Author Description

Over the last several years, the Air Traffic Organization (ATO) developed new ways to collect and use safety data. We introduced sophisticated tracking technologies to the National Airspace System (NAS), created systematic approaches to data analysis, and fostered a culture that encourages our employees to report all safety incidents and incident precursors. The result has been a remarkably detailed picture of our safety performance-one that shows our many strengths and successes as well as the challenges that demand our attention. This detailed picture-which we base on the policies, procedures, and tools that form our Safety Management System-helps us improve every year as we guide more than 800 million travelers to their destinations. We decreased the number of Air Traffic Management-related fatal accidents in our airspace, kept the rate of serious runway incursions at historic lows and consistently met or exceeded our own stringent safety performance targets. In fact, 99.99 percent of air traffic operations are completed with no loss of separation. So, this safety picture allows us to more clearly see and better prepare for the challenges that our rapidly evolving industry will face in the near future.