What type of data is primarily analyzed by a flight data management system?

A flight data management system (FDMS) primarily analyzes operational flight data, which encompasses the actual performance and status of the aircraft during flight operations. This information includes parameters such as altitude, speed, heading, engine performance, and other critical metrics that provide valuable insights into how the aircraft is operating in real-time and throughout its flight history.

Operational flight data is vital for various applications, including enhancing safety through incident analysis, improving flight operations, validating compliance with flight regulations, and conducting trend analysis for ongoing performance monitoring. By focusing on this specific type of data, the FDMS helps in optimizing flight operations and maintaining safety across the entire fleet.

While weather data, maintenance records, and pilot performance metrics are important aspects of aviation, they are not the primary focus of a flight data management system. Weather data might be analyzed separately for navigation and operational purposes, maintenance records support aircraft servicing and reliability, and pilot performance metrics are generally assessed through different performance management systems rather than being the core function of an FDMS.