How we stretched our aviation system to the brink

Each year, US commercial airlines transport over 800 million passengers within the country, with a remarkable safety record of zero fatalities and few injuries in a typical year due to a strong focus on safety. However, recent years have seen this safety record being tested.

The recent focus is on Newark Liberty International Airport in New Jersey, where understaffing and communication blackouts have been reported. Similar issues have been observed at airports nationwide, leading to an increase in near-misses and serious incidents in the past few years, often attributed to understaffing and high air traffic volume.

Despite these challenges, the US air travel system’s safety is maintained through a multi-layered defense strategy, where several safety measures need to fail simultaneously for a crash to occur. This approach, known as the “Swiss cheese” model, acknowledges that each layer in the system has its weaknesses but ensures that these weaknesses do not align to prevent disasters.

While the current system still operates safely, maintaining this exceptional safety level requires addressing any vulnerabilities in the defense layers to prevent future incidents and maintain the low accident rates achieved over the past two decades. Near-misses and potential disasters must be taken seriously to prompt necessary changes and avoid complacency that could lead to catastrophic events.

The parallels drawn with other aspects of society highlight the importance of learning from past mistakes and addressing potential risks before tragedies occur. It emphasizes the need for vigilance and continual improvement in safety measures to prevent avoidable disasters.