4.Who Is Responsible for Aviation Safety?

Most passengers take aviation safety for granted. They believe "somebody is always watching." This is not true.

Aviation safety is more than merely the responsibility of the aviation service providers. Since the aviation industry is an open system that is affected by many environmental variables, aviation safety is also the responsibility of:

· Governmental organizations providing oversight (civil aviation authorities);

· ICAO (International Civil Aviation Organization);

· Aircraft and parts manufacturers;

· Employees;

· Maintenance organizations;

· Fuel providers;

· Customers; and

· Related service providers.

As stated, aviation service providers operate in an open system that remains exposed to many external variables, including;

· Political;

· Legislative;

· Economic;

· Technological change;

· Weather;

· Cultural norms; and

· Vendors and suppliers.

To reach the highest level of aviation safety, you will need proper tools to predict events before they occur and be prepared to mitigate the risk. At a bare minimum, you should have an effective Safety Reporting Solution that not only allows stakeholders to affordably report issues, but also to

· Manage risk;

· Conduct investigations;

· Track corrective actions and preventive actions; and

· Quickly generate reports to analyse risk.