Is Contour Airlines Safe? Full Safety Guide [2026]

Last Updated on July 27, 2026 by Daniel Globe

Choosing a regional airline often comes down to one question: can you trust it to get you there safely? Contour Airlines connects smaller U.S. communities with larger hubs using 30-seat regional jets. Its FAA operating rules differ from those used by major Part 121 airlines, so the best way to judge its safety is to look at official accident records, pilot requirements, maintenance oversight, and current regulations rather than marketing claims or review scores.

Safety Record of Contour Airlines

The most important correction to older summaries of Contour’s safety record is that the airline should not be described as accident-free.

On January 2, 2025, a Bombardier CRJ-200 operated by Corporate Flight Management, Inc. d/b/a Contour Airlines encountered a flock of birds while descending toward Greenville Mid-Delta Airport in Mississippi. According to the NTSB final report for accident CEN25LA070, the bird strike made the captain’s primary flight display unusable and caused substantial damage to the forward fuselage. The first officer’s instruments and standby instruments continued operating, the engines were unaffected, and the aircraft landed without further incident.

All 32 occupants escaped injury in the January 2025 Contour accident, and the NTSB determined that the probable cause was a bird strike.

The finding matters because it gives a more accurate picture than saying Contour has never had an accident. It also provides important context: the NTSB did not identify pilot error or a maintenance failure as the probable cause of that event.

There is also older history associated with Corporate Flight Management, the legal company behind Contour. In September 1995, long before Contour Airlines began regional passenger service in 2016, a Corporate Flight Management Mitsubishi MU-2 operating a Part 91 positioning flight crashed near Smyrna, Tennessee. The aircraft was destroyed and both occupants suffered serious injuries. That NTSB case predates the Contour Airlines passenger brand and should not be presented as a scheduled Contour passenger accident, but it is part of the broader operator’s historical record.

How Contour Airlines Is Regulated

Contour’s regulatory structure deserves more explanation than simply calling it a “Part 135 public charter.” Those terms describe different parts of the legal framework.

FAA Part 135 governs the operating certificate and many of the safety requirements applied to charter, air-taxi, and certain commuter operations. The FAA’s Part 135 certification guidance covers areas such as aircraft, maintenance programs, management personnel, manuals, training, drug and alcohol programs, security requirements, and minimum-equipment procedures.

Part 380, by contrast, is a Department of Transportation public-charter framework. Contour’s current Operator-Participant Agreement states that its public-charter flights are marketed under 14 CFR Part 380 and operated by Corporate Flight Management, Inc. d/b/a Contour Airlines.

Contour’s own terms also distinguish between different flight numbers: flights marketed from LF 1 through LF 1999 are described as scheduled air service, while LF 2000 and above are sold under its public-charter agreement. That contractual distinction can matter when reading the terms that apply to a particular booking.

This model is not identical to the Part 121 framework used by major U.S. airlines and most traditional regional airlines. In June 2024, the FAA said it was reviewing scheduled-like public-charter operations and considering whether some should be subject to rules based on the same safety parameters as other scheduled operations.

Maintenance and Inspection Procedures

Aircraft maintenance is one of the strongest areas where the article can rely on verifiable regulatory requirements rather than broad safety claims. Part 135 certificate holders operating larger passenger aircraft must maintain FAA-accepted or approved maintenance systems and manuals appropriate to their operation.

Contour Aviation also operates an FAA Part 145 repair station. Part 145 certification applies to maintenance facilities authorized to inspect, maintain, repair, or alter aircraft and components within their approved ratings. Contour says its maintenance organization works on regional jets as well as other aircraft types.

Operating an affiliated maintenance facility can give the company substantial in-house technical capability, but it should not be interpreted to mean that every inspection, repair, component overhaul, or maintenance task throughout the network is necessarily performed at one Contour facility. What matters for safety is that work is performed and returned to service under the applicable FAA-approved procedures and authorizations.

Fleet and Aircraft Used by Contour

Contour is no longer accurately described as an ERJ-only operation. Current company career materials show jobs for both the Embraer ERJ-135/-145 family and the Bombardier CRJ-200.

Contour generally configures its regional jets with about 30 passenger seats. Its current inflight information says ERJ aircraft use a three-abreast cabin, meaning passengers receive either an aisle or window seat rather than a middle seat, with an aft lavatory and flight-attendant service.

The January 2025 NTSB accident also confirms that the CRJ-200 is part of Contour’s passenger operation. The accident aircraft was configured with 33 total seats according to the NTSB aircraft record and carried 29 passengers plus three crewmembers on the accident flight.

