Airline Safety Report

Generate a comprehensive airline safety report for any carrier, aircraft type, or flight route in under 60 seconds. This actor queries 8 authoritative public data sources in parallel — including the FAA Federal Register, NOAA, FEMA, OFAC, and OpenSanctions — and runs four scoring models to produce a structured risk assessment with a composite score from 0 to 100 and actionable recommendations.

Whether you are screening an airline before placing an aircraft lease, evaluating route weather before scheduling a flight, or conducting a sanctions compliance check on an aviation counterparty, this tool replaces hours of manual research across fragmented government databases with a single API call.

What data can you extract?

Why use Airline Safety Report?

Manually researching an airline's safety record means visiting the FAA airworthiness directive database, searching the Federal Register, checking NOAA for route weather, running OFAC sanctions searches, and cross-referencing corporate registrations — across at least 8 separate government portals. A thorough check takes 3-4 hours per entity and requires knowing where to look on each platform.

This actor automates the entire process in a single run. It calls all 8 data sources simultaneously using Promise.all, so the full intelligence package is assembled in roughly the same time as a single API request. The scoring models then convert raw data into a structured verdict with ranked signals and plain-language recommendations.

• Scheduling — run weekly airline safety checks automatically to catch new airworthiness directives as they are published in the Federal Register
• API access — trigger reports from Python, JavaScript, or any HTTP client to integrate aviation risk data into your own platform
• Proxy rotation — Apify's built-in proxy infrastructure handles rate limits across all 8 data sources without manual intervention
• Monitoring — get Slack or email alerts when a run produces a CRITICAL or HIGH_RISK verdict for a monitored carrier
• Integrations — push results to Zapier, Make, Google Sheets, HubSpot, or any webhook endpoint for downstream workflows

Features

• 8 parallel data source calls — NHTSA recall data, FAA Federal Register, NOAA weather alerts, FEMA disaster declarations, OFAC SDN list, OpenSanctions (250+ lists), OpenCorporates, and Data.gov datasets are all fetched concurrently using Promise.all with a 120-second timeout per source
• 17-keyword critical defect detector — scans recall and incident data for fire, fuel, engine, hydraulic, structural, fatigue, crack, corrosion, wiring, landing gear, rudder, elevator, aileron, wing, fuselage, pressure, and decompression mentions
• 7-keyword airworthiness directive detector — identifies airworthiness directives, emergency ADs, unsafe conditions, mandatory inspections, mandatory replacements, and grounding orders from Federal Register text
• 14-category aviation weather threat filter — classifies NOAA alerts for thunderstorms, turbulence, wind shear, icing, fog, low visibility, volcanic ash, hurricanes, tropical storms, tornadoes, hail, freezing rain, blizzards, and crosswinds
• OFAC SDN match scoring — matches entities against the Specially Designated Nationals list with configurable confidence thresholds; flags matches at 60%+ confidence, SDN-type matches at 80%+
• 9-jurisdiction corporate risk screening — detects registrations in Iran, North Korea, DPRK, Syria, Cuba, Crimea, Russia, Myanmar, and Belarus through OpenCorporates
• Weighted composite scoring — airline safety (30%), maintenance compliance (30%), route weather (20%), and sanctions exposure (20%) combine into a single 0-100 score
• 5-tier verdict system — LOW_RISK, ACCEPTABLE, ELEVATED, HIGH_RISK, and CRITICAL verdicts with score boundaries at 20, 40, 60, and 80
• Correlated pattern detection — identifies when critical defects co-occur with emergency ADs, adding a pattern severity bonus of up to 10 points to reflect systemic risk
• Plain-language signal strings — every risk trigger produces a human-readable signal like "4 critical safety defects — fire/structural/engine concerns" for easy reporting
• Automatic recommendations — generates grounding, alternate route, compliance audit, and inspection program recommendations based on which risk models breach their thresholds

Use cases for airline safety report

Aviation insurance underwriting

Insurance underwriters screening airlines for liability policy applications need rapid, documented safety profiles. This actor produces a structured report covering safety defects, AD compliance burden, and sanctions exposure — the three factors most commonly cited in aviation insurance risk assessments. Run one report per applicant and push results directly to your underwriting system via the Apify API.

