Improving Air Safety: Long-Term Challenges

Air travel in the US has seen dramatic improvements in safety in the past 50 years. Through the cooperative efforts of manufacturers, airlines, governments and others, pilots are better trained with the help of increasingly sophisticated flight simulators, aircraft are more reliable, navigational aids are improved, and flights operate with more in-depth and timely weather information. Oster et al discuss why, despite these improvements, the accident rate for jet airliners has not fallen in the past two decades.