During the 1990's Alaskan pilots had one of the most hazardous occupations in the country. This was due in part to a lack of up to date weather information, proper training and technology.

In 2000 a multifaceted public health initiative funded by Congress and spear headed by the late Ted Stevens was launched. Focusing on Alaskan air taxi commuter operations it included improved weather information,risk factor identification and the formation of an industry led safety organization the "Medallion Foundation." Medallion is a non-profit organization that rewards air carriers that offer additional training and audits for safety bringing standards to a higher level.

Other initiatives such as the "Capstone" program(installing advanced navigational equipment in planes) The "Mike in Hand" program (giving real time weather information) and the "Circle of Safety " campaign (providing passenger safety information) were put in place.

While it is difficult to determine which interventions provided the most success, a recent study published in the American Journal of Industrial Medicine looked at aviation incidents over the last twenty years and found some dramatic improvements. "In the 1990's we had 410 fatalities per 100 thousand pilots and in the 2000's we were down to 177 so that's a decrease of more than 50 percent" stated Mary O'Conner one of the reports authors.

O'conner is with the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, Alaska Pacific Regional Office. They found another reason for the high fatality rate at the time was in part the culture of the aviators."The culture was one of kind of a cowboy attitude, let's go get the job done regardless of the hazards or the risks that were faced."

One obstacle to overcome was Getting pilots to admit that there was a problem with the safety culture, and then changing that culture to back pilots that would hold their ground on safety."Appreciate and respect pilots that would say well you know, the weather just isn't good enough, I don't feel comfortable in going, it's not safe, it's not legal and I'm not going to do it"

The Study also found that for Part 135 air taxi and commuter operators fatal air crashes decreased during the study period by 53 percent. While controlled flight into terrain or "CFIT"crash's have decreased overall in Alaska, crashes among part 135 operators remain higher in Alaska, and according to O'Conner it had little to do with pilot experience. "A pilot was just as likely with 2000 hours as 20 thousand hours to continue on into poor visibility conditions"

The study concluded that a successful multifaceted approach might also be applied to reduce occupational fatalities and injuries in other industries across Alaska