Pilot Training and Experience

Pilot experience is one of the clearest differences readers should understand when comparing a Part 135 carrier with a traditional Part 121 airline.

Contour currently publishes the following hiring minimums for its ERJ and CRJ pilots. These are application or hiring minimums, not a complete description of the training, checking, type-rating, or operating requirements a pilot must satisfy before serving on a flight.

Contour’s own current career pages list the first-officer requirements and captain requirements. Pilots must still complete the training and qualification process applicable to their assigned aircraft and position before serving as operating crew.

Contour and SkyWest also maintain a pilot pathway program. SkyWest first invested in Contour in December 2023, acquiring a 9.9% interest, then invested additional funds in January 2024. SkyWest’s 2026 SEC filing confirms that it held a 25% ownership interest in Contour as of March 31, 2026.

Safety Measures and Protocols

Contour’s safety framework is not based only on company policy. As a Part 135 certificate holder, it operates within FAA requirements that address training programs, aircraft maintenance, manuals, operational control, minimum equipment, drug and alcohol programs, and other areas relevant to commercial flight operations.

Before flight, crews use aircraft-specific procedures and checklists to confirm that the airplane is suitable for departure. Flight crews also receive recurrent training and checking required for their positions and aircraft.

It is better to describe these verifiable regulatory controls than to claim a specific number of internal audits, simulator hours, safety meetings, or drills unless Contour publishes documentation supporting those figures.

Customer Reviews and Feedback

Customer reviews can help you judge service, communication, baggage handling, seat comfort, or how an airline responds to a delay. They are much less useful for measuring aviation safety.

A traveler may have an excellent flight on an airline with an unfavorable safety event in its history, while another passenger may endure a long delay on an otherwise safely operated flight. Mechanical delays can even result from maintenance crews refusing to release an aircraft until an issue is resolved.

For that reason, review scores should be kept separate from a safety assessment. NTSB accident reports, FAA certification requirements, regulatory enforcement information, and documented maintenance or operational findings carry far more weight.

Emergency Response and Preparedness

Commercial flight crews operating under Part 135 must be trained and qualified for normal and emergency procedures relevant to their aircraft and duties. Passenger safety briefings also cover items such as seatbelts, exits, emergency equipment, and other procedures applicable to the flight.

Contour’s public-facing materials do not provide enough detail to verify claims about the exact frequency of every company emergency drill or internal response exercise. Those specifics should therefore not be presented as established facts without documentation.

What can be verified is that Part 135 certification requires an operator to maintain approved or accepted training programs, manuals, management systems, and other operational procedures subject to FAA oversight.

Compliance with Regulatory Standards

Corporate Flight Management, Inc. d/b/a Contour Airlines operates under FAA oversight as a Part 135 air carrier. Its regulatory responsibilities cover aircraft operation, pilot qualifications and training, maintenance systems, manuals, management personnel, and other safety-related areas.

There is also an important newer requirement. In 2024, the FAA expanded Part 5 Safety Management System requirements to Part 135 operators. An SMS is a formal structure for identifying hazards, assessing risk, checking whether safety controls work, and promoting safety throughout an organization.

For Part 135 operators certificated before May 28, 2024, the FAA’s implementation schedule generally sets May 28, 2027 as the deadline for full implementation. Unless an authoritative source confirms Contour’s individual implementation stage, it is safer to describe the regulatory deadline rather than claim the airline has already completed every Part 5 requirement.

Contour also participates in the federal Essential Air Service program, which helps maintain commercial air access for qualifying smaller communities. Some Contour EAS operations use the Part 135/Part 380 public-charter model with 30-seat regional jets.

As of July 2026, Contour lists Alaska Airlines, American Airlines, JetBlue, and United Airlines as interline partners. These agreements can allow coordinated ticketing and baggage transfers when an itinerary is booked through participating channels, but an interline relationship does not change which operating rules govern the Contour segment.

Comparison with Other Airlines

The most useful comparison is not whether Contour “feels” like another regional airline. It is how its operating framework compares with the Part 121 rules used by the major carriers and most conventional U.S. regional airlines.

The difference should neither be ignored nor exaggerated. Part 135 is a real FAA commercial operating standard with certification, training, maintenance, and oversight requirements. At the same time, it is not identical to Part 121, and the FAA itself has examined whether scheduled-like public-charter operations should be brought under a different regulatory framework.

Steps Taken to Address Safety Concerns

The clearest current development affecting Contour and other Part 135 carriers is the FAA’s expansion of mandatory Safety Management Systems.

