The problem these pages address

Most aviation risk work fails for the same reason. Not because nobody knows the regulation, but because the assessment was written to satisfy a template instead of a question. Then somebody asks what the residual risk actually is, and the document has no answer in it.

The material here starts from the question. What can go wrong, who is exposed, what has been done about it, and what is left. The regulation follows, because it has to, but it is not the starting point.

What NorthSky does

NorthSky is an aviation risk and safety advisory practice run by Roe Nerem, an air traffic controller with an operational background in risk analysis, airport and airspace planning, and internal auditing. The work is advisory: assessments, screening, documentation review, audit preparation and second opinions.

• Risk assessments and safety cases for aerodromes, airspace changes and unmanned operations.
• Operational documentation: concepts of operation, operations manuals, risk registers, mitigation records.
• Audit preparation and internal audit support against a management system that already exists.
• Second opinions on someone else’s assessment, which is often the cheapest thing to buy.
• Free screening tools that give you a structured first read before you commit to anything.

Why the framework matters less than you think

The frameworks in this field are more similar than the acronyms suggest. ISO 31000 sets out risk management principles and a process, and is explicitly not a certifiable standard. The ICAO safety management framework has four components and twelve elements, and is meant to be applied in proportion to the size of the organisation and the complexity of what it does.

Both say the same thing about scale, and both are routinely ignored on that point. A small aerodrome or a two-pilot drone operator does not need the documentation set of a national operator. It needs the same reasoning, at its own size.

Who reads this

These pages are written for four kinds of reader, all of whom own an outcome rather than a document.

• Aerodrome and airfield managers who need a risk picture that survives a question from the authority, a neighbour or an insurer.
• Drone operators moving into the specific category who have discovered that the operational authorisation is a documentation problem before it is a flying problem.
• Safety and quality managers who have a reporting system, an audit programme and not enough hours in the week for either.
• Air navigation and airspace stakeholders who need an airspace change, a capacity view or a procedure argued rather than asserted.

The five areas

Each area has its own hub. Some are new and hold no articles yet, which is stated on the page rather than hidden behind a promise.

• Airfield risk

  Risk assessment for aerodromes and smaller airfields: obstacles, runway safety, movement volumes and what a proportionate safety case looks like.

• UAS and SORA

  Drone operations in the specific category: SORA, standard scenarios, PDRA, operational authorisation and the documents that carry them.

• Just Culture

  Occurrence reporting and reporting culture: what Regulation 376/2014 requires, what Just Culture actually means, and why reporting rates fall.

• Audits and compliance

  Third-party audits, internal audit programmes and management system reviews, including how to prepare without rewriting the whole system.

• Air traffic and airspace

  Airspace classification and design, air traffic service provision, capacity questions and the evidence an airspace change needs.

• Books

  Two practical handbooks, one on third-party audits and one on Just Culture for unmanned aircraft operators.

Frequently asked questions

Is this a consultancy site or a library?

Both, and the library came first on purpose. If a page answers your question well enough that you do not need to call, that is a reasonable outcome. If it tells you the question is bigger than you thought, that is also useful.

Can NorthSky approve or certify our operation?

No. Approval, licensing and certification sit with the national authority and nowhere else. NorthSky can tell you what your assessment currently supports, where the gaps are, and what a reader from the authority will look for first.

Why are these pages in both English and Norwegian?

Because the two readers ask different questions. The Norwegian pages are written for Norwegian regulation and Norwegian practice, with Luftfartstilsynet as the authority. They are not translations of the English ones.

Sources

1. SKYbrary, Safety Management System
2. ISO 31000:2018, Risk management, Guidelines
3. EASA, Aerodromes