Aircraft lessor due diligence

Aircraft lessors placing assets with new airline operators need to verify that the lessee's fleet and operating procedures meet safety standards. This actor cross-references the airline against airworthiness directives, recall data, and high-risk corporate jurisdiction flags before you execute a lease agreement. A CRITICAL or HIGH_RISK verdict flags the need for an enhanced on-site audit.

Flight operations risk management

Airline operations teams scheduling seasonal routes through unfamiliar regions can use this actor to assess route-specific weather and disaster risk. Enter the route in the route field (e.g., "Miami to Nassau") and the actor queries NOAA for active weather threats and FEMA for regional disaster exposure, producing a VFR/IFR/GROUNDED weather verdict before scheduling begins.

Regulatory and safety research

Aviation safety researchers and journalists monitoring aircraft manufacturers or specific operators can schedule weekly runs to track airworthiness directive volume over time. The Federal Register integration surfaces new emergency ADs as they are published, and the Data.gov integration indexes aviation incident and accident datasets for trend analysis.

Compliance screening for aviation supply chain

Aerospace manufacturers and Maintenance, Repair and Overhaul (MRO) operators need to screen customers and counterparties for sanctions exposure before accepting contracts. This actor runs OFAC SDN and OpenSanctions multi-list checks against airline and operator names, surfacing HIGH or BLOCKED verdicts that require compliance review before proceeding.

Corporate travel and risk management

Corporate travel managers at large enterprises evaluating carrier safety for company travel policies can run periodic airline safety reports on preferred carriers and alternatives. The composite score provides a defensible, documented basis for approving or restricting specific carriers in travel policy.

How to generate an airline safety report

1. Enter your query — Type the airline name, aircraft type, or route you want to analyze (e.g., "United Airlines", "Boeing 737 MAX", or "JFK to LAX") into the Query field.
2. Add optional filters — If you want targeted sanctions screening, enter the airline's official legal name in the Airline field. For weather and disaster risk, enter the route corridor in the Route field (e.g., "Chicago to Denver").
3. Run the actor — Click "Start" and wait approximately 60 seconds. The actor calls all 8 data sources in parallel, so the total runtime matches the slowest single source call rather than the sum of all calls.
4. Download your report — Open the Dataset tab, then export your results as JSON, CSV, or Excel. Each row contains the full composite score, all four sub-scores, risk signals, and recommendations.

Input parameters

Input examples

Standard airline safety check:

{
  "query": "United Airlines"
}

Full analysis with airline and route separation:

{
  "query": "Boeing 737 MAX",
  "airline": "Southwest Airlines",
  "route": "Dallas to Denver"
}

Route-focused weather and disaster screening only:

{
  "query": "transatlantic route",
  "route": "New York to London"
}

Input tips

• Use the full legal name for sanctions checks — "Delta Air Lines" returns better OFAC and OpenSanctions matches than "Delta". Put the full name in the airline field for targeted entity screening.
• Separate entity from route — Using both airline and route fields ensures the entity screening (OFAC, OpenCorporates) uses the airline name while the weather sources use the route corridor. Mixing both into query reduces precision for both models.
• Aircraft type queries work well — Querying "Boeing 737 MAX" or "Airbus A320" returns airworthiness directives and recall data scoped to that aircraft type, useful for fleet-level safety assessment.
• Keep route descriptions regional — "Southeast US" or "Gulf Coast" works better for FEMA and NOAA than hyper-specific GPS waypoints. These APIs respond best to named regions, cities, and state names.

