September 14, 2005 For the complete chronicle, please see http://www.wednesday-night.com/Wed1228page2.aspe timeliness prevailed again this evening, with the predominant topic of aviation on the evening of the day when Delta and Northwest Airlines had filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection from their creditors. http://www.economist.com/agenda/displaystory.cfm?story_id=4399993&fsrc=nwltandards. Colin's book will stimulate the average person to think about air safety, including the critical need for implementation in the developing world of international aviation safety standards, aviation infrastructures, investment in training of local staff, and monitoring of the systems. In many developing nations, English, the lingua franca of aviation, is spoken (and understood) with varying degrees of fluency by local authorities who must cope with the legal requirements for airworthiness and the interpretation of those requirements. Some 80% of the world is in this category, and while North Americans or Europeans do not often think of air safety as a factor, it is a very present one in the developing world. The fatality rate for air accidents is extremely low. In 2004, out of some 1.8 billion passengers carried, the death toll was 37 people. However in August 2005 there were five major accidents, four of which claimed at least 330 lives. Aviation safety, by its very nature is an international preoccupation. ICAO has developed the international standards to which the world's governments are expected to ensure adherence, but effective enforcement is impeded by questions of sovereignty. Only recently has it been decided that the results of the ICAO safety audits will be published and circulated to all 189 contracting states. This is a sensitive issue particularly in the developing world where countries will feel under attack, without at the same time being given the means to overcome their deficiencies. Many developing nations do not need a national airline – in most cases, it is a matter of prestige. But this is a difficult judgment call; not long ago, Singapore was a backwater. Today, the country is a major economic force, and Singapore Airlines is one of the finest and most successful in the world. Countries often do not comprehend the immense investment required for the purchase and installation of aviation (or other) systems, along with the training of nationals to run the systems. While infrastructure may be donated, training will generally be done in-country by foreign consultants (paid in U.S. dollars or equivalently stable currency), or senior staff will have to be sent abroad. Either way it is a drain on the exchequer – and in the latter case, newly qualified staff may seek more remunerative or challenging positions outside his/her country. Thus, there are instances of unused top quality equipment, because there is no one trained to operate or maintain it.