We have seen on a number of occasions in the last few months, that the constant efforts to improve the safety performance of our industry should never be relaxed. Colleagues from Germany, Turkey and New Zealand have all lost their lives in recent aircraft crashes in Europe; on behalf of all ECA's members and affiliates, our thoughts are with their family, colleagues and friends.

Every accident reminds us that we have not achieved the goal of a zero fatal accident rate. The US recently commissioned research under Senator Al Gore. It which came to the conclusion that this was indeed an achievable aim - and the European Commission has the stated aim of a tenfold increase in safety levels. Both will mean that we need to ensure we apply all the lessons of the past - including appropriate accident and incident investigation procedures. Our late German, Turkish and New Zealand colleagues deserve the very highest standards of investigation into their accidents and it does not help that ill informed press speculation and headline hungry politicians and other 'self publicists' always seem to be jostling for media position following such tragedies.

Elsewhere in this edition of Cockpit News, you can read of ECA's efforts to support appropriately targeted inspections of aircraft, with high quality inspectors to a harmonised European standard; our promotion of a single harmonised standard for biometric crew identity cards and our own efforts to ensure we are prepared to confront tomorrow's issues even more assertively and efficiently than we do today's.

Later this month, ECA will also be active at the International Federation of Airline Pilots' Association's Annual Conference. Unity of purpose to ensure ever higher safety standards, unity of purpose to ensure mutual support in times of need as well as unity of purpose to face ever stronger competition and attacks on our livelihoods - all require a strong engagement of Pilot Associations of all types with each other. ECA will be leading the way!