Overcoming Adversity: Aviation’s Future Remains Bright
This was a very tragic week for the aviation community. This week’s tragedy reminds us how complex and challenging flying is. There is nothing good about an accident, except that it often leads to changes that help prevent future ones. This ongoing process of learning from mistakes is what has made aviation one of the safest industries in the world. Any loss of life is a tragedy, and in aviation, much of the safety we have today exists because incredible people lost their lives in the process. Their sacrifices have made it possible for us to experience air travel in a way that feels simple and routine.
The truth is, we often don’t think about how the industry became so robust. Most of the time, we only notice the visible flaws, which are usually not the factors that keep over three million flights per month operating safely and efficiently around the world. To get a sense of the scale, this year alone, over 40 million flights are expected. That is the size of the aviation industry and a reflection of how complex it has become.
The industry has many players, but ultimately, pilots and air traffic controllers are the last line of defense, ensuring aviation maintains its high safety standards. These professionals devote their lives to the job, and from personal experience, being a pilot is far more complex and stressful than most people realize. Pilots undergo rigorous simulator tests, inflight inspections, and frequent medical exams, and their performance is constantly evaluated. We also study thousands of pages of airplane manuals and constantly evolving regulations. This is all on top of flying unusual hours, and often spending holidays alone or far from our families. We dedicate our lives to flying because it’s our passion, and that can be hard to understand unless you’re part of the industry.
A pilot is not made overnight. Pilots learn when to trust instruments and systems, and also when not to trust them. Sometimes you’ll see pilots and air traffic controllers arguing, not because they dislike each other, but because misinterpretation can have big consequences. This is an industry where there is rarely a second chance; one mistake can cause a tragedy in an instant. Trusting the system is critical, but staying aware of its potential errors is also a requirement. We’ve learned to trust, but we’ve also learned to question, to prioritize safety. These qualities are known as “airmanship”, and they develop over time. There is a direct link between good decision-making and experience. In aviation, this experience is measured by how many hours you’ve interacted with the “system” and learned that while things generally work well, sometimes they don’t, so you must be ready to act, react, and recognize those moments to prevent a disaster. Pilots and controllers are often listed among the top 10 most stressful professions, and this is unlikely to change anytime soon.
At the same time, everything is becoming more complex at a rapid pace. The industry is expanding, and predictions suggest that in the next 10–15 years, air traffic will grow significantly, potentially doubling the number of aircraft, including business aviation. People want to travel, business travel is increasing, and aviation is continuing to expand. Along with this, new players are entering the scene: Advanced Air Mobility (AAM), drones, single-pilot operations, supersonic flights, and even pilotless airplanes. Not everyone is ready to accept these changes, but the industry is moving in this direction.
This growth will strain current systems and will force us to change how we operate. How will hundreds of thousands of AAMs and millions of drones share the same airspace as passenger flights, cargo planes, and military operations? How can we ensure that the pilots flying these vehicles have the necessary airmanship to make the right decisions? How do we maintain today’s level of safety and security if we have far more flying machines in already busy skies? In my view, the answer is broader technology. How can we empower new pilots and support air traffic controllers? How do we coordinate pilotless airplanes, AAMs, and drones so they all operate safely? Technology is the way. A single accident won’t halt the industry’s progress, it will push it toward more robust systems with advanced safety features that help decision-makers and operators. Most pilots today have limited real-time information, and controllers have limited tools to handle higher traffic. We need to figure out how everyone, each with different needs and experiences, can operate in the same environment while maintaining the highest achievable levels of safety.
Last year, I started focusing on developing onboard AI solutions for aviation, not because it was easy, but because I have experienced firsthand how stressful it is for pilots to operate, and I wanted to contribute. I realized something had to change in the industry for it to continue growing, and that technology would be central to that change. I have always imagined tools that could give me perspective when making a decision in flight, tools I could trust the way I trust other systems, giving me a second set of “eyes,” spotting what I might miss and looking out for me. I believe these tools will help raise aviation safety to a higher level. It’s not a simple task. Countless variables make up a pilot’s airmanship and allow for those critical decisions in the cockpit. But as complexity rises, new tools will be needed. Like in any industry, aviation will experience a revolution. These tools will start by helping in the cockpit, offering data access and inflight solutions, and then grow more robust, eventually becoming part of the whole airspace environment, including airplanes, AAMs, drones, and piloted aircraft. Empowering the people who make decisions is the most effective way to use this technology.
Despite this difficult week, I see a bright future for aviation, and I believe we will continue to make operations safer. Aviation’s method of learning from mistakes and evolving has proven its worth over time. There is an inflection point coming, and we have to be ready. Starting to use advanced tools in the cockpit is just the first step in preparing pilots and controllers, helping them grow familiar with new capabilities, and laying the groundwork for what aviation will become in the future.
