What do safety ratings mean?
ARG/US ARG/US awards ratings of Silver, Gold, Gold + and Platinum to charter and fractional operators. Operators who do not pass receive a rating of DNQ, or Does Not Qualify. The ratings come from ARG/US’s CHEQ system which rates an operator’s safety history in comparison to other like-sized operators. It looks at the number of safety incidents an operator has experienced compared to the median number of incidents for operators of similar size. Operators can earn a Silver or Gold rating simply by submitting data on their pilots and equipment to ARG/US, but the higher level ratings require an onsite inspection. Operators are required to submit their information every 60 days, or their ARG/US rating will be pulled. “Some operators update us daily, or even hourly,” explains Kathleen Tyler, director of sales and marketing at ARG/US. ARG/US audits focus on best practices, not compliance to FAA rules. For example, to award a Platinum rating, ARG/US mandates that all pilots should attend simu
