Beyond the Cockpit: How Corporate Governance and Regulatory Oversight Shape Aviation Safety

Air travel is statistically one of the safest modes of transportation. However, a series of recent airline accidents has shaken the industry and the public, leading to a surge in Google searches for “is flying safe” in recent weeks.

The number of fatal airline accidents increased from just one in 2023 to at least seven in 2024, drawing renewed attention to aviation safety. We’re only a few months into 2025, and multiple fatal aviation incidents have already occurred worldwide, reinforcing concerns about ongoing safety challenges.

These incidents have highlighted how ongoing safety violations, infrastructure oversight failures, shortcomings in pilot training, and issues in corporate decision-making can lead to deadly consequences.

Although airline safety has improved over the past few decades, these recent events serve as a stark reminder that constant vigilance is essential.

Governance Failures

Aviation safety involves more than technology or pilot skill—it’s also about corporate decision-making, oversight, and leadership. Decisions made in the boardroom can directly impact what happens in the cockpit.

In our study by theconversation.com, which analyzed data from 70 countries between 1990 and 2016, we found a correlation between the stability of an airline’s executive board and its safety outcomes.

Their findings revealed that airlines with weak governance, high executive turnover, and overextended directors tend to experience more accidents. In contrast, those with stable, experienced leadership have fewer.

Many of last year’s aviation accidents can be attributed to these organizational failures. For example, in Nepal, a catastrophic passenger plane crash that killed 18 people was linked to the airline’s disregard for cargo weight limits and speed guidelines.

In Brazil, a deadly crash of a passenger airplane en route to São Paulo was caused by pilots underestimating severe icing conditions, indicating potential training gaps.

Meanwhile, in South Korea, a crash involving Jeju Air in December 2024 that killed nearly 200 passengers was due to the airline rushing an emergency landing under unsafe conditions, exposing flaws in risk assessment.

Poor airline governance can also lead to financial distress, another factor linked to increased accident risk. In our cross-country study, pilot errors and mechanical failures accounted for about 75% of airplane accidents—underscoring how board decisions around training, maintenance, and resource allocation directly influence safety outcomes.

When airlines face financial strain, they may delay maintenance, reduce crew training, or push tighter schedules—all of which can erode safety over time.

The 2009 Colgan Air crash in Buffalo and the 2013 Asiana Airlines crash in San Francisco were both linked to pilot fatigue and inadequate training, both directly influenced by airline policies. One study found that fatigue and scheduling pressures significantly increase the likelihood of accidents when airlines fail to set and enforce effective rest and training standards.

Oversight Failures

Regulators also play a crucial role in preventing aviation disasters. However, when oversight weakens or regulators become too lenient, safety can suffer.

The Boeing 737 MAX crisis between 2018 and 2019 is a prime example. Two fatal Boeing crashes, which killed a total of 346 people, were traced to design flaws that regulators failed to catch. Boeing was under intense pressure to compete with Airbus and downplayed safety risks. The United States Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) also relied too heavily on Boeing’s own safety assessments.

Last year, Alaska Airlines Flight 1282 brought Boeing back into the spotlight when a mid-air panel blowout on a 737-9 MAX forced an emergency landing, leading the FAA to ground the entire MAX 9 fleet. Investigators found several fastener bolts missing from the aircraft’s mid-cabin door plug, raising concerns about quality control failures in Boeing’s production process.

Regulatory failures can also extend to airport safety and air traffic control. The Haneda Airport runway collision in Japan in early 2024 exposed complacency in ground safety procedures. Similar unaddressed runway safety issues were also a factor in the South Korea Jeju Air crash.

Lessons for Safer Skies

No system is perfect, but industry leaders and regulators can take many proactive steps to minimize future risks, including:

• Strengthening board oversight: Airlines should ensure credible aviation safety expertise is present in top leadership roles. This ensures that critical safety considerations reach the highest levels of decision-making, rather than being siloed within lower management tiers. Additionally, forming dedicated safety committees can promote ongoing oversight and proactive discussions around potential risks.
• Prioritizing stable leadership: Frequent executive turnover can lead to inconsistent safety policies. Strong leadership fosters a long-term culture of safety.
• Improving pilot training: Airlines must invest in advanced simulator programs and continuous training to ensure crews are prepared for unexpected scenarios.
• Targeted oversight for high-risk carriers: Regulators should conduct stricter inspections on airlines showing financial distress or repeated safety violations.
• Encouraging transparency: A non-punitive safety reporting system would allow pilots, engineers, and ground crew to flag risks before they escalate.

Flying remains extraordinarily safe and is statistically safer than driving. Between 2000 and 2022 in the U.S., 885,250 people were killed in passenger-vehicle accidents compared with 12,644 fatalities in aviation.

But trust in air travel is built on more than just statistics. The public expects airlines and regulators to take proactive steps to prevent avoidable disasters. Every crash investigation has uncovered lessons that, when implemented, can make flying even safer. The challenge is ensuring those lessons lead to lasting reforms—not just temporary fixes.

The public can also play a role in holding industry leaders accountable by demanding transparency, supporting safety-focused policies, and questioning whether cost-cutting is coming at the expense of safety.

Safety improvements shouldn’t have to come about only as a result of tragedy. It’s time for the industry to start making proactive changes now to enhance aviation safety and prevent tragedies in the future.

Related news: https://suspicious-zhukovsky.67-21-117-18.plesk.page/category/air-travel-business/safety/

Sources: AirGuide Business airguide.info, bing.com, theconversation.com