Flexjet and GE Aviation have implemented a comprehensive safety and fleet modernisation project including flight operations quality assurance (FOQA), quick access recorders (QARs) and cellular data services. The equipment will monitor Flexjet's fleet of 150 aircraft including the Phenom 300 and Legacy 450, Challenger 300 and 350, Global Express and Gulfstream G450 and G650.

“By combining GE's experience in flight safety analysis and flight analytics with wireless mini-QAR technology from our avionics joint venture, we will help Flexjet to advance its fleet with the latest flight safety analysis techniques in the airline environment," says John Mansfield, chief digital officer for GE Aviation.

FOQA (flight operations quality assurance) is a data analytic tool, based on flight data recorded during each flight. Airlines and operators that adopt FOQA are better able to identify and eliminate potential safety hazards in flight operations.

“We were able to customise the QAR firmware to include Flexjet-specific flight events by using the roughly 4.5 million data points collected per wireless transmission the equipment sends immediately after landing of every flight," explains Flexjet chief safety officer Todd Anguish, who has also worked as a pilot, flight instructor and an A&P mechanic for nearly 27 years. “The comprehensive data we can gather immediately allows us to ensure safer operation of our fleet with real-time flight data monitoring to address any potential flight safety concerns immediately.”

GE Aviation's Event Measurement System (EMS) which powers its flight analytics services and FOQA systems are being used on more than 9,000 aircraft. GE's flight analytics service integrates data sources like flight information, weather, navigation, flight plans and other operational data to provide valuable insights for airline customers around fuel use and operations.

“Flexjet has been a customer of our C-FOQA product for many years,” continues Mansfield. “Since it has experienced considerable growth in its fleet, this agreement upgrades its safety solution to our eFOQA, the standard in large-operator FOQA programmes worldwide.”

Since its introduction in the airline industry more than 20 years ago, FOQA has been widely credited with reducing incident and accident rates at airlines where it has been adopted. In its 2017-2018 Most Wanted List of Transportation Safety Enhancements, the US National Transportation Safety Board encourages aircraft operators to improve safety oversight of their aircraft by routinely reviewing recorded flight data in a structured programme such as eFOQA.

This is the largest implementation of GE’s wireless flight data management system to date.