Japan Airlines (JAL) has been selected by an international organization for flight safety to receive an annual award for commitment to safety, the airline said Thursday.
This is the first time for a Japanese company or group to have won the Richard Crane Award since the Flight Safety Foundation, based in Virginia, created the award.
The Richard Crane Award, named after Richard Crane, one of the founders of Flight Safety Foundation, was an entrepreneur and visionary whose critical leadership role in the early days of FSF helped establish it as the preeminent global aviation safety advocacy organization.
The Richard Crane Award recognizes an organization for its sustained corporate leadership through lasting contributions in the field of civil aviation. Industry, government, and non-government organizations qualify for nomination. This is the third time an airline has been honored.
JAL is being recognized for its decades-long contribution to fostering a safety culture both in and outside the company, through such efforts as establishing the Safety Promotion Center after the crash of JAL Flight 123 in August 1985.
Dr. Hassan Shahidi, president and CEO, Flight Safety Foundation, said :
“The Foundation is proud to honor Japan Airlines for its outstanding commitment to safety and organizational learning,” “In the past few decades, JAL has transformed its approach to safety, creating a robust and enduring safety culture."
Mitsuko Tottori, President, and Group CEO of Japan Airlines stated,
“It is an honor to receive the prestigious Richard Crane Award. Since its founding in 1951, JAL Group has cultivated a safety culture over its 70-year history. Lessons from past accidents, including the 1985 JAL123 accident, have been continuously studied, with top management leading the way."
"Safety is a core value and the very purpose of the airline itself. All employees are committed to keeping our valued customers safe at all times . Ensuring safety requires not only the consistent efforts of the airline but also cooperation with all stakeholders, including customers, to maintain and enhance safety standards.”
JAL was nominated by foundation members in many countries and regions after all 379 passengers and crew escaped from a JAL plane following its collision with a Japan Coast Guard aircraft at Tokyo’s Haneda Airport in January. The escape was widely hailed as a “miracle.”
This is the third airline to win the award, following America's Continental Airlines and Taiwan's EVA Air.
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