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Facts: What Happened or is Happening in the U.S. concerning Aviation Safety

· The U.S. Federal Aviation Administration is working with other key players in the industry to ensure that general aviation safety is a top priority both now and into the future.

· Reducing risks of aviation accidents is being done using data to correlate trends through root cause analysis, and after this, a safety strategy is developed also using the relevant data models.

· The GAJSC is now using both data-driven and consensus-based form of logic to make a clear analysis of the data relating to aviation safety, and then provide strategies which will mitigate the root causes of the accidents, hopefully before they occur (Boyd, pg. 660).

· Some of the policies already in use on this topic include rolling out safety enhancements that will lead to the improved technology used to design and construct aircraft engines, better trained and educated plane mechanics, and data-driven models that will help the pilots make better decisions when they are faced with engine failure.

· The FAA is concerned about aviation safety, and it contributes towards these efforts by providing relevant information for the stakeholders, including web-based guides, helpful facts about flying, and information for coordination on the loss of control and engine failures, through its safety briefing magazine ("Fact Sheet – General Aviation Safety").

· Through the Aviation Safety Information Analysis and Sharing program, the FAA is quick to take note of all the risks associated with aviation safety before they occur, therefore reducing the number of reported aviation accidents. This program is very efficient since its data collection mechanism involves the use of new technologies as those provided by iOS and Android-based systems.

· In 2015, the FAA completed the high altitude air traffic control system, commonly called En Route Automation Modernization. Using new and powerful technologies, the system gives the U.S. better air traffic control information such as flight plans, weather patterns, and conditions of the planes, to anticipate and mitigate the common risks associated with aviation. Such technologies include eh Automatic Dependent Surveillance-Broadcast that uses satellite-based positioning to streamline aircraft control (Huang, 2017).

· The FAA has also changed how the airman certification system from practical test standards to airman certification standards. This increases the knowledge and skills imparted into the airmen on relevant areas that touch on risk and risk mitigation (Maurino, 2017).

· The FAA has also improved on efficiency and innovation in the industry by launching the Got Data? External Data Access Initiative, to give the private sector access to FAA aeronautical data, thus helping them to come up with any improvements to existing designs, and with the improvements aimed at improving aviation safety and efficiency ("Fact Sheet – General Aviation Safety").

· In 2016, the FAA published a policy that requires aircraft and helicopter owners to install safety measures to their aircraft that they see fit, and which are not under the agencies older aircraft safety design policies. This is also in conjunction with the multiple endeavors that the FAA has taken to improve aircraft design in an attempt to improve their safety.

Definition of the Subject

To better understand this subject, it is important to define a few key terms. The FAA refers to the Federal Aviation Administration, and it is the legal body in the U.S. that looks into aviation safety and controls for any areas that might present risks to the aircraft. GAJSC refers to General Aviation Joint Steering Committee, an organization that works under the FAA to improve aviation safety mainly through policies. The GA community refers to the groups of people and organizations that have an interest in ensuring that flying is as safe as possible. NORSEE refers to Non-Required Safety Enhancing Equipment, and it gives aircraft owners the opportunity to crank up the safety of their planes by adding equipment they feel will be important for the safety of those flying, such as displays and mechanical and electronic components ("Fact Sheet – General Aviation Safety").

Cause/Effect

Aviation is the one of the fastest means of transport and is especially ideal for long distance delivery of packages and people. With more than 250, 000 aircraft, the U.S. is one of the leading countries in the world in terms of aircraft ownership. However, the aircraft are not any good if aviation accidents have people fearing to use the planes as means of transport. In 2016, there were 413 lost lives occurring due to 219 general aviation accidents. The data concerning aviation accidents caused the FAA to work with the other stakeholders in the industry to improve the general state of aviation safety. The likely outcome is that the number of accidents reported due to aviation will reduce, thereby reducing the loss of lives and property as a result of aviation accidents. Efficiency in the field of aviation will also be greatly improved as a result.

Values

Aviation safety is now a top priority not only for the U.S. but for other countries who reap impressive benefits from their aviation activities. Aviation safety is presently very good, with numerous policies and activities in place to ensure that aviation safety is just a dream out of grasp, but a reality realized. This will benefit all the stakeholders of aviation including the aviation companies, the government, and even the passengers. With the FAA, for instance, all the endeavors put forward by this organization relating to aviation safety are now very inclusive of the stakeholders, including the aircraft owners. The policies put in place will not only see accidents reduced but also ensure that occurrence of accidents in the future due to common risks is mitigated as much as possible.

Policy Proposal

The U.S. is on the right track on matters pertaining to aviation safety. With the web-based programs, the general aviation community, using new technologies to collect better avionics information, and installing systems on the planes to record and transmit information, information has been centralized in the campaign towards improved aviation safety. However, more can still be done to ensure that aviation safety is as enhanced as possible. One thing can be done is the synchronization of the planes, the plane captains, and flight control systems to ensure real-time acquisition and transmitting of data. This will also need to be integrated with other relevant sources of information such as weather updates from reputable sources. The real-time transmission of data will involve checking for the conditions of the planes and the captains so that if a captain cannot properly operate the plane, they are replaced with someone who can. This system will also cross-check flight plans with anticipated weather conditions, and ensure that the plane and the pilots can handle whatever is thrown at them. In addition, the system should be such that, it allows for remote controlling of the planes, but only from specific and secure terminals. This way, if the captain is in distress, flight control on the ground can gain remote access to the plane and fly it to safe zones where it can land, and the captains are looked after.

Works Cited

Boyd, Douglas D. "A Review of General Aviation Safety (1984–2017)." Aerospace medicine and human performance 88.7 (2017): 657-664.

Maurino, Daniel E., et al. Beyond human aviation factors: Safety in high technology systems. Routledge, 2017.

Huang, Chenyu, and Mary E. Johnson. "Applications of ADS-B in General Aviation." (2017).