Part 5 SMS is designed to move safety management beyond reacting to individual events. It requires an organization-wide process built around safety policy, risk management, safety assurance, and safety promotion. The aim is to identify hazards earlier and verify that corrective measures actually reduce risk.

The FAA has also separately reviewed the broader public-charter model. In 2024 it announced plans to examine the definitions that allow scheduled-like public-charter flights to operate differently from conventional Part 121 services and to study a possible operating framework for 10- to 30-seat aircraft serving smaller communities.

These developments are more meaningful than unsupported claims that an airline simply “takes safety seriously,” because they identify concrete regulatory changes against which operators can be assessed.

Is Contour Airlines Safe for Travel?

A fair evidence-based answer is that Contour Airlines is a federally regulated commercial carrier with FAA Part 135 authority, established pilot qualification requirements, regional-jet maintenance capabilities, and continuing FAA oversight. However, the airline should not be described as accident-free, and its regulatory structure should not be presented as identical to Part 121.

The most significant recent event located in the official NTSB record is the January 2025 CRJ-200 bird-strike accident. The aircraft sustained substantial damage, but all 32 occupants were uninjured, the engines remained functional, and the NTSB determined that a bird strike caused the accident. That report does not identify a Contour maintenance or pilot-performance failure as the probable cause.

For a passenger deciding whether to book, the balanced conclusion is that the public record does not justify alarmist claims about Contour’s safety, but it also does not support outdated statements that the airline has never had an accident. Its Part 135 operating model has meaningful differences from the Part 121 system used by major airlines, and those differences are worth understanding before drawing comparisons.

Sources

1. National Transportation Safety Board — CEN25LA070 Final Report — January 2025 Contour CRJ-200 bird-strike accident, aircraft damage, injuries, operating certificate, and probable cause.
2. Federal Aviation Administration — Part 135 Air Carrier and Operator Certification — regulatory, training, maintenance, management, and certification framework.
3. Federal Aviation Administration — Public Charter Safety Review — FAA explanation of Part 135 public-charter concerns and proposed regulatory review.
4. Federal Aviation Administration — Safety Management System — current Part 135 SMS requirements and implementation deadlines.
5. Contour Aviation — Maintenance & Avionics — FAA Part 145 repair-station and regional-jet maintenance capabilities.
6. SkyWest, Inc. — 2026 Form 10-Q — SkyWest investment history and 25% ownership interest in Contour.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is Contour Airlines a safe airline to fly with?

Contour is an FAA-regulated Part 135 commercial carrier with required pilot qualifications, training, maintenance programs, and operational oversight. Its public record does include a January 2025 NTSB accident caused by a bird strike; the aircraft suffered substantial damage, but all 32 occupants were uninjured.

Has Contour Airlines had an accident?

Yes. The NTSB classifies a January 2, 2025 Contour CRJ-200 bird-strike event near Greenville, Mississippi, as an accident because the aircraft sustained substantial damage. There were no injuries, and the NTSB determined that the probable cause was a bird strike.

Does Contour Airlines operate under Part 121?

Contour operates under FAA Part 135 rather than the Part 121 framework used by major U.S. airlines and most traditional regional carriers. Certain Contour services are also marketed as public charters under DOT Part 380 rules.

What safety measures does Contour Airlines have in place?

As a Part 135 operator, Contour is subject to FAA requirements covering areas such as pilot training and checking, aircraft maintenance, operational manuals, management personnel, minimum equipment, and other commercial-flight procedures. Part 135 operators are also being brought under mandatory FAA Part 5 Safety Management System requirements.

How experienced are Contour Airlines pilots?

Contour currently lists 500 total flight hours and 25 multi-engine hours as its published ERJ/CRJ first-officer hiring minimum. Its published captain minimums are 1,500 total hours, 500 pilot-in-command hours, and 500 multi-engine hours. These hiring figures do not replace the aircraft-specific training and qualification requirements pilots must complete before operating flights.

Does Contour Airlines maintain its own aircraft?

Contour Aviation operates an FAA Part 145 repair station and advertises regional-jet maintenance capabilities. That gives the company substantial in-house maintenance expertise, although it does not necessarily mean every maintenance task across the network is performed internally.

How can passengers check Contour’s safety record themselves?

Search the NTSB Aviation Accident Database using Contour Airlines or Corporate Flight Management as the operator name, and review the FAA’s accident and incident resources. Official records are more reliable for safety research than airline marketing statements or customer-review scores.