Anne van Dalen

General Introduction I 13 technology could support in preventing adverse events, but sustainable technical and innovative interventions to do so are still in their infancy. However, implementation of such quality and safety improvement innovations is challenging and bound by existing cultures, legislation and beliefs. 17 Indeed, safety behaviour may be influenced by several factors that need to be taken into account, such as believe in certain safety improvement outcomes, believe that engagement will actually lead to improved surgical safety, and the shared perception of the importance of safety improvement. 18,19 LESSONS LEARNED FROM THE AVIATION INDUSTRY History of aviation safety The mythical Icarus died flying too close to the sun, which melted the wax that held the feathers on his wings together, the wings failed and he plummeted into the sea and drowned. He failed, due to his young man’s arrogance or disobedience in not listening to his instructor father. His father Daedalus, avoided going close to the sun and flew all the way from Crete to Sicily, making this the first pilot error and accident investigation ever recorded. 20 The first ever human flight was executed in 1903 by the now famous Wright brothers. It lasted just 12 seconds. Yet, by the end of 1905, they were flying figure-eight’s over Huffman Prairie, staying aloft for over half an hour, or until their fuel ran out. It took the brothers a few crashes before the secret of building better flying machines was revealed to them, but only 2-years later, in 1905, the Wright Flyer was the world’s first practical airplane. 20,21 In 1910, Charles Rolls (Rolls-Royce Company), flew across the English Channel and back, his Wright Flyer’s stabilizer broke off and he was the first man to die in a British air accident. 22 As a consequence, the British government enacted the Aerial Navigation Act that year, not for the safety of the aviator but for the purpose of protecting the public from danger. 23 In 1912, the Royal Aero Club of the United Kingdom (members were wealthy sportsmen wo raced cars, sailed the America’s Cup and Skied the Cresta Run at St. Moritz) became interested in why accidents occurred and established a Public Safety and Accidents Investigation Committee. On May 13, 1912, the Aeroclub investigated the