Our Mission
The AOPA Air Safety Institute is a recognized leader and key influencer in driving safety initiatives across the general aviation industry. Through active leadership in the General Aviation Joint Safety Committee (GAJSC) and its subcommittees, as well as ongoing collaboration with federal and state authorities, we shape and enhance strategies that improve aviation safety. Our efforts not only add credibility to safety priorities but also have a direct impact on the broader general aviation community.
As the largest provider of free general aviation safety content in the world, the AOPA Air Safety Institute (ASI) focuses on reducing general aviation accidents. We hold a responsibility to guide the overall safety culture in general aviation by influencing pilot behavior, policy makers, and training providers.
Our Vision
Be the leading influence in pursuit of a world without fatal general aviation accidents.
Our Mission
Improve general aviation safety through industry leading research, education, and outreach.
Pilot error causes approximately 75 percent of all general aviation accidents. Each year, some 350 people lose their lives in more than 200 fatal general aviation accidents in the United States. Even though safety information is proven to make pilots safer, preliminary research indicates that less than 50 percent of active general aviation pilots consume safety material on a regular basis.
Three focus areas help us reach our goal of a strong safety culture in general aviation.
- Data Analysis and Research reviews general aviation accident data and produces the most comprehensive and widely used accident analysis in the industry.
- Design, Development, and Delivery creates high quality, engaging, and insightful educational materials that promote safer flying, in addition to reaching nationwide audiences through live seminars and recognizing aviation safety contributions.
- Flight Instructor Refresher Course (eFIRC) renews thousands of flight instructor certificates each year providing innovative, safety-critical course modules that promote a strong safety culture among the flight instruction industry.
Conducting research, offering education, and making safety information readily available to pilots is vital to continue the trend of a safer general aviation community. The AOPA Air Safety Institute continues to expand its reach, take advantage of new technologies, and deliver education in ways that don’t just inform pilot behavior, but help to positively influence it. Meet the team behind the work.
“The AOPA Air Safety Institute leads the industry in driving the accident rate down by reaching pilots with thoughtful, data-based analysis and award-winning content.”
Data Analysis and Research
RESEARCH AND REPORTING
Perceptive and accurate accident research and analysis are foundational to the AOPA Air Safety Institute’s successful production of materials, outreach in the aviation community, and influence on the general aviation safety culture.
We deliver the most comprehensive and widely used near real-time analysis of general aviation accidents in the industry, the Richard G. McSpadden Report (formerly Nall), which is used by both government and industry to drive new and modified safety initiatives.
Additional accident analysis includes:
Design, Development, and Delivery
EDUCATION, COMMUNICATION, AND COLLABORATION
Videos, podcasts, and social media are ubiquitous, and we leverage these modern platforms and expand our visibility as an effective means of broadening the safety message to pilots around the world.
The Design, Development, and Delivery team’s high quality, engaging, and insightful educational material promotes safer flying practices for general aviation pilots at all experience levels. Creating this data-driven subject matter enables pilots to become part of a safer aviation community and is crucial to the Air Safety Institute’s mission.
Recognition can be a powerful motivator and influencer. That is why we established the Richard G. McSpadden General Aviation Safety Award to raise the profile of individuals and groups that make extraordinary contributions to the general aviation community.
We partner with many organizations focused on aviation safety to provide a unified effort in reaching our safety goals. These include government agencies, aircraft and equipment manufacturers, universities, more than 70 international AOPA affiliates, and other general aviation associations.
Flight Instructor Refresher Course (eFIRC)
CFI EDUCATION AND RENEWAL
More flight instructors renew their certification through the AOPA Air Safety Institute’s Flight Instructor Refresher Course (FIRC) than through any other CFI renewal program in the industry.
We can't do it without you!
The AOPA Air Safety Institute is proudly funded by donations to the AOPA Foundation.
The AOPA Air Safety Institute continues to create a safer culture for general aviation with the strong commitment of AOPA leadership, including the AOPA Board of Trustees, the AOPA Foundation Board of Advisors, and dedicated donors to the AOPA Foundation.