Recurring safety risks will not disappear simply because aviation is entering a new era. This track asks what must change to prevent familiar hazards from scaling alongside the industry.
What to expect: This stream focuses on familiar risks that continue to recur despite years of industry attention. Participants can expect practical discussion on why known hazards persist and what renewed discipline, stronger learning, and clearer accountability can do to reduce them.
Session 6a Panel | Known Risks, New Urgency: Breaking the Cycle of Recurring Safety Events
Many of aviation’s highest-risk event categories are well understood, yet they continue to recur across regions and operating environments. This panel will look beyond the categories themselves to the common systemic factors that allow known risks to persist, including gaps in compliance, communication, training, culture, oversight, and response to recurring signals. The discussion will challenge participants to consider why familiar interventions sometimes lose effectiveness and what renewed operational discipline requires.
Moderator: Michel Piers, Business Manager Aerospace Operations and Regulatory Affairs, Principal Safety Advisor, Royal Netherlands Aerospace Centre (NLR)
Panelists:
Andrew Dunbeck, Director of SMS on the Corporate Safety Team, Delta Air Lines
Mark Searle, Global Director Safety, International Air Transport Association (IATA)
Dr. Kristy Kiernan, Associate Director, The Boeing Center for Aviation and Aerospace Safety at Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University (ERAU)
Session 7a Action Workshop | Known Risks, New Urgency: Audience Engagement and Practical Action
Building on the Session 6A panel discussion, this interactive audience engagement session will leverage audience engagement to identify practical priorities and barriers to progress. Attendees will be asked to test the ideas raised during the panel discussion, identify why familiar risks continue to recur, and explore what individual organizations and the broader industry can do differently. The aim is to move from expert discussion to a clear set of actions that can strengthen operational discipline and reduce persistent safety events.
Moderator: Michel Piers, Business Manager Aerospace Operations and Regulatory Affairs, Principal Safety Advisor, Royal Netherlands Aerospace Centre (NLR)
Panelists:
Andrew Dunbeck, Director of SMS on the Corporate Safety Team, Delta Air Lines
Mark Searle, Global Director Safety, International Air Transport Association (IATA)
Dr. Kristy Kiernan, Associate Director, The Boeing Center for Aviation and Aerospace Safety at Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University (ERAU)
