Airfield risk
Airfield risk assessment that answers the question it was asked
Obstacles, runway safety, mixed traffic and movement volumes, assessed at the size of the operation. This area covers what a proportionate aerodrome safety case contains and what it can leave out.
The problem
Small aerodromes get handed a method built for large ones. The result is a document that is long, generic, and silent on the two or three things that could actually hurt somebody at that particular field: an obstacle nobody has re-surveyed, a taxiway crossing with poor sightlines, a mix of parachute, glider and powered traffic on the same circuit.
The other failure is the opposite. A one-page note that lists hazards and stops, with no assessment of exposure, no mitigation record, and nothing to show that anyone weighed the residual risk before accepting it.
What NorthSky does here
The work is a structured risk assessment built around the actual operation, with the evidence trail that lets you defend it later.
- Hazard identification against the real traffic mix, layout, seasonal variation and known events.
- Obstacle and infrastructure review, including what needs surveying, registering or marking.
- Runway and manoeuvring area safety: incursion exposure, sightlines, markings, procedures.
- Movement volume assessment, so a capacity or activity change is argued rather than assumed.
- A risk register and mitigation record written so a reader who was not there can follow the reasoning.
The Norwegian frame
In Norway, Luftfartstilsynet handles the concession, certification of aerodromes, and technical and operational approval, and requires that obstacles which may be a risk to aviation are reported, registered and marked. Whether a field is certified or holds a technical and operational approval changes what your documentation has to reach, not whether you need it.
European aerodrome requirements sit in Regulation (EU) No 139/2014 under the Basic Regulation (EU) 2018/1139, which is where the certified end of the scale is defined.
Who this is for
- Aerodrome operators and airfield managers who need a risk picture that holds up in front of the authority, an insurer or a landowner.
- Clubs and associations running an airfield with volunteer capacity, mixed traffic and no full-time safety function.
- Anyone planning a change to a field a new activity, a longer season, a bigger event or a layout change that alters the risk picture.
Articles in this area
There are no articles in this area yet. This hub was published as the entry point for airfield risk work, and articles will be added here as they are written rather than announced in advance. In the meantime the airfield risk screening tool covers the first pass, and the third-party audits handbook covers the documentation side.
Describe the field
Traffic mix, movements, layout and what is changing. That is usually enough to say whether you are looking at a review, a full assessment or a short second opinion.
Get in touchFrequently asked questions
How long should an airfield risk assessment be?
As long as the operation makes it, and no longer. The ICAO safety management framework is meant to be applied in proportion to the size of the organisation and the complexity of its services. A small field with one runway and a predictable traffic mix can be assessed properly in a document you would actually reread.
Does an assessment from NorthSky approve anything?
No. Concession, certification and technical and operational approval are decisions for Luftfartstilsynet. What an assessment does is put the reasoning and the evidence in one place so the authority is reading your case rather than reconstructing it.
Where should we start if we have nothing?
With the traffic and the layout, not with the template. The free airfield risk screening tool walks that first pass and gives you a structured output you can bring into a conversation.