Private Jet Safety
All aircraft that are operated in the US must gain certification from the FAA. This establishes whether the plane is allowed to fly its owners (Part 91) or if it can also fly paying passengers (Part 135). However, similar to how all drivers are required to have licenses, all pilots and operators are not created the same. Therefore, a third party objective industry has grown to establish the safety levels of people who operate private aircraft.
These companies “audit” the operators and provide designations depending on the result. The audits are voluntary but if a operator does not have any designation other than their certificate from the FAA you should think twice about flying with them.
Here are some links to the three primary auditing firms.
Prior to flying on any flight, your provider should be able to provide a detailed report from one of these agencies. Some of the reports will detail how many hours the pilot has in total, on that particular airplane (and if they have any incidents). The reports will also show the age of the aircraft, and how many times it’s taken off and landed. In fact it can be over whelming to go through all of the information available once you start looking. A good choice is to work with one of the providers we recommend as they filter this information for you in order to give you the confidence you want in your decision.