# When Maritime Meets Aviation: The Safety of Seaplanes on the Water
## 1 Introduction
These studies emphasize the need for customized safety protocols that consider the specific dynamics of seaplanes on water. In complex socio-technical systems, the safety issues of smaller communities within a transport sector can often be overlooked. General safety measures designed for larger communities or transport sectors, outlined in safety management systems (SMSs), may be ineffective for those that are smaller, requiring tailored safety strategies to address their unique challenges. For example, seaplane operations are part of both the aviation and maritime sectors and require specific safety measures due to their dual operational environments. Additionally, safety in commercial operations is more thoroughly addressed due to the greater scrutiny and regulations needed to protect larger passenger and cargo volumes. In contrast, private operations often fall under less rigorous regulatory frameworks, with fewer mandatory safety measures and oversight, leading to gaps in comprehensive safety standards. Consequently, private pilots may be indirectly affected by factors that are less prevalent in commercial aviation, such as less rigorous training and infrequent flying. Given the unique risks associated with recreational seaplane flying, such as varying pilot experience and diverse operating environments, a thorough sector-specific analysis is imperative. Analyzing subsets of occurrences (referring to both accidents and incidents) is crucial to understand and address specific challenges for underrepresented communities in a transport sector. This approach aids in identifying specific safety issues and formulating targeted recommendations to enhance overall safety in complex transport systems. This research addresses these critical gaps by conducting a comprehensive, mixed-methods safety analysis of private recreational seaplane operations on water. It contributes directly to the improvement of maritime and aviation safety management systems by providing an evidence-based understanding of safety risks at the intersection of these two domains. The potential benefits of this study include informing targeted regulatory adjustments, enhancing pilot training programs, promoting integrated reporting practices, and improving stakeholder collaboration between maritime and aviation authorities. Ultimately, by strengthening seaplane safety protocols, this research can contribute to safer waterways, reduce accident rates, and support broader efforts in transport safety governance. In summary, the water environment is a complex and dynamic place where two transport sectors intersect. Even though the literature including both seaplanes and vessels is very limited, it remains important to study the interactions of these sectors and mitigate their specific risks. Both the maritime and aviation sectors benefit from tailored SMSs that incorporate both human factors and risk assessment methodologies. Therefore, this paper aims to address the above limitations by employing a mixed-methods approach of qualitative and quantitative analysis of seaplanes' safety on water. A holistic understanding of seaplane safety is sought not only through data collection and analysis but also through understanding the importance of minor incidents or near-misses and their reporting, the knowledge and expertise of different stakeholders and industry professionals, and finally, assessing how organizational aspects come into play and share safety knowledge.