Flight Data Monitoring

Flight Data Monitoring (FDM) — also known as FOQA (Flight Operational Quality Assurance) in the United States — is a program that uses data from the aircraft's flight data recorder to systematically monitor and analyze routine operations. The goal is to identify safety risks, detect deviations from standard operating procedures, and discover operational trends before they result in incidents or accidents.

FDM programs automatically flag events such as:

• Unstabilized approaches
• Hard landings or high sink rates
• Speed deviations (too fast or too slow)
• Excessive bank angles or pitch attitudes
• Go-arounds and their triggers
• Altitude deviations and level busts

The data is de-identified to protect individual pilots, as the program is intended to improve systemic safety rather than discipline individuals. FDM is mandatory for commercial operators in Europe (EASA) and strongly encouraged by the FAA and ICAO. Airlines with mature FDM programs have demonstrated measurably lower accident and incident rates.