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Air transportation is a highly safe mode of transportation. In part, this has come about as technological advances have improved aircraft, navigation systems, and air traffic control. There have also been significant advances in relevant ergonomics and in aircrew training and practices. Institutional changes have also played their part. The establishment of the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) after the Second World War included a commitment of signatories to abide by common measures to ensure safety in International Air Transportation. The Organization, however, has limited powers of enforcement. The International Aviation Safety Assessment (IASA) program was initiated by the US to ensure that countries with services involving the US meet ICAO safety oversight standards. This paper makes use of the IASA assessment procedure to examine factors that influence whether countries are conforming to ICAO safety standards. It adopts a basic econometric framework of analysis to pursue the topic. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]