23 December 2025
Innovating Airline Pilot Training and Operational Safety
In the high-stakes world of aviation, continuous improvement in pilot training and operational safety is not just a goal – it’s a necessity. The introduction of advanced technologies has consistently pushed the boundaries of what’s possible, making flights safer and pilots more proficient. Among these innovations, the CEFA AMS (Aviation Mobile Services) pilot replay tool stands out as a game-changer. This article explores how replay tools such as CEFA AMS is transforming pilot training and enhancing operational safety, backed by real-world testimonials and the inspiring story of CEFA Aviation itself.
The aviation industry has long used Flight Data Monitoring (FDM) and Flight Operational Quality Assurance (FOQA) programs to enhance safety and operational efficiency.
Traditionally, pilots could review animated flight replays only when requested by safety management personnel or when they sought a review of a specific flight themselves. These reviews were typically conducted days or weeks after the flight, due to the need for data validation and analysis. While this process was valuable for airlines, the delay often led to a disconnection from the event for the pilots, making it harder to recall details accurately and learn effectively from the experience.
The Shift to Immediate, Pilot-Centric Flight Replay
Recent technological advancements and robust confidentiality protocols have enabled a significant shift, as flight replay animations can now be accessed by pilots on their company-issued Electronic Flight Bags (EFBs) shortly after landing. This innovation enables pilots to review their own flights in a timely, self-facilitated manner, promoting self-reflection, crew debriefing, and continuous learning. The data is secure and accessible only to the operating pilot(s), ensuring privacy and compliance with regulatory and company requirements.
The immediate availability of flight replays supports a ‘Learning from All Operations’ approach, not just focusing on what went wrong, but also reinforcing what went right. This approach contributes to a more comprehensive and proactive safety culture.
Individual and Team Learning Benefits
Flight replay animations provide pilots with an objective, visual representation of their performance, allowing them to review their actions from both the pilot flying and pilot monitoring perspectives. This immediate feedback loop helps pilots identify areas for improvement, reinforce standard operating procedures, and deepen their understanding of their own flying techniques.
The ability to replay flights supports pilots’ memory recall, especially in dynamic or infrequent situations such as TCAS Resolution Advisories (RAs). Pilots frequently face intricate situations, particularly during intense workloads and in fast-paced environments, which can make it hard for them to precisely recall the sequence of actions. Flight replays help pilots organise relevant information, understand the timing and order of events, and improve their reporting accuracy.
Flight replay animations are valuable tools for post-flight debriefings. Instructors can use these animations to compare trainees’ perceptions with recorded events, encouraging self-critique and the identification of corrective measures. The animations also support ‘talk-aloud’ sessions, where crews discuss their performance with instructors and each other, fostering a collaborative learning environment and reinforcing shared mental models.
Every pilot develops personal flying techniques to adapt to underspecified procedures. While these techniques can demonstrate resilient performance, they may also introduce unpredictability or unintended consequences. Flight replay animations make these techniques more transparent, allowing for their identification, sharing, and systematic vetting. Valuable techniques can be incorporated into standard practices, improving overall performance and predictability.
A Legacy of Innovation
Founded in 2000 by Dominique Mineo, CEFA Aviation has spent over two decades at the forefront of flight data animation and pilot training solutions. Headquartered in Colmar, France, the company has built a reputation for translating complex flight data into precise, easy-to-understand visualisations. CEFA’s mission is clear: to make the skies safer through innovation, collaboration, and a deep understanding of both aviation and technology. From its early days, CEFA Aviation has worked with over 100 major and regional airlines, cargo operators, and investigative authorities across five continents.
The company’s flagship product, CEFA FAS (Flight Animation System), has been instrumental in accident investigation, pilot training, and safety analysis.
The launch of the CEFA AMS Flight replay tool in 2017 marked a new era, giving pilots the unprecedented ability to replay their own flights on tablets within minutes of landing – a capability that has since been adopted by industry leaders such as American Airlines, Ryanair, Turkish Airlines, and All Nippon Airways (ANA), which was the launch customer in 2017.
Organisational and Safety Benefits
By integrating flight replay animations into training programs, airlines can enhance the efficiency and effectiveness of their training. The animations provide a realistic and immersive way to review both routine and non-routine events, helping pilots and instructors focus on specific areas for improvement.
The use of flight replay animations supports continuous learning and improvement, leading to stronger pilot performance and better compliance with standard operating procedures. The immediate, objective feedback helps pilots stay aligned with best practices and regulatory requirements.
