@The_unconservative_one
I don’t think we are in disagreement here. I’m not saying (nor is the Naval Safety Center) that accidents/mishaps can be avoided entirely. But since we in the Navy, by definition, do certain things that are inherently dangerous, it is beneficial to identify the causes of mishaps and apply lessons learned to help avoid future mishaps. The fact of the matter is that the vast majority of these “accidents” can be avoided, simply by removing one or more of the human elements that went into causing them. Most mishaps are, in fact, due to human error. You can’t remove all risk, but you can minimize it to a more acceptable level.
If spilled milk is completely unacceptable to you, then don’t give your child milk. If it’s important that your daughter get her RDA of calcium, and spilled milk is unacceptable to you, then you’ll institute controls to mitigate the risk that she’ll spill it. Sippy cups, straws, supervision, etc. You may not prevent a spill, but you’ve minimized the chance of one happening.
My point from above was simply that, while there are “accidents” that have no preventable cause, most mishaps can be (and are) prevented. Calling every regrettable event an accident implies that there was nothing that could have been done to prevent it.