Definition
In aviation maintenance, accidents are events in which damage, injury, or loss actually occurs during work on or around aircraft, while near misses are events in which the same outcome was narrowly avoided. Both are treated as safety data: accidents reveal failures that have already caused harm, and near misses reveal weaknesses in procedures, equipment, or human performance that could cause harm next time.
Plain English
Things that went wrong on the job, plus things that almost went wrong. Both are worth paying attention to, because the close calls are warnings about the next real accident.
Context Anchor
Seen in safety training, maintenance hazard lists, shop discussions, ramp operations, and reports about unsafe events.
Derivation
Accident comes from a Latin word meaning “to happen.” In safety use, it means a harmful event that happened. Near miss means the harmful result was narrowly avoided; the word “near” points to how close the situation came to becoming an accident.
Why Pilots Care
Reviewing these events reveals patterns that can be corrected before they cause actual harm, directly supporting safer maintenance and flight decisions.
Grounding Statement
A near miss is a real warning sign, even when nobody is hurt and nothing is damaged.
Intuition Check
Do not read “near miss” as “we missed by a safe amount.” In aviation safety, it means the situation came close enough to an accident that it should be treated as a warning.
Example Sentence 1
The shop reviews accidents and near misses every month so technicians can learn from each other's experiences.
Example Sentence 2
Reporting near misses helps the maintenance team spot trends that could lead to future accidents if left unaddressed.