The second edition of the workshop took place on 16 March 2026, at the “Adriano Visconti” Auditorium of Palazzo Aeronautica. “Security Contaminations“, the initiative promoted by the Flight Safety Inspectorate to foster dialogue between the military, civilian, and aerospace industry on flight safety issues. The event brought together the highest levels of the Armed Force, representatives of the military components that operate aircraft, civil authorities, and leading companies in the sector to define new paradigms for flight safety in an era of digital and technological transition.
The meeting highlighted how the “contamination” between civil and military sector experience can be a fruitful, invaluable added value for the evolution of the aerospace sector, confirming itself as a moment of qualified dialogue aimed at identifying innovative approaches to risk management in a context characterised by growing technological and digital complexity.
At the works, moderated by Air Brigadier General Paolo Tarantino, prominent speakers from Airbus, easyJet, and EASA participated.
It FTP Raffaele Beltrame (Airbus) opened the proceedings by illustrating the complexity of the European giant's testing activities, which boasts 22 development aircraft and over 200 test benches. The core of his speech concerned the integration of the Safety Management System (SMS) in experimental flight activities. “Having an SMS doesn't automatically make you more secure; it's the culture that drives security.”, stated Beltrame. The effectiveness of Safety depends on the commitment of the Senior management and a solid piece of work Safety Promotion, understood as continuous training and sharing, capable of transforming a theoretical model into daily operational practice.
Following this, the Commander Simone Cavelli (easyJet) has illustrated how, in large-scale line operations, a strong safety culture fosters a high number of Air safety reports (ASRs), essential for the continuous improvement of procedures and crew training. This is also made possible by a clear Just Culture corporate, in which errors are analysed without punishment, while wilful or negligent behaviour remains unacceptable. Commander Cavelli then elaborated on the concept of Evidence-Based Training (EBT), highlighting easyJet's transition from task-based training to competency-based trainingcompetency-based. Thanks to the analysis of a wide range of data—including Flight data monitoring, safety reports and contributions from other industry professionals — pilots develop a defined set of skills that allows them to effectively manage even critical situations they have not been specifically trained for.
It FTP Severino De Luca (EASA) has therefore outlined the evolution of global aviation safety towards a dynamic, increasingly data-driven model. If the technical objective remains airworthiness, the real revolution today is called Data4Safety. This predictive safety system abandons the analysis of individual incidents to embrace massive analysis of Big Data (weather, flight data, technical reports). Thanks to this approach, the European ecosystem is able to identify risk trends invisible to individual operators, transforming safety from reactive to proactive.
In the closing speech, the Air Force General Antonio Conserva, Chief of Staff of the Air Force, highlighted how the excellence of the Armed Forces today relies on intelligent and widespread processing capabilities.“ We need advanced systems capable of learning from data to proactively manage the complexity of risk.”. But technology, however advanced, remains a tool in the hands of man: the Flight safety lies in the professionalism and continuous training of our staff.. It is the qualified personnel – pilots, engineers, technicians, and controllers – who represent the last and most critical decision-making safeguard.” In this scenario, the comparison between the military world, the civil sector, and the aerospace industry is vital for harmonising human skills with new algorithmic logic.. The Conservative General finally expressed deep satisfaction with the exchange, recalling that “security is not a limit to innovation, but the engine that allows us to operate effectively in increasingly complex and integrated contexts.”
The workshop is part of a broader initiative aimed at continuously strengthening safety culture and adopting innovative approaches to protect flight operations.
