Fatal Accidents—Too Often To Disregard

Tragically, on November 1, a horrific aircraft accident occurred in Florida. A Bombardier Learjet 60 crashed nose-first into the ground at extremely high speed. The FAA and NTSB have launched an investigation that will almost certainly include pilot loss of control (LOC), weather, aircraft equipment, and other factors. 

The Florida crash occurred one week after the NTSB published a report that addressed LOC in flight. The report, “U.S. NTSB Accident Data 2016-2025 Fixed-Wing and Rotary-Wing Defining Events, 1st Edition,” found that LOC is the leading cause of fatalities in general and corporate aviation.

The study examined NTSB datasets from 2016 to 2025, covering airplanes and rotorcraft used under the FARs, including Part 135 on-demand/charter operations. In total, the data included 644 known, reported accident records. LOC resulting from pilot error accounted for fatalities in 59% of general aviation accidents, 83% of executive/corporate crashes, and 24% of Part 135 accidents.

In evaluating the data, the NTSB applied a workplace safety concept known as the “Heinrich triangle” derived from H.W. Heinrich’s “Industrial Accident Prevention.” The study suggests that unsafe pilot behavior rarely happens in isolation.

Unsafe (reported and unreported) pilot errors include LOC, misjudging a runway, operating an aircraft involved in a near-collision, or hitting a parked aircraft. This data highlights the need for aircraft owners and operators to ensure their pilots are not only qualified, but also experienced, competent, and safety-oriented.

Due Diligence: A Team Approach

Hiring pilots and a management company requires multilayered due diligence that goes beyond basic legal compliance or a single person’s assessment. A team of aviation experts to assist you typically includes, among others, an aircraft technical consultant, an aviation lawyer, and an aviation insurance broker who allocate tasks and provide their findings to you. Hiring experts who know each other and/or have extensive aviation experience is often more efficient because private aviation differs from other fields.

If you plan to hire an aircraft management company, an organization that provides services under Part 135 (charter capability) and/or FAR Part 91 (private flight support) can often help recruit pilots. After you finish your diligence and select a management company, promptly add the company to your aviation team.

Technical Due Diligence on Pilots

Your aviation team can review a pilot’s history and capability starting with FAR Part 61, which establishes a baseline for qualification, including training, aeronautical experience, certification, and endorsements (instructor entries in the pilot’s logbook).

Beyond the baseline, you should examine data that verifies a pilot’s competency, aircraft type experience and hours, accident and incident history, medical certifications, drug and alcohol test results (if operating under Part 135), FAA enforcement/certificate actions, and any training deficiencies or disciplinary records. Your team can use, among other sources, data available in the Pilot Records Database (PRD), established under 14 CFR Part 111 and explained in FAA Advisory Circular (AC) 120-68J, “Pilot Records Database and Pilot Records Improvement Act,” explained in FAA AC 120-68J. Also, search the FAA’s Airmen Inquiry Portal to check the validity of a pilot’s certificates and ratings. You may broaden your insights by eliciting reviews from past employers or pilots who have flown with your candidate. 

Personalized Diligence on Pilots

Some pilots and other crew may form and enjoy unique, trusted, and valued relationships—built on mutual respect, positive interactions, and strong performance that meets the boss’ needs—with their principals and families, or, in a corporate setting, with senior executives. Developing this kind of relationship takes time, so it’s beneficial to meet with pilots as professionals and individuals.

This type of discussion may help you understand a pilot’s values, work ethic, background, and experience. You should assess whether the pilot is a match for you and your culture, but even if you feel comfortable on a personal level, prioritize safety. 

Due Diligence on Management Companies

Before selecting a management company, conduct thorough team due diligence on the organization and its people. Use caution if a prospective manager does not have the financial resources, fleet composition, and operational experience to manage your aircraft. Consider the company’s culture, a vital part of a strong organization that attracts and retains top-quality talent, including pilots. Look for genuine cooperation among the company employees and look for these objective features:

Safety management systems (SMS). Often considered a tool to avoid human error, an SMS is a formal, organization-wide approach to identifying hazards, assessing and managing safety risks, and ensuring effective safety controls. I have a bit of a bias toward using management companies that either have or have made substantial progress in activating an SMS.

Pilot hiring procedures. Ask a management company how it sources, evaluates, hires, trains, and monitors its pilots’ behavior and performance. You can reasonably expect a management company with a history, reputation, and a culture grounded in safety with exemplary operations to run extensive due diligence on pilots and other employees, including personal and professional background checks.

Third-party safety audits. Some industry experts argue that regular, independent, onsite safety audits by independent safety organizations—including those by Argus and Wyvern, and under IS-BAO (the International Standard for Business Aircraft Operations)—set the highest bar for measuring an operator’s and its team’s overall safety and performance, including pilots. Although a successful audit does not guarantee a safe flight, these audits validate the subject management company’s willingness to be judged by, and adhere to, rigorous safety and other high industry standards.

Certifications and legal compliance. As a baseline, obtain copies of and review the actual certificates under FAR Part 61 (pilot requirements), Part 119 (air carrier or commercial operator certification), and Part 135 (operating certificate). Your aviation team should scrutinize the company’s legal operating structure to determine whether a purported management company is or may be an illegal charter operator or a “flight department company.” If so, walk away.

Legal and Insurance Considerations

Most well-drafted management company and pilot service contracts set baseline legal, service, and compliance requirements for flying and managing your aircraft. However, your aviation lawyer can include more specific representations and warranties from the pilots confirming your team’s background checks, database information, and pilot regulatory compliance. These representations may reveal inconsistencies and other important data you may not obtain from data searches.

Your team should also review insurance coverage applicable to your aircraft and missions. Aviation underwriters use a standardized form—commonly called a pilot history form. Do not assume the pilot will be covered by, and qualify for your aircraft under, insurance policies for all types of aircraft or flight operations, including private and business missions. Include your insurance broker in this analysis. Remember, insurance does not manage risk; it may respond after an occurrence.

Departing Thoughts

It is reasonable to assume your management company will act in your best interests. In the right circumstances, the company’s due diligence on pilots should supplement, but not supplant, your personal diligence. Ideally, the pilots and management company you select should pass your vetting process with flying colors.

However, if you do not interact personally with prospective pilots and the management company team, you may miss a substantial opportunity to build trust, mitigate risk, validate your assessments, avoid mistakes, and foster positive relationships with people who may support you on your aviation journey for years to come. Your safety is crucial, but the final approach to risk management is entirely your choice.

This blog is purely informational and reflects the author’s experience and legal practice. It does not, and should not be construed to, provide advice of any kind, express or implied, create a lawyer-client relationship, or, in using the word “should” or the like, suggest a course of action to take without expert guidance. Each person involved directly or indirectly in any issue, transaction, or other matter covered in this writing should inquire of, and rely on, their own aviation professionals and other trusted advisors. The opinions expressed in this column are those of the author and are not necessarily endorsed by AIN Media Group.