Over the past two months in this space, I’ve laid out a roadmap for business aviation operators to improve safety by following the course set by the airlines. In the previous blogs, I’ve touched on flight data monitoring (FDM/FOQA) and line operations safety audits (LOSA). Now, this journey will end with a look at the aviation safety action program (ASAP), the last of the “big three” voluntary safety programs.
In business aviation, an ASAP is by far the most widely embraced voluntary safety program. In fact, by sheer numbers, there are now more Part 91/135 operators participating in an ASAP than Part 121 airlines. This overwhelming success can be attributed, almost exclusively, to the Air Charter Safety Foundation (ACSF) and its organizational-based ASAP. Since the program's inception less than six years ago, the ACSF has signed up nearly 120 business aviation operators into its ASAP.