Remarks as Prepared for Delivery

Thank you, Oscar [Derby], for that kind introduction, and thank you for doing an outstanding job as well.  And let me offer a special thank you as well to the professionals who are attending the series of meetings that bring us to Curacao.  The list is impressive.  The Pan American Aviation Safety Summit.  Your fifth summit.  The Regional Aviation Safety Group-Pan America.  Your seventh meeting.   

When you see groups like these coming together, it is a very, very good sign.  It’s a sign that we share common goals.  We believe that safety is the foundation for moving forward in this industry.  We believe that partnership is not only the best way to get there, but that it is the smartest business decision anyone of us can make.

But most of all, an audience of this size is a very clear indication that we plan to move forward together.  As I looked at the agenda for this week, I saw more than a dozen organizational and company logos from all over the world.  That is outstanding.  Aviation is an international business that by its very nature brings people together.  The success of this industry and this conference are rooted in partnership.  From what I have seen and heard so far, I can say with certainty that we are perfectly positioned to get there. 

Let me start out by congratulating the Regional Aviation Safety Group-Pan America—RASG-PA.  I know that there are many RASG-PA member states here right now.  I am excited by your work.  You are without question working hard at becoming world leaders in aviation safety.  And you are very committed to carrying this out at a regional level.  That’s a model for the rest of us to follow. 

I’m particularly impressed by the partnership you’ve established between the industry and the State regulators.  This is not happening in all parts of the world, but I think we all agree that it needs to.  In our experience, we have seen that it is key to have everyone at the table who has a role to play in the solution. 

I’ve said this before, but it bears repeating:  Partnership is the heart of safety, but it does take a leader to help make it happen.  I want to recognize one of our key partners – the ICAO North American, Central American and Caribbean Regional Office and the Regional Director Loretta Martin for her leadership over the years in helping RASG-PA evolve.  Her commitment and professionalism at ICAO has enabled this regional safety group to become a model of improving safety around the world.  I’d be remiss not to acknowledge our other key regional partner, Franklin Hoyer from the ICAO  South America Regional office in Lima.  Your work makes a difference. 

What Loretta Martin will tell you firsthand – as will the successful operators – is that we must establish safety cultures.  That’s what safety management systems do for aviation.  When you instill a safety culture—a culture that’s based from top to bottom with safety as its focus—you get a safety record like the one we have in U.S. commercial aviation. 

By definition, a safety management system—SMS—is a process-oriented approach to managing safety throughout an organization.  That includes everything up to and including an organization-wide safety policy.  An SMS takes the guesswork out of safety assessments. 

An SMS has formal methods for identifying hazards, and then mitigating and controlling risk.  An SMS continually assesses risk and safety performance.  SMS is not just about compliance with technical standards.  An SMS emphasizes the overall safety performance of the organization. 

Through safety management systems, we can shape aviation’s future by continuing to drive down safety risk.  The frequency of commercial airline accidents is declining around the world.  Safety management feeds the safety culture of an organization, which in turn provides the safety information that gives us insight into precursors.  The information is based on data bases that are populated with input from operational information from flight data recorders, from radar and also from voluntary submissions made by safety professionals on the front line.

That type of safety record happens when everyone … everyone who touches the plane … everyone who touches something that touches the plane … when all the players have safety as their primary concern.  In aviation, we have very complex processes—manufacturing, maintenance and operations—things move very quickly.  With humans in the loop it’s easy to make a mistake.  We can’t afford that.  With safety, you must always be vigilant. 

In the U.S., we’ve achieved an 83 percent reduction in the commercial fatality -risk because we take a proactive approach to safety.  Safety management ensures that the outcomes of any activity incorporate safety considerations.  And it insists on a healthy safety culture. 

As we move forward in the safety information sharing that really gives these partnerships life, it’s important to remember that all of these efforts have been successful because this is not punitive.  FAA Administrator Michael Huerta has said on more than one occasion that secure data and information sharing among trusted professionals has the potential to be the single-greatest catalyst for aviation safety in the decades to come.  He is absolutely 100 percent right. 

He’s right because voluntary safety data adds a new dimension to what we can learn about what’s happening in the system.  I want to encourage everyone here to champion the implementation of these programs in the aviation community.

The simple fact of the matter is that providing protections for safety programs is vital.  That is the only way we can encourage members of the community to step forward with safety issues.  Data sharing is based entirely on trust, and all parties need to be able to trust one another. 

Information sharing needs to be part of any system that’s striving for safety.  Information sharing and international partnership go hand in hand.  Information sharing is pivotal if we as aviation safety professionals are to enhance safety worldwide. 

Our collaborative efforts in this region are well under way.  The Commercial Aviation Safety Team is an example that’s well known to you.  CAST signed an agreement with the RASG-PA to share U.S. operator experience at 22 Latin American and Caribbean airports.  This agreement lets CAST and RASG-PA share detailed safety information through systems like ASIAS to monitor risk and evaluate the effectiveness of deployed mitigations.  In addition to sharing CAST safety information based on U.S. experience flying into RASG-PA destinations, CAST has also shared its solutions to safety risks … and many of these have been adopted by RASG-PA.

In closing, it’s important that you know that your work makes a difference.  We look forward to building on our successes together to address safety risk in this region.  I know that regional aviation safety groups participate in the FAA’s Aviation Safety InfoShare meetings back in the United States.  That is one of our most important venues for safety.  I was delighted to hear CAST’s recent Airplane State Awareness study was already being evaluated by PA-RAST for its training-related safety enhancements.

When government and industry become partners, it’s not about the government telling everyone what to do.  It’s about individuals and their organizations and their businesses stepping up and sharing information.  Sharing best practices.  Making sure that all operators are safe.  That all maintenance facilities are safe.  That we all move forward with safety as our goal. 

This is where you’ll get the best results.  When we are looking at all of the available data together, it’s hard not to come to the same conclusion.  And that conclusion is that safety and partnership go hand in hand.  Safety and partnership must go hand-in-hand.  Thank you.