Four leading international air safety organizations this week agreed to launch a global information exchange that will include sharing of safety and accident data. California plane crash lawyers believe this will help reduce the incidence of international plane crashes.

The agreement was signed in Montréal, and included the International Air Transport Association, which represents about 250 international airlines, American and European aviation safety regulators, and the International Civil Aviation Organization, the United Nation’s aviation safety wing. The agreement establishes procedures to help identify aviation safety threats. United States Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood also participated in the signing of the agreement.

The information exchange will work by requiring that these safety organizations choose some of the safety data that they collect, and share these as part of the exchange. The main aim is to learn from each other's data, identify potential aviation safety problems, and devise strategies to prevent them. The International Civil Aviation Organization will act as the coordinator for the exchange.

Much of the important data that could really impact aviation safety globally is expected to come from airlines in emerging markets and developing countries, where there has been a steady increase in the number of passengers flying. The exchange also expects expert information and valuable data to come from the major American and European airlines, as well as those countries where the aviation industry is just beginning to take off.

Sharing of airline safety data can increase safety for American passengers, because American regulators can benefit from the application of aviation safety solutions in other countries with a similar aviation environment. An exchange like this will also help international passengers, particularly those in Latin America and Asia where plane crashes have traditionally been higher than in the Western countries.