Output example

{
  "entity": "Southwest Airlines",
  "compositeScore": 38,
  "verdict": "ACCEPTABLE",
  "airlineSafety": {
    "score": 43,
    "safetyRecalls": 6,
    "criticalDefects": 3,
    "regulatoryActions": 4,
    "riskLevel": "WATCH",
    "signals": [
      "3 critical safety defects — fire/structural/engine concerns",
      "6 safety recalls — elevated maintenance burden",
      "4 regulatory airworthiness actions"
    ]
  },
  "routeWeather": {
    "score": 18,
    "severeAlerts": 2,
    "disasterCount": 1,
    "flightImpact": 10,
    "riskLevel": "VFR",
    "signals": []
  },
  "sanctionsExposure": {
    "score": 0,
    "ofacHits": 0,
    "opensanHits": 0,
    "corporateFlags": 0,
    "riskLevel": "CLEAR",
    "signals": []
  },
  "maintenanceCompliance": {
    "score": 44,
    "adCount": 4,
    "safetyBulletins": 4,
    "complianceLevel": "GAPS_FOUND",
    "signals": [
      "1 emergency ADs — immediate maintenance action required",
      "4 safety service bulletins requiring action"
    ]
  },
  "allSignals": [
    "3 critical safety defects — fire/structural/engine concerns",
    "6 safety recalls — elevated maintenance burden",
    "4 regulatory airworthiness actions",
    "1 emergency ADs — immediate maintenance action required",
    "4 safety service bulletins requiring action"
  ],
  "recommendations": [
    "Multiple critical defects — enhanced inspection program recommended"
  ],
  "query": "Southwest Airlines",
  "airline": "Southwest Airlines",
  "route": "Dallas to Denver",
  "generatedAt": "2026-03-20T09:14:22.341Z"
}

Output fields

How much does it cost to generate an airline safety report?

This actor uses pay-per-result pricing — you pay approximately $0.10 per report. This covers the compute cost of calling 8 sub-actors in parallel and running the scoring models. Platform compute costs are included.

You can set a maximum spending limit per run to control costs. The actor stops when your budget is reached. Apify's free tier includes $5 of monthly credits, covering approximately 50 reports per month at no charge.

Compare this to subscriptions at aviation data platforms like Cirium or ch-aviation, which start at $500-$2,000/month for carrier safety data access. Most users of this actor spend $2-$15/month depending on monitoring cadence, with no subscription commitment.

Generate airline safety reports using the API

Python

from apify_client import ApifyClient

client = ApifyClient("YOUR_API_TOKEN")

run = client.actor("ryanclinton/airline-safety-report").call(run_input={
    "query": "Southwest Airlines",
    "airline": "Southwest Airlines",
    "route": "Dallas to Denver"
})

for item in client.dataset(run["defaultDatasetId"]).iterate_items():
    print(f"Verdict: {item['verdict']} | Score: {item['compositeScore']}")
    print(f"Signals: {item['allSignals']}")
    print(f"Recommendations: {item['recommendations']}")

JavaScript

import { ApifyClient } from "apify-client";

const client = new ApifyClient({ token: "YOUR_API_TOKEN" });

const run = await client.actor("ryanclinton/airline-safety-report").call({
    query: "Southwest Airlines",
    airline: "Southwest Airlines",
    route: "Dallas to Denver"
});

const { items } = await client.dataset(run.defaultDatasetId).listItems();
for (const item of items) {
    console.log(`Verdict: ${item.verdict} | Score: ${item.compositeScore}`);
    console.log(`Signals: ${item.allSignals.join(", ")}`);
    console.log(`Recommendations: ${item.recommendations.join(", ")}`);
}

cURL

# Start the actor run
curl -X POST "https://api.apify.com/v2/acts/ryanclinton~airline-safety-report/runs?token=YOUR_API_TOKEN" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{"query": "Southwest Airlines", "airline": "Southwest Airlines", "route": "Dallas to Denver"}'

# Fetch results (replace DATASET_ID from the run response above)
curl "https://api.apify.com/v2/datasets/DATASET_ID/items?token=YOUR_API_TOKEN&format=json"

How Airline Safety Report works

Phase 1: Parallel data collection

The actor calls all 8 sub-actors simultaneously using Promise.all with a 120-second timeout per source. Each sub-actor is identified by a hardcoded actor ID in the internal actor map and receives a tailored input derived from your query fields. NOAA and FEMA calls use the route field (falling back to query) to focus on the geographic corridor. OFAC, OpenSanctions, and OpenCorporates calls use the airline field (falling back to query) for precise entity matching. The Federal Register and NHTSA calls use all three input fields combined to maximize recall breadth. Up to 1,000 items are fetched per source dataset.

