​Need an independent assessment of your aviation operation?

Whether you need an operational audit, contractor assurance review, risk assessment, SMS review or regulatory gap analysis, M Prior Consulting can provide independent aviation expertise tailored to your requirements.
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Contact us to discuss your aviation safety or operational assurance requirements.

What We Do

Safety & Operational Audits

Independent reviews of aviation operations, procedures, governance and safety controls. We assess whether documented arrangements are appropriate, understood and effectively implemented in practice. Audits can be tailored to a specific operation, contractor, location or area of concern rather than following a generic checklist.
Typical areas include:
  • Operational procedures and controls
  • Safety governance and oversight
  • Flight operations
  • Contractor management
  • Emergency response arrangements
  • Operational risk controls
  • Safety assurance processes
  • Compliance with applicable requirements

Contractor & Supplier Assurance

Aviation risk can be significantly affected by the competence and performance of contracted operators and service providers.
We provide independent assurance of aviation contractors, including operators, helicopter service providers and specialist aviation suppliers.
Our reviews can support:
  • Contractor selection and due diligence
  • Pre-contract technical assessment
  • Operational audits
  • Supplier performance reviews
  • Contract assurance
  • Corrective action follow-up
  • Ongoing safety and performance monitoring

Operational Risk Assessment

​We help organisations understand aviation hazards and determine whether existing controls reduce risk to an appropriate level.
Our assessments consider the interaction between aircraft, people, procedures, infrastructure, environment and organisational factors, rather than assessing individual hazards in isolation.
We can support:
  • Aviation risk assessments
  • Helicopter operational risk
  • Offshore aviation activities
  • Helideck and landing-site operations
  • Changes to operating procedures
  • New projects and developments
  • Emergency response arrangements
  • Risk-control effectiveness reviews
Where appropriate, specialist technical analysis can also be incorporated into the assessment.

Safety Management Systems

​A Safety Management System should do more than demonstrate regulatory compliance. It should help an organisation identify emerging risks, learn from experience and make better operational decisions.

M Prior Consulting provides independent reviews of SMS effectiveness, safety assurance and organisational resilience.
We can assess:
  • Safety policy and governance
  • Hazard identification
  • Risk assessment and controls
  • Safety performance indicators
  • Occurrence reporting and investigation
  • Safety assurance
  • Management of change
  • Safety culture and organisational factors
  • Effectiveness of corrective actions
Our objective is to determine whether the SMS is working in practice, rather than simply whether the required documentation exists.

Regulatory Compliance & Gap Analysis

​Aviation regulations and industry standards can be complex, particularly where several regulatory frameworks or organisations are involved.

We provide practical assessments against applicable UK CAA, EASA, ICAO and industry requirements, helping clients understand what the requirements mean for their specific operation.
Our work can include:
  • Regulatory gap analysis
  • Compliance reviews
  • Interpretation of applicable requirements
  • Identification of regulatory and operational risks
  • Corrective action planning
  • Independent review of compliance evidence
We focus on translating regulatory requirements into practical operational controls, rather than treating compliance as a box-ticking exercise.

Independent Assurance Where It Matters

Our independence is particularly valuable where an organisation needs an objective assessment of an existing operation, contractor, safety system or technical decision.

Clients engage M Prior Consulting when they need:
  • Independent technical judgement
  • Senior-level aviation experience
  • Practical helicopter operational knowledge
  • An understanding of both regulatory requirements and real-world operations
  • Evidence-based recommendations
  • An independent challenge to existing assumptions
Our experience includes working with operators, regulators, infrastructure owners and organisations involved in complex aviation operations.

From Audit Findings to Improvement

An audit or assessment is only useful if it leads to meaningful improvement.

We therefore aim to provide more than a list of findings. Our reports identify the underlying issues, explain their significance and provide practical recommendations that can be prioritised and implemented.

Where required, we can also support clients with:
1. Identify
Understand the operational issue, hazard or area of concern.

2. Assess
Evaluate existing controls, procedures and organisational arrangements.

3. Prioritise
Identify the issues that present the greatest operational significance.

4. Improve
Develop practical and proportionate recommendations.

5. Assure
Review implementation and determine whether the intended improvement has been achieved.
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Relevant Aviation Experience

M Prior Consulting brings together extensive operational and technical aviation experience, including:
  • Military and civil helicopter operations
  • Offshore helicopter operations
  • Experimental flight test
  • Aircraft certification
  • Airworthiness
  • Safety management
  • Aviation risk assessment
  • Regulatory and standards development
  • Technical assurance
  • Offshore renewable energy
  • Search and Rescue operations
Mark Prior has more than 40 years' aviation experience and has contributed to regulatory and industry working groups involving ICAO, EASA, JAA, RTCA and EUROCAE. He also spent 16 years on the Helideck Certification Agency Technical Committee.