Operational risk management (ORM) is crucial for every aviation organization. The assessment of operational risk (OR) is a critical area of study, as organizations must continuously evaluate and mitigate potential risks to maintain high levels of performance and safety. The motivation for writing this paper was to address the cognitive gap identified through literature analysis. The aim of this paper is to assess the effectiveness of operational residual risk assessment in general aviation (GA) organizations, with a specific focus on its role within the decision-making process to enhance flight safety in line with sustainability. By addressing a cognitive gap identified in the literature, this study seeks to determine whether current risk management practices adequately assess and mitigate residual risks, especially in organizations where operational risk is inherently high. Based on a literature review, the authors present adopted concepts of ORM and OR. The survey methodology involved a questionnaire on OR assessment, consisting of 32 questions completed by respondents twice—before and after 63 series of flights. The survey was carried out across two groups with significantly varying levels of flying experience (students and instructor pilots), with a particular focus on the influence of human factors. The conclusions are based on a comparative analysis of the difference in the results obtained after and before the series of flights in both surveyed groups. The survey was conducted in three selected general aviation organizations in Poland using nonprobability convenience sampling. The results demonstrate an overall significant underestimation of OR in both student and instructor groups. Therefore, it can be concluded that operational risk assessment in the selected organizations was not sufficiently effective. Additionally, it was shown that staff experience affected the effectiveness of OR assessment. Moreover, this study identified specific aspects of operational risk that were most underestimated. By addressing the cognitive gap, this study enhances both the theoretical and practical understanding of residual risk management, particularly in relation to safety and efficient resource use in aviation. It also offers the Operational Residual Risk Underestimation Index (ORRUI) as an actionable parameter developed to quantify and standardize the level of underestimation of operational residual risks in civil aviation.

The aim of the paper is to provide an overview of the pilot workload assessment methods taking into account their applicability, reliability and use in shaping flight safety. This article discusses some subjective and objective methods, and also discusses the role of observation and audit of the crew during the flight. The analysis performed was based on the concept of monitoring the safety and quality of performing the operations. Based on Heinrich's Law, which differentiates between three basic safety approaches: reactive, proactive and predictive, the possibilities of applying particular methods in the above-mentioned safety approaches have been presented.

The paper presents a method for identifying the risk of disorders in the muscular and skeleton system, which would enable an assessment of the load of the motoric system that constitute one of important aspect for ergonomic risk. The result of the research made with use of the RULA method confirms the necessity of an urgent implementation of correcting actions aimed at improving the ergonomics of the pilot’s cabin. Some of them are difficult to put into practice in view to their high costs. One should also remember that the exploitation period is nearly expired so the implementation of improvements does not make much sense. However, there is a possibility of implementing many modifications that do not require high costs and that do not affect significantly the construction of the glider.

The highest rate of fatal accidents in aviation is attributed to the general aviation segment. Due to their specific nature, general aviation organizations lack implemented methods for measuring pilots' task load. Consequently, assessing the operational risk associated with a flight is hardly ever done. This results from the limited reporting of events by flight crews. Implementing task-load assessment based on objective methods could be beneficial from the standpoint of managing the risks associated with aviation operations. The research aimed to verify the usefulness of objective methods of assessing pilot workload from the perspective of small general aviation organizations. The study concentrates on the critical comparison of three objective methods: heart rate (HR), electroencephalography (EEG), and galvanic skin response (GSR). An expert evaluation of selected methods and flight tests of these methods that were deemed suitable in the expert evaluation were performed. Heart rate measurement using a chest strap received the highest ratings from experts and the most positive feedback from pilots during testing. It also provided the most accurate measurements. The study further emphasized the critical role of pilot task load in shaping overall flight safety in the specific conditions of general aviation organizations.