Glossary of Aviation Terms | Third Party Safety Audit

Third Party Verification | Paramount Business Jets

A third-party safety audit is the use of an outside company to verify and audit the safety standards set in place by a particular company. When a private jet company comes into business, they need to have in place certain safety standards that both employees and the company follow. The FAA is the first place where companies go to get a set of standards. The FAA sets the governmental standards for all commercial and private companies for safety. It is up to companies to either use those same standards or improve upon them to make their own.

When a company decides that they want to improve upon the FAA standards, they will call in a third-party safety audit company for verification. This third party will review all the safety standards in question and deem them safe or unsafe and make the appropriate recommendations. Companies and associations like WYVERN and ARGUS audit the standards and operations of charter companies for the benefit of both the company and the customer. When a third party comes in to verify or audit the safety standards of a company, it is often in the best interest of the company to listen. They have set the bar high above the FAA when it comes to safety standards, and they not only set standards for the companies, but they grade them and report them to the customers, making it in their best interest to comply.

In some cases, third-party safety audits can also take place when complaints are lodged against a particular aircraft operator and a third party is brought in to handle the complaint. Due to a conflict of interest for the company against whom a complaint has been made, instead of handling it themselves, a third party safety audit company is brought in to assess the situation and help take the appropriate actions.