in the mid-1990s, after a series of catastrophic failures in the industry, I became really involved in looking at how to raise the safety bar throughout the industry by improv- ing the regulations, taking out some of the gray areas and arbitrary bits, and really developing the ability to collect and analyze data to understand and address the risk areas.” One of the first assumptions she was happy to discard was any notion of an “us vs. them” men- tality between the FAA and the aviation indus- try when it comes to safety regulations. “I learned pretty early on that there really isn’t any- one in this industry who goes to work planning to break the rules, and that it isn’t a matter of industry against regulator,” Gilligan said. “It turns out, improving avia- tion safety is a team sport, something we’re all work- ing on together, and if we can assume good intentions all around and recognize that we’re all on the same team, we can really make a significant impact.” Gilligan and her team won the National Aeronautic Association’s 2008 Collier Trophy for the Commercial Aviation Safety Team’s (CAST) staggering success over a 10-year period in “achieving an unprecedented safety level in U.S. commercial airline operations by reducing risk of a fatal airline accident by 83 percent, resulting in two consecu- tive years of no commercial scheduled airline fatalities.” Once the CAST program was in full swing, the project of overhauling FAA guidelines and industry safety training and protocols became much easier. “The older regulations had sort of arbitrary guidelines drawn, based on things like aircraft size, but as we pooled the data across common operators, what the data was show- ing us was a need to really focus on risk, and how to address specific risk areas through the standards across all aircraft and at all levels of the aviation industry,” Gilligan said. The FAA’s “One Level of Safety” initiative was implemented under her leadership, bringing Part 135 scheduled carriers to the standards of Part 121 main- line carriers. Other agency accomplishments during her tenure include: a comprehensive review of Part 135 standards, a Part 23 rewrite, and large-scale proj- ects to improve safety management systems and data- driven, risk-based approaches to safety and oversight. Of her many achievements in improving the FAA’s avia- tion safety standards, Gilligan is particularly proud of her strong working relationship with NATA over the years. “NATA is a really good example of where a represen- tational organization can really escalate a priority, in this case the safety performance of its members, through the creation and promotion of programs like Safety 1st ,” Gilligan said. “NATA is really to be lauded for the role it has played in changing the conversation around this issue by developing internally as an organization and serving as a venue for very open conversations and col- laboration around what’s happening in their environment. NATA’s been a leader in helping this very diverse com- munity come together and realize they can learn one from another to really strengthen their safety culture. To be receiving this recognition for public service from NATA now, I think, is really a reflection of the outreach done over many years to make sure we were really listening to the aviation community as we were setting and improving safety standards. It’s been a clear win for the entire indus- try and—more importantly—for the traveling public.” So, what are the next steps for Gilligan and the FAA team she leaves behind to continue this legacy? “For now, I’m taking some time off and enjoying it,” Gilligan said. “If I was going to keep working, I prob- ably would have stayed where I was, because I was perfectly happy in that role. I really did love this work. But I’ll be closely watching from the sidelines as my peers tackle the ever-present question: How do we take the whole industry to that next level of safety?” Continued on page 27 Aviation Business Journal | 2nd Quarter 2017 25
