Is military aviation getting any safer? New mishap data shows mixed results.

Not unlike everywhere in our military, command climate and an emphasis on safety can only go so far. There will always be people in our aviation units who will make stupid decisions in the airplane. Peer pressure from other crew members can help in that scenario and can stop some of that.

Maintenance is usually very meticulous in performing work, as are most TI’s while inspecting completed work. But again, there may be circumstances where that isn’t the case.

I suppose I’m trying to say that military Aviation isn’t 100% error free. Things happen. Fortunately, things don’t happen regular.

My opinion, flight time practicing all the maneuvers and operational situations possible under the tutelage of another pilot creates better safety statistics. Having to spend time relearning basic maneuvers because you have only flown once or twice in the last month isn't enough. At one time there was a statistic that showed a pilot between 600 and 1100 hours was most likely to have a mishap. Those with less than 600 were conscious of their inexperience and thus more conservative in their flying, but once the pilot achieved 6-700 hours in type, they became more confident and more likely to allow themselves to get in an extreme situation from which they had difficulty recovering. Once a pilot got beyond 1100 hours, they had generally scared themselves enough to know what they wanted to avoid, and had become proficient enough in the airframe to recover from most of the situations they, or the aircraft placed them.
The safety "experts" tend to regard limiting authorized maneuvers as the answer. Unfortunately, military aviation doesn't always allow for conservatism and the real life saver is knowing your own capability and having the time in the aircraft to translate your talents into the aircraft's performance. That ability comes only through experience.

In Vietnam we had a lot of “Mid airs” especially siting down on another ship you couldn’t see. The answer to that was painting one blade white.