April 15th, 2026 marked the 50th anniversary of the NASA Aviation Safety Reporting System (ASRS) operated by NASA Ames Research Center since 1976. In that time, ASRS has received more than 2.3 million voluntary, confidential reports describing safety issues, near misses, and close calls from aviation professionals across the national Airspace System (NAS) including pilots, air traffic controllers, dispatchers, cabin crew, maintenance technicians, ground operations, and drone operators.
ASRS receives more than 350 reports a day. A small team analyzes each one and works to rapidly share urgent safety information with the aviation community. ASRS highlights emerging issues, shares best practices, and thereby helps prevent future accidents through a variety of communication products including safety alerts, monthly teleconferences, newsletters, analyses, and a public database of reported aviation incidents.
ASRS data informs research and development efforts across NASA and government agencies including the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) and the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB). Its insights have contributed to decades of human factors research on a vast array of topics such as Crew Resource Management, Pilot-ATC communication, checklist design, pilot decision making, fatigue management, low visibility landing and surface operations, automation management, and the integration of Unmanned Aircraft Systems in the NAS.
ASRS data also support FAA regulation, policy, procedures, and initiatives such as airspace classification, runway incursion mitigation, and Notice to Air Missions (NOTAM) modernization. The NTSB values the insights gleaned from ASRS reports to inform accident investigations and develop mitigations to prevent future accidents. ASRS data have been used to monitor the safety impacts of emerging risks such as COVID-19, 5G Interference, and commercial space launches.