Two Modules, One Platform
PlaneConnection is organized into two primary modules: Safety and Operations. Together, they cover the full scope of flight department management, from regulatory compliance and risk management to trip planning and crew scheduling. Each module has its own navigation, dashboards, and workflows, but they share a common workspace, user directory, and data layer. This means that a safety report referencing a specific flight can link to operational data, and crew training records in the safety module reflect the same personnel tracked in operations. You can switch between modules at any time using the module switcher in the sidebar. Depending on your workspace’s subscription tier, both modules or only one may be enabled.Safety Module
The Safety module implements the four pillars of SMS required by FAA 14 CFR Part 5. It is designed for safety managers, accountable executives, investigators, and all personnel who participate in the safety reporting and risk management process.Overview
- Dashboard — A real-time summary of your SMS health: open reports, pending investigations, overdue CPAs, compliance status, and safety performance trends.
- Analytics — Deeper data analysis with charts and visualizations covering report volumes, risk distributions, response times, and trend lines.
Report and Investigate
- Reports — Submit, review, and manage safety reports. Supports confidential and anonymous submissions, categorization by event type, and structured lifecycle tracking from submission through closure.
- Investigations — Formal investigation workflows triggered by safety reports. Includes root cause analysis tools, findings documentation, timeline reconstruction, and linkage to corrective actions.
Risk and Compliance
- Risks — The organization’s risk register. Each entry captures a hazard, its risk assessment (severity and likelihood on the 5x5 matrix), associated controls, initial risk, and residual risk.
- Corrective Actions (CPAs) — Track corrective and preventive actions from assignment through completion and effectiveness verification. Owners, due dates, and evidence attachments ensure accountability.
- Compliance — Map your SMS against Part 5 requirements element by element. Track evidence, identify gaps, and generate compliance reports for internal audits or FAA inspections.
- Management of Change (MOC) — Formal change management process ensuring that operational changes are assessed for safety risk before implementation.
Knowledge
- Training — Manage SMS training programs, track course assignments and completion, and monitor training compliance rates across the organization.
- Documents — Version-controlled repository for safety policies, procedures, manuals, bulletins, and reference materials.
- Safety Committee — Schedule meetings, record minutes, track action items, and manage committee membership. Maintains the documented record of safety governance activities.
- Emergency Response (ERP) — Emergency response plan documentation, contact lists, exercise scheduling, and drill records.
Analytics and AI
- Performance Indicators (SPIs) — Define and monitor Safety Performance Indicators with targets, thresholds, and trend visualization.
- SmartScore — AI-powered safety scoring that aggregates multiple data sources into an overall safety health assessment.
- Safety AI Assistant — A conversational AI that can answer questions about your SMS data, draft reports, summarize investigation findings, and provide regulatory guidance.
Operations Module
The Operations module manages the day-to-day business of running a flight department. It covers trip management, fleet tracking, crew scheduling, passenger records, and financial operations.Overview
- Dashboard — Operational snapshot showing upcoming trips, aircraft status, crew availability, and key business metrics.
Flights
- Trips — Create, schedule, and manage flight trips from request through completion. Each trip includes legs, crew assignments, passenger manifests, and associated documentation.
- Schedule — Calendar view of all scheduled flights, crew assignments, and aircraft availability. Supports drag-and-drop scheduling and conflict detection.
- Dispatch — Operational dispatch tools for managing active flights, including aircraft status tracking and trip scheduling views.
Fleet
- Aircraft — Fleet management with aircraft profiles, registration details, specifications, and current status tracking.
- Due Items — Track maintenance items, inspections, and compliance deadlines by aircraft. Monitors time-based and cycle-based due dates.
People
- Crew — Crew member profiles, qualifications, currency tracking, and schedule history. Supports filtering by availability and certification.
- Passengers — Passenger directory with profiles, travel preferences, and flight history.
Business
- Reservations — Manage trip requests and reservations, including availability checking and booking workflows.
- Owners — For managed aircraft, track owner usage, revenue sharing, and payout histories.
- Accounting — Financial operations including invoicing, expense tracking, pilot pay, and revenue reporting.
Admin
- Reports — Comprehensive operational reporting: aircraft utilization, crew schedules, fuel consumption, expense summaries, passenger statistics, and dozens of specialized report types.
- Documents — Operational document storage for trip sheets, flight releases, and business records.
Several Operations features — including flight planning, weather, airports, FBOs, messages, and detailed settings — are accessible through the command palette (Cmd+K / Ctrl+K) even though they are not shown in the primary sidebar navigation. This keeps the sidebar focused on the most-used sections while maintaining quick access to everything.
Module Availability by Tier
Both modules are available across all subscription tiers. The tier determines administrative capabilities, not module access:| Capability | Starter | Professional | Enterprise |
|---|---|---|---|
| Safety module | Included | Included | Included |
| Operations module | Included | Included | Included |
| User limit | 5 | 25 | Unlimited |
| Document storage | 1 GB | 10 GB | Unlimited |
| Audit retention | 30 days | 1 year | 7 years |
| API access | — | Read-only | Full |
| Custom domain | — | — | Included |
| SSO | — | — | Included |
PlaneConnection’s philosophy is that safety features should never be gated by price. All core SMS functionality — reporting, risk management, investigations, corrective actions, and compliance tracking — is available to every operator regardless of tier. Tiers gate administrative and enterprise capabilities, not safety.