Phase 2: Four-model risk scoring

Each model receives the complete multi-source dataset and scores one risk dimension independently:

Airline Safety model scans NHTSA recall records for 17 safety-critical keywords (fire, fuel, engine, hydraulic, structural, fatigue, crack, corrosion, wiring, landing gear, rudder, elevator, aileron, wing, fuselage, pressure, decompression). Critical defects score 8 points each; non-critical recalls score 3 points each, capped at 35. Federal Register records are scanned for 7 airworthiness directive keywords, with emergency ADs scoring 10 points each (capped at 30). Data.gov incident and accident dataset mentions score 5 points each (capped at 20). A correlated pattern bonus of up to 10 points applies when critical defects and emergency ADs co-occur.

Route Weather model evaluates NOAA alerts for 14 aviation-specific threat categories. Extreme-severity alerts score 12 points each; other aviation alerts score 5 points each (capped at 40). FEMA major disaster declarations affecting the route region score 10 points each; other declarations score 3 points each (capped at 30). A flight impact estimate of up to 30 points reflects delay and cancellation probability.

Sanctions Exposure model scores OFAC records by match confidence — SDN-type matches at 80%+ threshold score 15 points each (capped at 40). OpenSanctions records with hits across two or more source datasets score 2 units each (capped at 30). OpenCorporates registrations in 9 high-risk jurisdictions or dissolved/inactive entities score 8 points each (capped at 30).

Maintenance Compliance model processes Federal Register records for airworthiness directive burden: emergency ADs score 12 points each, mandatory/repetitive inspections score 6 points each, and general ADs score 3 points each (capped at 40). Safety service bulletins from recall data that require inspection, replacement, or repair score 4 points each (capped at 30). A compliance gap bonus applies when AD count and bulletin count both reach 3 or more.

Phase 3: Composite scoring and recommendations

The four sub-scores are combined using a weighted average: Airline Safety 30%, Maintenance Compliance 30%, Route Weather 20%, Sanctions Exposure 20%. The composite score maps to one of five verdicts: LOW_RISK (0-19), ACCEPTABLE (20-39), ELEVATED (40-59), HIGH_RISK (60-79), CRITICAL (80-100). The recommendation engine evaluates each model's verdict independently and generates specific plain-language recommendations when individual thresholds are breached — for example, a GROUNDED or IFR weather verdict always triggers the "Severe weather — consider alternate routes or delay" recommendation regardless of other model scores.

Tips for best results

1. Use the airline and route fields together for the most precise scoring. When both are provided, entity screening and geographic screening are fully separated. Mixing everything into query causes the sanctions search to use route text and the weather search to use entity text.

2. Run aircraft type queries for fleet-level assessments. Querying "Boeing 737 MAX" or "Airbus A220" returns Federal Register airworthiness directives scoped to that type, which is more useful for lessors and MROs than airline-name queries that blend fleet-wide data.

3. Schedule weekly runs for continuous monitoring. Airworthiness directives are published regularly in the Federal Register. Setting up a weekly scheduled run for monitored carriers ensures you are notified of new emergency ADs within one week of publication.

4. Treat ELEVATED verdicts as a flag for deeper review, not a disqualifier. An ELEVATED score (40-59) typically reflects a moderate AD burden or historical recall data, not an active safety crisis. Use the allSignals array to determine which dimension drove the score before acting on the verdict.

5. Cross-reference CRITICAL airline safety verdicts with the FAA AD database. When the airline safety sub-score reaches CRITICAL, use the specific signal strings in the output to search the FAA's online airworthiness directive database for the exact directives affecting the aircraft type.

6. Combine with Company Deep Research for full due diligence. The sanctions and corporate checks in this actor cover regulatory exposure. For financial background, litigation history, and ownership structure, run Company Deep Research in parallel and merge the outputs.

7. Use the compositeScore field for sorting and ranking. When screening a portfolio of 50+ airlines, sort the dataset by compositeScore descending to prioritize the highest-risk entities for manual review.

