The ultimate goal of any flight department is to operate safely – and to continue to do so year after year. But ensuring safety is far from over. It is an ongoing process, not an end state.
If the past few years have taught us anything, it’s that we live in a world of constant change. It may be an organism too small to be seen crippling large parts of the economy, or distant events crippling large areas of airspace. Or it can be much more mundane factors: staff turnover, new IT systems or a merger with another operator.
Whatever the case, the only certainty is that there will be uncertainty.
define risk
Risk management professionals focus on uncertainty as the basis of risk definition. This association has its roots in statistics, where the variability of a metric is expressed in terms of error bars or confidence intervals. It’s also a well-known notion in finance: the risk of an investment is simply the degree to which its return is unpredictable.
In aviation, risk management is at the core of safe operations. Think of all the details that must line up for a flight to depart successfully and on time, navigating the skies and arriving safely at its destination. Ideally, all these details correspond exactly to their pre-planned expected values. But the reality of uncertainty means some details are being disrupted. There is always some risk.
The last frontier in air traffic control
The sources of risk in flight operations can be roughly divided into three categories: systems, processes and human factors. Systems include the airframe, avionics, and all other equipment critical to flying. Processes are the procedures and actions performed by the flight crew, guided by detailed checklists. Human factors include a range of elements ranging from human-machine interface to operational readiness.
The aviation director of one of our clients, a…
