"Safety is a shared responsibility." At EAA AirVenture, FAA Deputy Administrator Chris Rocheleau and NTSB Vice Chairman Michael Graham discuss how collaboration between government and industry is driving results in general aviation safety.
Through the General Aviation Joint Safety Committee (GAJSC), the FAA, NTSB, and industry experts analyze data to target leading risk factors, including loss of control in flight. Thanks to enhanced pilot training, best practices for aircraft owners, and safety tech like angle of attack indicators, 2025 saw the lowest GA fatal accident rate on record, with 2026 trending even lower.
Having spent most of my professional career in aviation safety, I have seen that one of the
most effective tools for improving general aviation safety is collaboration. And that's
the mission of the General Aviation Joint Safety Committee. The GAJSC brings together the FAA,
NTSB, safety experts, and other aviation stakeholders to identify risks and develop
practical data-driven solutions. Safety is a shared responsibility, and in 2025, we saw the
lowest GA fatal accident rate, and 2026 is trending to be even lower. And because of this, the GAJSC
proves what we can accomplish when government and industry work together. But safety has no
expiration date, and there's still work to be done. The GAJSC has analyzed hundreds of general
aviation accidents to better understand the leading causes of fatalities, including loss
of control in flight, which remains the biggest safety challenge in general aviation. That work
has led to targeted safety improvements from enhanced pilots training and making best practices
for aircraft owners installing life-saving safety technology like angle of attack indicators. To
learn more about the General Aviation Joint Safety Committee, visit gajsc.org. Thank you
for helping us keep general aviation safe.
