Worrying

Report on BA's safety culture.

I strongly believe - though I don't have empirical evidence - that a good culture is vital to safety.

It's not enough to fix the specific faults, you have to step back and review the whole culture around the issues.

Disasters seldom happen in isolation, there tends to be a few near misses beforehand. These, in retrospect, can be seen as warnings. This applies not just in aviation but in nearly all endeavours. In fact, catching and acting upon "near misses" is a major activity of safety conscious organisations in all fields.

I don't know how BA's safety record compares to others - in the light of this report - but until I feel that they've made great improvements in their safety culture I'll avoid flying with them.

Big deal? Well, I do fly at least once a year and often much more when I'm in work.