Combine with other Apify actors

Limitations

• No real-time FAA registry access — the actor queries the Federal Register and NHTSA-pattern data, not the FAA aircraft registry or ASIAS incident database directly. Live FAA registry lookups require separate access.
• Data freshness depends on sub-actor cadence — each of the 8 data sources has its own update frequency. NOAA weather alerts are near-real-time; FEMA disaster declarations may lag by days; Federal Register entries appear within 24 hours of publication.
• NHTSA data is vehicle-focused by origin — the actor adapts NHTSA recall patterns for aviation safety-critical keyword matching, which provides strong coverage of safety defect categories but is not a direct integration with the FAA SDRS (Service Difficulty Reporting System).
• Sanctions screening is name-match based — OFAC and OpenSanctions hits depend on name similarity. Airlines with common names or subsidiary structures may require the airline field to be set to the exact legal entity name for reliable matching.
• Route weather is regional, not flight-path specific — NOAA and FEMA queries use the route text as a geographic keyword, not a precise flight path. Results reflect the general region, not specific en-route waypoints.
• No historical trend analysis — each run produces a point-in-time snapshot. To track how a carrier's score changes over time, schedule recurring runs and store results in a database for trend analysis.
• OpenCorporates coverage varies by jurisdiction — coverage is strong for US, UK, and EU entities but thinner for carriers registered in less-documented jurisdictions. A CLEAR corporate flag does not guarantee no high-risk affiliations in poorly covered jurisdictions.
• Not a substitute for formal safety audits — this actor aggregates publicly available data for rapid screening. It does not replace IOSA audits, Part 145 repair station inspections, or regulatory oversight by civil aviation authorities.

Integrations

• Zapier — trigger an airline safety report when a new carrier is added to a spreadsheet or CRM and route the verdict to your team's Slack channel
• Make — build multi-step workflows that run a safety report, filter for ELEVATED+ verdicts, and create tasks in your due diligence management tool
• Google Sheets — export composite scores and signals for all monitored carriers to a shared spreadsheet for team review
• Apify API — call the actor programmatically from your risk management platform to embed airline safety scores directly into your own application
• Webhooks — receive a webhook notification when a run completes with a CRITICAL or HIGH_RISK verdict, enabling real-time compliance alerts
• LangChain / LlamaIndex — feed airline safety reports into an AI agent as structured context for answering questions about carrier risk in compliance or travel assistant applications

Troubleshooting

Composite score is 0 or unexpectedly low despite entering a well-known airline. This usually means the 8 sub-actors returned no results for the query term. Check that the query matches the airline's official name as it appears in regulatory databases (e.g., "Delta Air Lines" rather than "Delta"). Try adding the full legal name to the airline field. If the airline is based outside the US, some data sources (particularly NHTSA and Federal Register) may return sparse results by design.

Run takes longer than 60 seconds. The actor waits up to 120 seconds for each of the 8 parallel sub-actor calls. If one or more data sources are slow to respond, the total run time extends to match the slowest source. This is normal behavior. If runs consistently exceed 3 minutes, try reducing the specificity of the route string — very long route descriptions can slow NOAA and FEMA queries.

Weather risk shows CLEAR even though a hurricane is active in the route region. NOAA alert classifications must match the 14 aviation-specific threat categories in the scoring model. General storm advisories or coastal flood warnings that do not contain the keywords "thunderstorm", "wind shear", "icing", "hurricane", "tornado", or related terms will not register as aviation weather threats even if they indicate severe conditions. For routes through active hurricane zones, also check the FEMA disaster model output — major hurricane declarations will score there.

Sanctions model returns CLEAR for an airline I believe is sanctioned. The OFAC and OpenSanctions searches use the airline field (or query) as a text input. Subsidiaries, holding companies, and operating certificates may be registered under different legal names than the airline's brand name. Try querying the parent company's legal name or the IATA designator code as a supplemental run.

Actor runs but produces an empty dataset. The required query field was likely submitted empty or whitespace-only. Ensure the JSON input includes a non-empty string in query. If the input is valid and the dataset is still empty, check the actor run log in the Apify console for error messages from the sub-actor calls.

Responsible use

• This actor only accesses publicly available government data from NOAA, FEMA, OFAC, the FAA Federal Register, NHTSA, OpenSanctions, OpenCorporates, and Data.gov.
• Sanctions screening results are for preliminary due diligence only. Any positive OFAC match must be verified against the official OFAC SDN list at sanctions.ofac.treas.gov before taking any compliance action.
• Comply with applicable export control, sanctions, and aviation regulations in your jurisdiction when acting on the output of this actor.
• Do not use this actor as the sole basis for decisions affecting flight safety, aircraft certification, or regulatory enforcement — these decisions require qualified aviation professionals.
• For guidance on web scraping legality, see Apify's guide.

