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In this study, we reviewed aircraft accidents in order to understand how autonomy and safety has been managed in the aviation industry, with the aim of transferring our findings to autonomous cyber-physical systems (CPSs) in general. Through the qualitative analysis of 26 reports of aircraft accidents that took place from 2016 to 2022, we identified the most common contributing factors and the actors involved in aircraft accidents. We found that accidents were rarely the result of a single event or actor, with the most common contributing factor being non-adherence to standard operating procedures (SOPs). Considering that the aviation industry has had decades to perfect their SOPs, it is important for CPSs not only to consider the actors and causes that may contribute to safety-related issues, but also to consider well-defined reporting practices, as well as the different levels of mechanisms checked by diverse stakeholders, in order to minimise the cascading nature of such events to improve safety. In addition to proposing a new definition of safety, in this study we suggest reviewing high-reliability organisations to offer further insights as part of future research on CPS safety.

Smart infrastructure has the potential to revolutionise how infrastructure is delivered, managed and automatically controlled. Data and digital twins offer an opportunity to enable this revolution and secure sustainable future smart infrastructure. In this article, we discuss data as an engineering tool and propose to use data throughout the asset's whole life cycle from identifying the need, planning and designing to construction, operation, integration and maintenance. This requires systems thinking where focus is not limited to the problems but rather constructs a systemic perspective to understand the interrelationships between components and systems. Future infrastructure is connected, intelligent and data-driven. To enable more sustainable decision-making, we should not only consider how to integrate different infrastructure elements but also use data to monitor, learn from and inform decisions. To this end, we present a case study where several assets, such as bridges, railways and transport systems are integrated, and data are curated for the purpose of aiding climate-conscious, sustainable decision-making. An example systems architecture for integration of different digital twins is explained and benefits of this data-driven, systemic perspective are discussed.