ASAP Mid Year Safety Review
2025 ASAP Mid-Year Safety Review
In the first half of 2025 (January-June), ACSF recorded 1072 ASAP reports from 292 participating members. Trend analysis shows a steady decline in report volume, from 210 submissions in January to 146 reports in June. Importantly, regulatory violations are concurrently on decline, from six recorded in January to zero in June, and only one in July.
The decrease can be attributed to several factors, from seasonal effects (winter weather and holiday traffic contributing to higher reporting early in the year) to improved safety performance, better regulations compliance, and effective preventative training. However, a drop in reporting participation may also be influencing the trend. Reporting volume across the U.S. systems remains consistently high throughout the year. NASA’s ASRS logged an average of 11,000 reports per month in 2025 thus far. It is important to note that FAA enforcement is an outcome of oversight, not of reporting frequency.
Looking at event categories, Altitude Deviation remains the most common type of event (16%), followed by Traffic Proximity (13%) and Coordination/Communication Issues (11%). Collectively, altitude, course, and speed deviations make up 25% of all submissions, underscoring the dominance of human factor errors and reinforcing the importance of enhanced CRM and automation monitoring training.
On the mechanical side, airframe issues are a mid-tier contributor (~7%), while engine/powerplant problems remain rare (<1%). Operational events such as go-arounds, rejected takeoffs, and diversions continue to highlight the complex risk environment inherent to modern flight operations.
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January – June 2025 Reporting Trends
ACSF Primary Types of Events
Although the downward trend of regulatory violations may look promising, it is paramount for operators to continue their efforts in strengthening the safety culture. Despite improvements in aviation safety over years, the uptick in accident numbers in 2024 serves as a reminder for proactive and robust safety programs.
ACSF Recommendations on Safety Enhancement:
Human Factors Focus:
- Expand CRM and ATC communications training.
- Enhance simulator scenarios for altitude and traffic conflict recovery.
- Review fatigue management policies.
Policies & Procedures:
- Conduct audits and checks of GOMs/SOPs to sustain low regulatory violations rates.
- Share the ERC (Event Review Committee) recommendations with employees to increase awareness.
- Actively implement corrective actions and track notable events for reoccurrence.
- Continue emphasizing compliance culture
Technical Reliability:
- Implement data capture on mechanical issues to prevent reoccurrence and/or escalation
- Reach out to manufacturers for guidance on known/commonly occurring issues.
Federal Aviation Administration Initiatives
The FAA is actively making efforts to improve aviation safety across the industry. Through increased financial incentives made possible by increased budget allocations, the FAA is on track to hire targeted 2,000 new Air Traffic Controllers by end of 2025, with planned 8,900 new hires through 2028. At the same time the administration is expanding its deployment of Tower Simulation Systems: high-fidelity simulators that replicate airport tower operations to allow trainees and transitioning controllers to practice complex airport layouts, runway coordination, and safety scenario training.
The FAA held a General and Business Aviation Call to Action meeting in March, bringing together officials, industry representatives, and labor leaders to proactively address recent safety incidents and strengthen aviation safety. Acting FAA Administrator Chris Rocheleau emphasized that “safety is a collective effort”, reminding stakeholders that complacency is the enemy of safety, and vigilance is essential to tackle emerging threats.
FAA Recommendations on Safety Enhancement:
Pilot reminders: communicate with crews via multiple channels to reinforce the importance of:
- Checking NOTAMs and TFRs.
- Thoroughly using pre-flight checklists
- Familiarizing themselves with airport and aeronautical charts.
Safety Risk Analysis: review and analyze close encounters between VFR and IFR operations.
Expanded FAAST (FAA Safety Team) outreach: targeting improved communications around radio phraseology, NOTAMs, and operations near Class B airspace.
Safety Management System (SMS) implementation: working with Part 135 operators to align with SMS rollout under Part 5 requirements.
Development of pilot tools: implementing additional measures to help crews assess operational risk and improve self-performance evaluation.