The history of flight safety: methodology, experience, prospects

Abstract

The formulation of the flight safety history problem is stated. The article shows that it is problematic to scientifically substantiate, systematize, analyze and generalize the theoretical and empirical flight safety material accumulated in various fields. From a historical perspective, the necessity for a socio-humanitarian assessment of the transformation processes of scientific and applied experience in the field of flight safety is substantiated. New multidisciplinary line of research, making use of a specific scientific apparatus and methodological tools, i.e., the history of flight safety, the subject basis of which covers social activities throughout the life cycle of all aerospace engineering (artificial flying objects in the Earth's atmosphere and space, aircraft, crews, passengers, other aerospace system specialists), including aeronautics, aviation, cosmonautics over a span of the entire history of mankind, is proposed. A brief overview of publications on the issue of flight safety is offered. The experience of flight safety history research is analyzed. The periodization of flight safety history in the XX–XXI centuries, giving prominence to three stages: 1. Generating ideas, technologies, flight safety systems (10–40s of the XX century). 2. Establishing the national and international systems to ensure flight safety, scientific research, personnel education and training in the field of flight safety (50–80s of the XX century). 3. Developing new ideas, technologies, projects, flight safety management systems, active ensuring of flight safety, etc. (since the 90s of the XX century), is proposed. The foundations of the conceptual model of the flight safety history are presented, the methodology, experience and prospects of research are considered. It is recommended to organize systematic studies of the flight safety history, covering the aspects of the world and domestic science, education and practice; to create a unified information system on the history of flight safety based on new information technologies, the ultimate aim of which can be a virtual worldwide museum of flight safety; to initiate a pilot project of the National Flight Safety Museum of Russia and to start its development in the year of the 100th anniversary of our civil aviation; in the future, to develop a new academic discipline "History of Flight Safety" for training aerospace industry specialists and researchers.