Air Line Pilot Magazine October 2026

Safety and Security: Our Lasting Mission

For more than 95 years, ALPA has been one of the most effective forces for good in our industry. Our aircraft have changed. Our managements have come and gone. Our airlines have been remade by mergers, by bankruptcies, and by fortune and misfortune. But through every single one of those changes, ALPA pilots—united in a common mission for safety and security—have never wavered. And we never will.

We proved that again last month. At a press conference outside the U.S. Capitol alongside the families who lost loved ones in the midair collision over the Potomac River last year, members of the House and Senate, and National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) Chairwoman Jennifer Homendy, we demanded that Congress finish the job. It’s long overdue for lawmakers to act on the NTSB’s safety recommendations and send President Trump a final bill that mandates integrated Automatic Dependent Surveillance-Broadcast In. This lifesaving technology must be required now to prevent similar accidents from ever happening again.

Continued modernization of our airports and air traffic control system is also on our agenda for Congress. During a recent press conference with Department of Transportation (DOT) Secretary Sean Duffy, we urged lawmakers to pass legislation that would provide an additional $30 billion to fund air traffic control modernization improvements, overhaul outdated air traffic control and airport facilities, and build world-class airports as part of the completion of the Brand-New Air Traffic Control System. Congress has already made a $12.5 billion down payment, but a half-finished system isn’t good enough.

The Capitol Hill press conference with the PSA Flight 5342 families was held in the midst of our union’s 70th Air Safety Forum, the Association’s premier safety event that showcases our expertise and highlights our safety and security priorities to the public. Every year, the forum brings together Air Safety Organization representatives, industry experts, and government officials with the goal of continuing the work required to keep aviation the safest and most secure form of transportation in North America.

The Air Safety Forum also celebrates and recognizes the lasting contributions of our members on safety, security, pilot assistance, and jumpseat access. This work requires a united, sustained, and effectively resourced safety team to get the job done. It requires ALPA pilots to step up, volunteer, and do the hard work.

Our union and our industry are still recovering from the tragedies of the past few years—21 Air Flight 7598, UPS Flight 2976, and the loss of our union members on PSA Flight 5342 and Jazz Aviation Flight 8646—and we understand that the best way to honor the fallen is to “fight like hell” to ensure that no other family feels the pain of losing a loved one in an aviation accident. It’s their memory that guides our efforts and inspires our action. Remembrance is as much a part of our work as political advocacy. In September, we honored the 25th anniversary of the 9/11 attacks in our annual remembrance ceremony. By remembering the lives lost, we also continue our commitment to strengthening aviation security in their names. We dedicate our efforts to every life lost in aviation, and we carry their memory into the work we continue to do.

At a memorial service for the victims of the Potomac midair collision that ALPA hosted earlier this year, Tim Lilley, the father of honorary Capt. Samuel Lilley, the first officer of PSA Flight 5342, said, “Aviation regulation doesn’t need to be written in blood. We have the data. Let’s write it in data.” In honor of those who’ve perished, we continue to address existing safety concerns, but our mission will always focus on being proactive and preventing tragedy.

That’s why, since ALPA’s founding, the core of our union’s safety and security work has relied on pilots identifying concerns they’ve encountered during flight. Over the years, ALPA pilots have helped spearhead the introduction of voluntary and nonpunitive reporting systems throughout the industry. We collaborate with government and industry to share data and our real-life experience to address potential threats before they become tragedies. Management, regulators, and lawmakers all need the real-world experience of pilots to frame the procedures, rules, and laws that govern our operations.

Safety and security have defined ALPA since day one. For almost a century, our mission and our motto have always focused on safety: “Schedule with Safety.” We continue that tradition with pride and humility. It’s how we honor our fallen brothers and sisters, and how we protect the lives of our loved ones, passengers, and crews on every single flight.