hold just continued funding and there is increasing concern one conference together in Long Beach, Cali- being voiced by industry that the level of fi- fornia, in November. It is a start, but it is one nancial support required is becoming too ex- which should bring about significant savings pensive. I do not have to remind you of the in travel and time-out-of-the-office costs for generally repressed state of our industry, or of those companies that normally like to be rep- how every penny spent now has to be resented at both meetings. justified. While we are trying to respond to industry’s We all recognize the benefits, indeed the ne- requests to reduce costs, I would hope that cessity, of having conferences, such as this one, some of the savings will be passed back to us where we can focus on problems and discuss through their continued support for the es- solutions. But it is true that attendance at such sential work we are doing. conferences is not cheap. I am not talking just about conference fees. I’m also thinking of the Today, the Foundation provides leadership to cost of people’s time and particularly (for the 550 member organizations in 75 countries. Long non-airline people) the cost of travel, hotels acknowledged as “the conscience of the in- and meals. Think of it. For some of us that dustry,” the Foundation is credited with being alone can amount to several thousand dollars. instrumental in the development of many of And of course there are other organizations the significant advances in air safety over the doing much the same sort of thing — holding years that are taken for granted today. But we conferences in various parts of the world, dis- still have a lot of work to do. cussing topics, some of which might even overlap with our own. While air travel is undoubtedly now the safest form of modern mass transportation, the ac- Most of us here, I know, are funded by our tual safety rate (accidents per number of pas- companies. But that does not make it any cheaper. senger miles flown) has tended to remain con- Industry cannot afford to keep sending so many stant in recent years, albeit at a very low level. 2 FLIGHT SAFETY FOUNDATION • FLIGHT SAFETY DIGEST • JULY 1992 Stuart Matthews The challenge we face is to further reduce this Therefore, the best way to fund the Foundation’s rate to ensure that the projected increase in very necessary programs is not to ask for more traffic, expected to double over the next funding from the same individuals and firms, 10 years, does not lead to a doubling of the but to seek support from a wider cross-section actual number of aircraft accidents. of our industry in order to share the load. Clearly, to do this we need to expand the Obviously, such a situation — which would Foundation’s membership, and we need your mean some 25 major accidents per year or about help in accomplishing this. one every two weeks — would be totally unac- ceptable to the public perception of our indus- We have to reduce the accident rate. It is an try and could lead to undesirable and hasty industry problem that should be shared and political solutions. I believe that this challenge funded by all elements of our industry. And is best dealt with by industry itself and that the that’s the message I want to impart to you. If Flight Safety Foundation continues to be one of you are members already, we thank you for the best forums in which to facilitate them. your support. If you are not members, or if you know other individuals or organizations However, there is a paradox associated with who should be members, you will be doing a this goal. We know that reducing accident rates, great service by enlisting their support and when these rates are already extremely low, is encouraging them to join the Foundation. going to cost much more to achieve the same benefit in the future than it has in the past. There is much to be optimistic about, for it is clear to me that the Foundation’s worldwide Thus, if the Foundation is to attain its objec- impact continues to be felt, and that it is highly tives, we have to seek more support. It is go- regarded by the aviation community and the ing to require more financial resources at a public. time when we have been receiving less. The Foundation positively influences safety I believe that it is unfair to return yet again to thinking — in many ways and in many parts the same industry leaders and companies who of the world. We must strive together to re- have solidly supported the Foundation in the store the Foundation’s vigor and maintain its past. We certainly need them to continue their viability. I hope you will join me in pledging support. But in the end, reducing risk and anew to work collectively in achieving that saving lives are problems that face us all equally. goal. FLIGHT SAFETY FOUNDATION • FLIGHT SAFETY DIGEST • JULY 1992 3 Maintaining High Safety Standards in the Turbulent ’90s New Challenges for Aviation Safety JOHN H. ENDERS Vice Chairman, Board of Governors, Flight Safety Foundation The present political and economic environ- ments as well as performance gains has raised ments confront corporate and regional avia- questions about the effectiveness of traditional tion operations with new problems, many of training approaches or even the human’s abil- which have a heavy bearing on safety. Eco- ity to absorb the required training and think- nomic and political corporate survival are strong ing to utilize the newer equipment. contenders for attention and can, unless safety awareness and commitment are great, divert To be certain, the potential for high achieve- one’s thinking away from the essentials of safe ment is present, but in reality, our failures are and reliable operations. surprising and dismaying in their causes. Few aviation accidents occur today that were, in The never-ending task of ensuring safety of retrospect, not potentially preventable. flight is especially important today, as the ne- cessity for and ability of the industry to oper- The good news is that our collective under- ate at a highly-efficient level have increased standing of the chain of events that are indi- dramatically in recent years.

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