FAQ

How does an airline safety report help me screen carriers faster? This actor condenses research across 8 government databases into a single structured JSON output with a composite score and plain-language recommendations. Instead of spending 3-4 hours per carrier navigating separate government portals, you get a complete safety profile in under 60 seconds that you can filter, sort, and integrate into your own systems.

What is an airworthiness directive and why does this actor track them? Airworthiness directives (ADs) are legally enforceable FAA regulations issued when an unsafe condition is found in an aircraft type, engine, or component. Emergency ADs require immediate corrective action and signal acute safety concerns. This actor detects ADs from the Federal Register in real time, counting total AD volume, emergency ADs, and mandatory inspection orders to calculate the maintenance compliance sub-score.

How accurate is the airline safety scoring model? The scoring models detect and weight publicly available signals — they do not access proprietary FAA enforcement records, ASIAS incident databases, or internal airline maintenance logs. The composite score reflects the density and severity of public regulatory signals, not a comprehensive operational safety audit. Use it for rapid risk triage and initial screening, not as a final safety determination.

Can I analyze a specific flight route for weather risk? Yes. Enter the route in the route field (e.g., "Miami to Nassau" or "Seattle to Tokyo"). The actor queries NOAA for active weather alerts and FEMA for disaster declarations in that region and produces a weather verdict from CLEAR through GROUNDED. Weather data is fetched in real time at run execution, so results reflect current conditions.

How is this actor different from Aviation Safety Network or the FAA AD database? Aviation Safety Network catalogues historical accidents and incidents but does not provide a real-time composite risk score or sanctions screening. The FAA AD database requires manual searches per aircraft type. This actor combines both AD data and 7 additional data sources into a single scored report delivered as structured JSON that integrates directly with your existing systems.

How many airline safety reports can I run per month on the free plan? Apify's free tier includes $5 of monthly credits. At approximately $0.10 per report, that covers roughly 50 reports per month. Paid plans provide additional credits starting at $49/month for the Starter plan.

Is it legal to use this actor for compliance screening? Yes. This actor queries only publicly available government databases — OFAC SDN lists, the Federal Register, NOAA public alerts, FEMA disaster declarations, and other open government APIs. Conducting sanctions screening against OFAC's published SDN list is not only legal but required under US sanctions law for entities conducting regulated transactions. Always verify positive OFAC matches against the official OFAC portal before taking compliance action.

Can I use this actor for a non-US airline? Yes, with caveats. The Federal Register and NHTSA data sources are US-centric, so AD and recall coverage for non-US-registered aircraft will be thinner. OFAC, OpenSanctions, and OpenCorporates have strong international coverage and will screen non-US entities effectively. Route weather and FEMA disaster data is US-focused; for international routes, the weather model will return sparse results.

Can I schedule this actor to run automatically every week? Yes. In the Apify console, open the actor, click "Schedule", and set a daily or weekly interval. Scheduled runs will monitor your queried carriers continuously and post results to the dataset. Combine with webhooks to receive alerts when a run produces a CRITICAL verdict.

What does a CRITICAL verdict mean and what should I do? A CRITICAL verdict means the composite score reached 80 or above. This typically involves a combination of multiple emergency ADs, critical safety defects, and/or high maintenance compliance gaps. The recommendations array in the output will specify which dimension triggered the verdict and what action is suggested. A CRITICAL verdict should prompt deeper human review — a formal safety audit, contact with the airline's safety department, or consultation with an aviation safety professional — before making operational or investment decisions.

How long does a typical airline safety report run take? Most runs complete in 45-90 seconds. The actor calls all 8 data sources in parallel, so total runtime is determined by the slowest source response rather than the sum of all calls. Runs that encounter slow government API responses may take up to 2 minutes.

Can I batch multiple airlines in one run? The current version processes one entity per run. To screen a portfolio of airlines, trigger multiple runs via the Apify API or use a scheduled run for each carrier. The API supports concurrent runs up to your plan's concurrency limit.

Help us improve

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Support

Found a bug or have a feature request? Open an issue in the Issues tab on this actor's page. For custom solutions or enterprise integrations, reach out through the Apify platform.