Most aviation mishaps are caused by familiar hazards. The Naval Aviation Safety program should bring in experienced investigators to help aviation safety officers detect those causes and prevent future accidents.
Since the 1950s the naval aviation community has successfully reduced mishaps through a series of evolutionary reviews of how we operate. In 1954, 776 aircraft were destroyed due to mishaps; the reduction in the mishap rate has remained steady since about 1988, and now fewer than two mishaps occur per 100,000 flight hours. The next step in reducing this rate is to establish and bring in an "A-Team" of experienced professionals.
