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Amy Wilder

Procedural failures, or human factors, were the biggest element at work in business aircraft safety incidents and accidents last year, according to Nimbl's&nbsp;<a href="https://gonimbl.com/get-your-safety-report/">Safety Report</a> for business aviation. Offering what Nimbl called a comprehensive, ground-level view of operational risks, the recently released report analyzed hundreds of safety submissions collected through the company’s safety management system (SMS) platform.
The report lists a total of 112 events among business turboprops and jets in 2024, broken down into 16 incidents and 96 accidents; this compares with 13 incidents and 108 accidents in 2023. Although the report presents just two years of data, the group is optimistic: “This is a promising trend and may correlate with the continued growing acceptance of SMS within business aviation.”
Submissions were drawn from a mix of flight departments, FBOs, and maintenance organizations. More than half (54%) of all reviewed events occurred during ground operations or the approach phase of flight, with the majority linked to procedural breakdowns. Third-party involvement was a frequent contributing factor, reinforcing what the report describes as “aviation’s interconnected safety environment.”
“Though not a critical phase of flight,” the report noted, “ground operations present unique safety challenges due to the diverse personnel and potential presence of untrained individuals near aircraft.”
The report categorized safety submissions into initial issues contributing to reported events, as well as categories. Initial factors in reported incidents and accidents were operations (55%); aircraft (28%); facilities, at home or away (15%); and crew (2%). Operational issues were clarified as including “improper use of procedures, accidental and purposeful procedural non-compliance, a lack of appropriate procedures for the situation encountered, and operational issues outside of the operator’s control.”
Further, the report outlined nine categories of events, led by operational procedures (37%); aircraft systems (15%); facilities and environment (15%); interference (8%); and aircraft movements and towing (7%). “Given that procedures are the most fluid part of aviation because they must be flexible enough to accommodate various situations, paired with the largely human element of complying with procedures, it is not surprising that this was the most frequent issue,” according to the report.
Events tied to procedures were often self-reported and included breakdowns in checklist use and coordination. Nimbl noted that aircraft movement and towing incidents were the most likely to result in damage. Other recurring concerns included outdated manuals and notams, fatigue related to reroutes and long duty days, and growing interference from GPS jamming and spoofing.
The analysis underscored the compounding nature of safety risks. More than half of all reports cited two or more contributing factors, while 20% cited three or more in alignment—consistent with the <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0022103120303930?via%3Dihub">Swiss cheese model</a> of system failure.
Recommendations in the report include enhanced checklist discipline, recurring facility audits, more robust document management, and improved preflight planning for fatigue and rerouting. Nimbl emphasized that safety cultures are best sustained through iterative, data-informed adjustments rather than one-time fixes.

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