Flight Data Monitoring and FOQA: Why don’t We Just Go Around?

(Note: This article was originally published on October 29, 2020). I was recently reviewing the NTSB’s Accident Report from the Cessna Citation crash involving Dale Earnhardt Jr. and my immediate reaction was, “Not again. Here’s another catastrophic unstable approach...

Introduction to Flight Data Monitoring and FOQA

(Note: This article was originally published on November 12, 2020). Flight Data Monitoring (FDM) is certainly nothing new, but as its safety benefits continue to become more realized, this recommended practice is quickly becoming mandatory in some parts of the world....

Flight Data Monitoring and FOQA: Analyzing the Data

(Note: This article was originally published on December 9, 2020). In our Introduction to Flight Data Monitoring article, we took a high level look at what a Flight Data Monitoring or FOQA program is. Then we went into a little more detail looking at the modern...

How Will They Recover Data from That?

(Note: This article was originally published on January 15, 2021). A few years ago, I posted an article on LinkedIn that gave a glimpse into how data is recovered from damaged flight data recorders. That was around the time of the disappearance of Malaysia Airlines...

Why You Should KISS Your Flight Data Monitoring/FOQA Program

(Note: This article was originally published on April 6, 2021). Years ago, while I was working in Flight Testing, I had a discussion with another engineer (a very brilliant engineer, in fact) regarding the collection of positional data (GPS latitude and longitude)...

What is a Flight Data Monitoring or FOQA Event?

(Note: This article was originally published on April 26, 2021). The core component of any Flight Data Monitoring or FOQA program is the “Event”. Some may also refer to it as an “Exceedance” or “Deviation”, but no matter the term,...