FAQs

What is Flight Operations Quality Assurance?

The Short Answer

FOQA is a safety tool. It provides information about flight safety issues to the operator.

The Longer Answer

Accidents normally occur when a number of unfortunate events coincide. Imagine an accident where an aircraft ran off the end of the runway. This might be because the pilot landed faster than normal AND it was raining so the runway was slippery AND a malfunction caused the thrust reversers not to deploy. How can we stop an accident like this? By making sure that nothing that we can control contributes to the sequence of events.

Historically the “Black Box” flight recorder data has only been used after an accident, to find out why an accident occurred. With FOQA we look at the data on every flight to find if there are any preventable precursors to an accident.

In the imaginary case described above, we cannot prevent rain and slippery runways. We may not be able to prevent the malfunction of the thrust reverser, but if we can make sure that the pilots always land at the correct speed, the three-link chain leading to the accident would be broken.

The More Detailed Answer

Flight data is analysed from every flight and any moments when the aircraft is flying outside specific boundaries are identified. These are termed “events”. There are severe events that should never occur, and it is the responsibility of the flight safety organisation to address these with the pilot concerned. It is a foundation stone of FOQA that this is carried out in a non-punitive way, and to achieve this, the results are held in strict confidence.

At a lower level, there are a larger number of events that are only slightly outside normal operation, and we use statistical analysis to examine these for trends. Trends allow the flight safety organisation to identify where they should address their actions, and can also focus their training programmes.

Once an operator has taken action to reduce the chance of a problem recurring, FOQA data can show whether these actions have been effective, and whether they continue to be effective.

Is FOQA different from FDM?

These are two acronyms for the same thing. Flight Operations Quality Assurance (FOQA) is more commonly used in the United States, and Flight Data Monitoring (FDM) elsewhere in the world. Just to add to the confusion, in some references the term Operational Flight Data Monitoring (OFDM) is also used to mean the same thing.

Enough acronyms? There is also a term MOQA, for Maintenance Operations Quality Assurance which is when maintenance issues are identified from flight data, but with no safety implications.

What are the Benefits?

The first step to managing anything is to measure it. FOQA data provides measurements so that Flight Safety can be managed.

Statistics show how your operation is performing compared with other similar organisations, and whether safety is improving or getting worse.

FOQA data can also be used to direct your training activities. Rather than training for what you think are the risk areas, you can concentrate on the identified high risk areas.

The outcome? More effective control of safety and more focussed training.

Is this a requirement?

FDM is specified as a requirement in Annex 6 of the ICAO Convention on International Civil Aviation for aircraft over 27 tonnes, and is recommended for aircraft over 20 tonnes.

This means each of the 189 countries belonging to ICAO has either to introduce this into national law, or file a derogation stating why they do not consider this to be a requirement in their country. At present the USA has made FOQA a voluntary programme, but most other nations have introduced a legal requirement for FDM, or are working towards this position.

What do I need to do FOQA?

• You need a management commitment to flight safety from the very top of the organisation.
• You need a flight safety department that is able to act independently yet with the confidence of the management.
• You need aircraft with a Flight Data Recorder.
• You need a means of transferring data from the aircraft to the analysis software.
• You need analysis software. Of the order of $50,000-$100,000 a copy.
• You need analysis expertise.

Ideally, you need a means of comparing the results you have with similar operators.

Is the data processed in flight?

No; it is examined after a flight and for convenience many operators download once a week to fit in with maintenance schedules.

How do you get data off the aircraft?

The most common ways are with a Quick Access Recorder that has some sort of removable media (disks or data cards). There are also wireless systems that transfer data after flight automatically. FDS can advise you about the best solution for your aircraft.

Who does the analysis work?

Analysis can be done by a department within an airline, or by Flight Data Services who are the world’s only specialist FOQA service provider.

Will FOQA save me money?

There are three ways in which FOQA can save an operator money. You may save an accident.
Engine data can be extracted from the flight data recordings to feed an engine monitoring programme. This can save money in engine trend costs, and possibly extend the life of the engine.
Insurance costs may be reduced if an operator can show that they can quantify their safety levels and demonstrate that they are managing safety.

What is MOQA?

Maintenance Operation Quality Assurance is the engineering equivalent of FOQA. The objective is to reduce operating costs through improved usage monitoring and reducing unnecessary maintenance.