Beyond the Blue Skies: A Comprehensive Guide for Risk Assessment in Aviation

Risk assessment in aviation is a critical process that safeguards the safety and reliability of operations. Aviation operations encompass inherent risks, from mechanical failures to human errors and environmental factors. The significance of these risks may be severe, leading to accidents, injuries, and loss of life. Recognizing and mitigating risks is supreme in this dynamic environment, where emerging technologies and innovation constantly reshape this industry. This chapter includes an in-depth explanation of risk management and analysis, leading to the core elements of risk assessment specifically for aviation operations. We will describe the process and explore some of the applications and methodologies for Risk Assessment. Lastly, we will discuss safety management systems followed by proactive risk analysis using explainable artificial intelligence (XAI), which can enhance aviation safety and inform engineering design decisions.