New Horizons in Aviation Safety

As I sit here on the flight home from NBAA-BACE 2023, I’m reflecting on a busy week marked by great conversations and new friendships. This was my first time at the industry’s largest event and I had the opportunity to moderate the Elevating Aviation Safety for Pre and Post Flight Operations panel discussion while in Las Vegas. This year we had the opportunity to hear directly from several notable experts in the field, including Charlie Precourt — Cessna Jet Pilot Association Safety Chair, Jason Greenleaf — First Officer and United Aviate Coach at United Airlines, Chuck Shavit — Director of Engineering at ForeFlight, and Bruce Landsberg — Vice Chairman of the NTSB.

Improving safety practices has always been a focal point of NBAA events, and these panel members encouraged us to reflect on the vital role that safety plays in the public’s perspective of the business aviation sector. Ultimately, there is no greater single factor that shapes the success of both individual operators and the industry at large than the degree to which we can operate safely. This is why I believe the ongoing innovation and improvements to safety measures must be a center of attention for our industry.

Coming from a military background, where thorough debriefing after every mission was the rule, I find the topic of post-flight analysis in business aviation particularly intriguing. In a typical fighter squadron, the mission debrief could last three to four times as long as the actual mission. However, in the world of business aviation, we simply cannot afford that scale of dedicated time spent on post-flight analysis. We need data-driven debriefing tools that enable pilots to get immediate feedback on their performance, which can automatically highlight areas for further analysis and help us foster a culture of continuous improvement. 

Safety in Aviation: 3 Key Takeaways

Here are a few of my key takeaways from the panel and how they fit into the ongoing conversation around safety in the industry.

1. Humans Are Still (and will likely always be) the Leading Cause of Aircraft Accidents

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NTSB Vice Chairman Bruce Landsberg made it very clear: “Humans crash airplanes”. It’s an undeniable fact revealed by accident reports every year: the most consistent result of these investigations is that crashes most often result from human error. Cognitive biases, lapses in decision-making, complacency, and decision fatigue are all things we commonly struggle with on a typical business aviation flight. Keeping these underlying tendencies in mind is crucial if we wish to develop effective tools to address these human limitations. 

2. Data-Driven Pilot Education Programs

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In my experience, organizations that implement initiatives focused on leveraging data and providing pilot education are positioned for the highest level of success. Why? Because data is an unwavering truth-teller. History tends to follow patterns, and for pilots to uphold their proficiency and safety standards while minimizing the potential for error, pilots need to be able to pinpoint their mistakes through quantitative analysis. However, they can only do this with the support and tools of a tightly-knit flight department working in unison toward these objectives. Innovations in safety solutions, like ForeFlight’s new Flight Data Analysis product, are the next step in facilitating objective analysis of safety-related data, reducing those subjective human biases or misinterpretations in traditional debriefing methods. 

3. Safety Culture Matters

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The culture within a flight department is pivotal in ensuring their operation’s safety. Cultivating that safety-centric culture within flight departments goes far beyond the mere adherence to procedures and protocols. It’s about shifting the mindset to be proactive in safety measures rather than reactive. In a safety-centric culture, every team member, from pilots to dispatchers, feels personally responsible for every flight and safety becomes a guiding principle in all operations. While this culture doesn’t emerge overnight, it is a constant reminder that there are always steps to be taken to improve behaviors and decisions. 

In summary, any attempts to enhance safety in business aviation must be founded on acknowledging human fallibility, accepting and integrating data-driven solutions, and nurturing a culture where safety isn’t just a regulation, but a collective responsibility. I believe that data-driven analysis is the key to unlocking these changes and that we must continue to create more streamlined and digitally-native solutions that foster safety-first best practices in our industry’s daily operations environment. 

Kevin Sutterfield  
EVP and Head of Global Sales
Jeppesen / ForeFlight

Kevin leads a global team focused on bringing digital solutions to business and general aviation operators.  An experienced aviator with time in more than 40 types (ranging from the P-51 to the F-22), Kevin is passionate about making flying safer and more accessible. Follow him on LinkedIn and subscribe to the blog to hear more from him.

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