Activity statistics

We collect data on aircraft flying activity. The most important use this data is put to, is calculating accident rates. They're a better measure of aviation risk than just the number of accidents.

Commercial operators

We need aircraft operators to provide a regular summary of aircraft flying activity. That activity is measured by flying hours and/or number of flights, and for freight and agricultural operations, by tonnes carried.

Apart from being used to calculate accident rates, it also provides early warning of developing safety risks due to increasing or declining activity, to compare different sectors, and to assess New Zealand’s safety performance relative to other countries.

For easy-to-use spreadsheets, see Forms

Send your returns to stats@caa.govt.nz

For more details see Part 12 (rule 12.151)

Certificated air operations – Parts 119/135, 115, 137

At the end of each quarter, report the hours flown, number of flights, and type of flight, separately for each aircraft on your operations specification. Include a nil return for aircraft that have not flown any hours in the quarter. For aircraft on Part 115 parachute operations, simply report the number of jumps.

Report	Period covered	Due date
1st quarter	1 Jan through 31 Mar	1 May
2nd quarter	1 Apr through 30 Jun	1 Aug
3rd quarter	1 Jul through 30 Sep	1 Nov
4th quarter	1 Oct through 31 Dec	1 Feb

Private operators

If you’re a private owner, and your aircraft does not conduct hire or reward operations, you need to report only the total hours for the calendar year.

Just send an email stating the aircraft registration, period reported, and total hours flown.

Agricultural product returns

Agricultural operators certificated under Part 137 also have to report the quantities of agricultural product they’ve applied by air. This tells us, the aviation industry, and other agencies about changes in agricultural productivity, economic conditions, and the environment. Agricultural product is reported as a total for the organisation.

Where does the information go?

The data is analysed and results published in our Aviation Industry Safety Updates – issued six-monthly, see safety reports.