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CONCLUSION FDM programmes are now becoming more widely used by airlines. The main conclusions and recommendations resulting from this study are detailed below. These are considered in three areas: general conclusions, costs and benefits. FDM programmes are currently recommended practice by ICAO and they are likely to be made mandatory in some countries over the next several years. The number of airlines running FDM programmes has increased dramatically in the last five years. Airlines with new FDM programmes typically use them to improve the safety of their operations but they do not exploit the full range of benefits, particularly cost-benefits, which can arise from a well-managed FDM programme. The initial start-up costs of an FDM programme are significant, particularly for small regional airlines with a small fleet size. The annual running costs of an FDM programme are predominantly related to manpower costs. There are several benefits that can be obtained from running an FDM programme. The most important benefit is the improved safety in the airlines operations. If an FDM programme improves the airlines operations such that a single accident is avoided it will have paid for itself many times over. The cost-benefits of an FDM programme can save an airline several hundred thousand dollars or more per year, which more than covers the annual running costs of the programme. Most cost-benefits are difficult to predict in advance and are not repeatable. However, the more experience the airline gains in identifying costbenefits, the greater will be its ability to realise future cost-benefits. Most airlines do not monitor or quantify the savings they obtain from their FDM programmes

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BIBILIOGRAPHY 1. www.caa.co.uk 2. The Evolution of Flight Data Analysis Neil A. H. Campbell MO3806 3. www.bea.aero 4. www.nasa.gov 5. Flight Safety Foundation. (1998). Flight Safety Foundation Icarus Committee cites advantages of FOQA for trend analysis knowledge building and decision making. Flight Safety Digest, Vol. 17, No.7-9, p54 6. Flight Data Services Ltd. www.flightdataservices.com 7. Federal Aviation Administration. 8. www.wikipedia.org 9. www.dgca.nic.in