THE GUIDE
What is Flight Data Analytics?
Flight Data Analytics is the routine review of data from normal, everyday flights to find risk before it becomes an incident. Airlines have run these programs for decades under names such as FOQA and Flight Data Monitoring. We bring the same discipline to Part 91 and 135 operators.
A PROACTIVE TOOL
From accident investigation to everyday prevention.
Flight data was once reviewed almost exclusively after something went wrong. Flight Data Analytics turns that around. By looking at every normal flight, it reveals the small deviations that precede serious events: an approach that was not stable at the gate, a landing that floated long, a go-around flown late.
None of these flights made the news. Together they show where an operation is drifting from its standards, and where training, procedures or scheduling can close the gap before the drift becomes an incident.
WHY IT MATTERS
Regulation, safety and the business of flying.
The regulatory picture
ICAO Annex 6 requires a flight data analysis program for aeroplanes over 27,000 kg. In the United States, FAA Advisory Circular 120-82 describes voluntary flight operational quality assurance programs, and 14 CFR Part 5 requires every SMS to monitor and measure safety performance. Part 135 operators must declare SMS compliance by May 28, 2027.
The safety case
Runway excursions, unstable approaches and loss-of-control events rarely come without warning. Their precursors appear in routine flights long before an accident. An operation that measures those precursors can act on them; one that does not is relying on luck.
The business case
Objective evidence of how your fleet is flown supports conversations with insurers, charter clients and auditors. It focuses recurrent training where it is needed and gives leadership a clear view of operational risk.
HOW A PROGRAM WORKS
A continuous cycle of four steps.
01 Capture
Flight data for each departure and approach is gathered and checked for quality. Nothing is installed on your aircraft.
02 Analyze
Each flight is measured against the limits in your own manuals. Findings are rated Low, Medium or High and reviewed by experienced pilots.
03 Act
Your safety committee receives specific recommendations: pilot bulletins, training emphasis, procedure changes and targets.
04 Verify
Baselines and trends show whether each action is working, closing the loop your SMS depends on.
WHAT WE LOOK AT
The phases where risk concentrates.
Departures and arrivals account for a disproportionate share of serious events. That is where our analysis is focused.
Departures. Takeoff, initial climb, and low-altitude turns and configuration changes.
Approach stability. Whether each approach met your stabilized criteria at the gate.
Path against the published procedure. How the flown path compared with the approach as published for that runway.
Descent rate. Excessive rates of descent close to the ground.
Landing. Touchdown point and long landings.
Go-arounds. Every go-around captured, with the conditions that led to it.
A MANAGED PROGRAM
More than software. A program run for you.
Many flight data products hand an operator a dashboard and leave the analysis to them. Most Part 135 operators do not have a full-time analyst, and a dashboard nobody reviews does not make anyone safer.
Flight Data Analytics is delivered as a managed program. We configure it to your manuals, review the findings, and deliver recommendations your committee can act on. Your team keeps full access to the data whenever they want to look deeper.
COMMON MISCONCEPTIONS
What Flight Data Analytics is not.
“It is a tool for disciplining pilots.”
A sound program is non-punitive by design. Its purpose is to improve the operation, and crew-facing reporting is de-identified.
“It is only for airlines.”
The risks are the same in a midsize jet as in an airliner. The cost and workload were the barriers, and those are what we remove.
“It needs a data team.”
Not when the analysis is delivered as a managed program. Your committee receives findings and recommendations, not raw data.
“It requires expensive hardware.”
Traditional programs did. Ours requires nothing installed on the aircraft.
GETTING STARTED
Five steps to a working program.
1. Define your objectives. Decide what your SMS most needs to measure.
2. Designate your aircraft. Choose the fleet to monitor and authorize access.
3. Adopt a non-punitive policy. Agree how data will and will not be used, and tell your pilots.
4. Start with the core events. Departures, approach stability and landings first; refine from there.
5. Plan how findings become action. Set who reviews each report and how decisions are recorded.
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
Questions operators ask us.
Is Flight Data Analytics the same as FOQA or flight data monitoring?
They describe the same discipline. FOQA is the term used in FAA guidance, flight data monitoring is common in Europe, and ICAO refers to flight data analysis. We use Flight Data Analytics for the program we deliver.
Is it required for Part 135 operators?
A flight data program is not specifically mandated for Part 135. Your SMS, however, must monitor and measure safety performance under 14 CFR Part 5, and flight data is one of the most objective ways to do that.
Will the data be used to discipline pilots?
We build every program on a non-punitive policy that you adopt before monitoring begins. Crew reports are de-identified, and we help you set clear rules for how findings are handled.
Do our aircraft need any equipment installed?
No. There is nothing to install and no maintenance downtime. Aircraft that already carry recorders can contribute that data as well.
How soon would we receive our first report?
Once your aircraft are authorized and your program is configured, your first monthly report follows your first full month of monitoring.
See what your own flights say.
Arrange a private briefing for your Director of Operations and safety team.