Flight replay animations contribute to a culture of learning and open communication. By making it easier to review and discuss flights, these tools encourage pilots to share their experiences, learn from each other, and collectively contribute to the airline’s safety and operational excellence.
As Captain Andy O’Shea, Head of Crew Training at Ryanair, notes: “CEFA Aviation’s flight replay will set new standards for delivering constructive feedback to our crews in a way that would have been impossible to imagine without the innovative approach to secure data processing that has been delivered by CEFA Aviation’s team.” This shift from memory to data ensures that training is based on facts, not perceptions.
CEFA AMS empowers pilots to take ownership of their training. This culture of self-improvement is echoed by American Airlines’ Captain Neil Raaz: “CEFA AMS is the next step in American’s data-driven approach to relentlessly advance safety."
Figure 1, to the right, presents the encrypted data channel toward the pilot’s tablet via the CEFA AMS cloud with the Management console, which is the company part of CEFA AMS. It’s a Web-based configurable system and enables an airline to conduct several analyses, such as:
• Number/Rate of flights replayed globally
• Number/Rate of flights replayed per airport (for proactively looking at issues),
• Number/Rate of flights replayed per group of pilots (captain or FO)
• Delays between flights and replays
It is also a bidirectional communication platform that enables pilots to inform gatekeepers or flight safety officers of interesting occurrences, including the animations. The company can also share documents, animations and bulletins with the pilots (single pilot/crew/specific fleet or all pilots). Data such as airport familiarisation and good practices can be part of this channel. This facilitates enhanced communication and reduces the hierarchy gap by providing an easy way for pilots and flight safety to collaborate.
Figure 1: QAR data processing for mobile service (Courtesy: CEFA Aviation)
Limitations Considerations
While flight replay animations offer significant benefits, there are important limitations and considerations to keep in mind.
Research has shown that slowing down a replay can make actions appear more intentional than they were in real time. Pilots must remember that they did not have the luxury of pausing or slowing down events during the actual flight and should interpret the replay with this in mind.
The quality and completeness of the flight replay depend on the recorded parameters and their frequency, as well as the willingness of the tool provider to reproduce all recorded warnings and cockpit instruments data. Pilots and instructors should be aware of these limitations and use the replays as a powerful supplement to, rather than a replacement for, other forms of debriefing and analysis.
While immediate access to personal flight data is a major advantage, clear boundaries and policies must be established to protect pilots’ privacy and ensure that the data is used appropriately. Airlines must communicate these policies clearly to all stakeholders to maintain trust and encourage the use of flight replay animations for learning and improvement
The Future of Flight Replay Animation
To summarise, flight replay animation represents a powerful tool for individual and team learning in aviation. By providing immediate, objective, and confidential feedback, these animations support self-reflection, crew debriefing, and continuous improvement. By enabling pilots to better understand specific events or any phase of interest, it reinforces professional experience and contributes to self-confidence building, especially for the youngest pilots. These are key aspects which create resilience.
They also facilitate the identification and vetting of personal flying techniques, contributing to a more standardised and predictable operational environment.
At the organisational level, flight replay animations enhance training efficiency, strengthen pilot performance, and foster a culture of learning and safety. While there are limitations and considerations, the benefits of integrating flight replay animations into aviation training and operations are clear. As technology continues to evolve, the potential for these tools to further improve flight safety and operational excellence is substantial.
What Users Say
The impact of CEFA AMS is best illustrated by the experiences of those who use it
- All Nippon Airways (ANA): “It has revolutionised the company culture regarding the debriefings and the use of flight data”... “It has freed pilots’ speech”
Hideo Morioka, Senior Director Safety Promotion and Flight Data Analysis
- American Airlines: “Driving aviation safety forward is in our airline’s and each and every American Airlines pilot’s DNA. The extension of CEFA AMS builds on our strong foundation, leveraging cutting-edge technology to further enhance pilot training and drive operational excellence”.
Capt. John DeLeeuw, Managing Director of Safety and Efficiency
- Ryanair: “CEFA AMS could be the new style of self-training which is the most beneficial for airlines and pilots.”
Captain Andy O’Shea, Head of Crew Training
- Turkish Airlines: “At Turkish Airlines, we continuously invest in the latest technologies to strengthen our safety standards and pilot training programs.”
İsmail Ustaoğlu, SVP Corporate Safety.
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