1 Background and Introduction

Today’s aviation world is characterised by growing integration of all professions involved, including flight, cabin and ground operations, air traffic control (ATC) and maintenance. This coexistence increases the need for a systemic view of safety management. Various types of hazards, precursors or threats contribute to operational risk, which is the product of hazard probability and severity.

The term threat in flight operations is defined as anything external that complicates pilots’ duties and requires attention and management to keep proper margins of safety. The European Working Group on Occurrences Data Analysis developed the following definitions: