ECACNEWS - SAFETY Aviation's biggest achievement - Mise en

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ECACNEWS - SAFETY Aviation's biggest achievement - Mise en
SUMMER 2018

      ECACNEWS
      European Civil Aviation Conference Magazine
                                                    #66

SAFETY
Aviation’s biggest achievement
ECACNEWS - SAFETY Aviation's biggest achievement - Mise en
CONTENTS

                                    1    EDITORIAL
                                         Furthering Safety –
                                         The hallmark of aviation?
                                         Salvatore Sciacchitano
                                    2    Safety, an investment for the future
                                         Pekka Henttu
                                    4    The value of simulations to improve
                                         safety
                                         Philippe Merlo
                                    8    Role and priorities of the ICAO
                                         Air Navigation Commission
                                         Claude Hurley
                                    11   ICAO Global Aviation Safety Plan –
                                         Current and upcoming editions
                                         Arnaud Desjardin
                                    13   Safety recommendations – How are
                                         we doing?
                                         Robert Carter
                                    18   Implementation of the just culture
                                         concept in safety investigations
ECACNEWS
#66 – Summer 2018
                                         Rémi Jouty
Publication Director                23   U-Space as a prerequisite for scalable
Salvatore Sciacchitano
Editorial Committee
                                         UAS operations
Salvatore Sciacchitano, Patricia         Marcel Kaegi
Reverdy, Gabrielle Hubler
Editor                              27   ECAC Spotlight:
Gabrielle Hubler                         ECAC Common Evaluation Process (CEP)
ghubler@ecac-ceac.org
                                         of security equipment
Designer
Bernard Artal Graphisme
                                         Julien Levet
Cover: © JackF - Fotolia.com
Ph: © CEAC                          30   ECAC in brief
ECAC News welcomes feedback         33   EaP/CA in brief
and content ideas from interested
parties.                            34   News from the JAA Training Organisation
Subscription and distribution            (JAA TO)
requests should be made to
info@ecac-ceac.org
The opinions printed in ECAC
News are those of the authors
alone and do not necessarily
reflect the opinions of ECAC
or its Member States.

Printed by Imprimerie Peau.

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ECACNEWS - SAFETY Aviation's biggest achievement - Mise en
Editorial

                                 Furthering Safety –
                           The hallmark of aviation?

                                                   Salvatore Sciacchitano
                                                     Executive Secretary of ECAC

S afety statistics for the year 2017 show the safest
  year on record in the history of air transport.
                                                              addressed with strictly national regulations and
                                                              jurisdictions. In order to advance the common
                                                              objective of improved safety resulting in fewer
     Through the cooperative efforts of governments,
airlines, airports, manufacturers, and across the             accidents, recommendations must be shared and
aviation supply chain, the number of accidents and            international safety regulation harmonised.
fatalities reached unseen lows of 45 accidents                     In this regard, improving the safety of the global
worldwide that year, down from an average of 75 in            air transport system is “ICAO’s guiding and most
each of the preceding five years (1). And when looking        fundamental strategic objective”. In an effort to assist
at safety figure trends beyond the recent period, it is       States in fulfilling this crucial responsibility, ICAO has
striking how accident numbers have drastically gone           developed international standards and recommended
down whereas daily operations continue to grow year           practices (SARPs) covering a wide spectrum of aviation
after year.                                                   activities with a view to achieve uniformity of safety
     While we can only commend the reduction in lives         regulations. In this issue, the president of the ICAO Air
lost, there is still ample room for improvement               Navigation Commission (ANC) describes how ICAO’s
worldwide, and our priority should remain as acute as         technical work programme is managed by the Council
ever on the promotion of safety. In this issue, the ECAC      with the guidance of the ANC, one of the main
Focal Point for Safety invites us to reflect on the           outcomes being proposals for new or amended SARPs.
constant challenge posed by aviation safety and its                ICAO also aims to address and enhance global
requirement for continued vigilance, despite the              aviation safety through coordinated activities and
excellent safety record achieved in recent years.             targets as set out in its Global Aviation Safety Plan
Continuous improvement of safety records is, and              (GASP). The ICAO EUR/NAT Office describes, for ECAC
must be, the imperative.                                      News, the current and future GASP priorities, in which
     That is why – and particularly in view of the            emerging risks and mitigation measures are proactively
expected growth in air travel – well-timed, acurate reports   identified in accordance with the ICAO global plans.
are of utmost importance to identify vulnerabilities               The progress in aviation safety implies that
and gain knowledge from each accident and incident.           improvements may be harder to achieve and require
Each accident must be investigated: the chair and             a high level of adaptation to arising needs. This is
co-chair of the ECAC Air Accident and Incident                well-illustrated in the Swiss Federal Office of Civil
Investigation Group of Experts highlight in this edition      Aviation’s contribution on the development of U-Space
why learning from past accidents continues to be the          in order to ensure the scalability of Unmanned Aircraft
cornerstone of that effort and how the “just culture”          Systems operations that are bound to grow more and
concept contributes to furthering the finding of safety       more in our skies.
investigations.                                                    Finally, leader in traffic management research
     In this respect, the Safety Recommendation of            EUROCONTROL gives us a look at the bigger picture
Global Concern (SRGC) database developed by ICAO              with the description of its “case-based” approach
plays a key role in making safety recommendations             simulation programme and how simulation can
pertaining to “systemic deficienc(ies) having a probability   greatly contribute to furthering tomorrow’s safety.
of recurrence with the potential for significant                   Air transport has never been so safe. Recent
consequences” accessible to all aviation stakeholders         excellent records demonstrate how joining forces and
and the public.                                               devising solutions together as an aviation community
     Individual States’ responsibility for safety oversight   is the path to address the global challenges facing our
in civil aviation is one of the key principles of the         sector. Such is the spirit of ECAC, which remains
Chicago Convention. Yet, there is a consensus in the          committed to enabling the closest cooperation among
international community that the issue is a matter of         its 44 Member States and with other regions of the
global concern and, as such, cannot be thoroughly             world to further all major aviation fields.
                                                                                    (1) Source: IATA Safety Report 2017, April 2018.

                                                                                                               ECAC NEWS # 66          1
ECACNEWS - SAFETY Aviation's biggest achievement - Mise en
Safety, an investment
                                       for the future
                                       Pekka Henttu
                                       Director General of Civil Aviation, Finnish Transport Safety Agency (Trafi)
                                       and ECAC Focal Point for Safety

    In recent years, the international work in aviation has focused on future trends, digitalisation, and
    especially the environment. However, we must remember that safety and security are still a vital
    part of the future of aviation – even more than ever before. If the general public cannot trust the
    services provided, it will seriously hinder the sector’s development.

    F orEurope
          aviation, this is a good time.
               also has its share of the
                                             successful safety work achieved.
                                             • You have managed to achieve
                                                                                    improvement of safety. The pro-
                                                                                    gramme describes the procedures,
    growth in air transport. It has cer-       a balance between safety, econ-      and the plan details the actions
    tainly not happened all by itself,         omy, environmental issues, relia-    necessary at national level. I would
    but required significant investment        bility, punctuality and other        like to encourage my fellow civil
    from various stakeholders. It is           performance factors. In real life,   aviation directors to make sure that
    exciting to see how the aviation           those performance factors tend       those central elements of safety
    business is developing. The sector         to contradict each other every       work are not only documents
    can now offer employment and                day. True professionals are mas-     on the office shelf, but genuine
    contribute to our well-being and           ters in setting priorities.          descriptions of how safety work is
    prosperity.                              • Success in safety is not something   conducted in the organisation and
         The past years have shown an          that can be taken for granted. It    what actions are taken to mitigate
    excellent safety record for aviation       requires constant improvement        risks at national level. Oversight
    both at the global level and in            and ever more effective safety        must focus on the implementation
    Europe. Last year was the best ever        work from all of us in our own       and follow-up of actions needed to
    for air transport safety. In my capac-     positions.                           reduce risks.
    ity as ECAC’s Focal Point for Safety,       I wish to particularly underline        To highlight the importance of
    I wish to express my strong appre-       the role of the State Safety Pro-      the Safety Programme and Safety
    ciation to everyone involved for the     gramme and Safety Plan in the          Plan, we, in Finland, have nomi-
                                                                                                                           © Yanukit - Fotolia.com

2   ECAC NEWS # 66
ECACNEWS - SAFETY Aviation's biggest achievement - Mise en
Safety, an investment for the future

                                                                                                                             © Soonthorn - Fotolia.com
nated a responsible person con-
centrating on our own State Safety
Programme and Safety Plan, and
especially supporting their imple-
mentation in the CAA and among
stakeholders. The post was trans-
ferred to my support staff so that
the postholder reports directly to            However, I also see misinter-          work is solid. All stakeholders, in-
the Director General of Civil Avia-       preted or poorly determined safety         cluding ECAC and EUROCONTROL,
tion. This has raised the status of       performance indicators as safety           are together making valuable con-
the work. With this arrangement, I        threats, if they are used as a sole        tributions under the lead of EASA.
think we have taken a huge step           basis for decision-making. There-          The world of aviation is still not
forward in our safety work during         fore, the effort made to determine          ready. Everyone involved has a lot
the past two years. I believe that        safety performance indicators              of work to do. We often highlight
our safety efforts are more ambi-          together with our stakeholders is          the operators’ responsibility for
tious, systematic and clearly defined     vitally important, as they are one of      their own operations. However, we
than before. I hope they will also        the tools to monitor safety perfor-        must also challenge ourselves con-
have a greater influence.                 mance. They help us to make good           tinuously. We must make sure that
    In the spirit of our times, the       decisions and to form an accurate          the safety work of regulatory au-
importance of knowledge for               overall picture of safety, as far as       thorities really adds value, and that
decision-making is emphasized. In         possible. We must remember that            we take responsibility for those is-
order to understand the overall           there is always a residual risk as         sues that belong to us, taking right
situation and to serve decision-          long as there are flight operations.       actions in a wise manner. We need
making in safety management, it is        Let’s work together to keep that           to have courage and a modern at-
essential to identify safety threats,     residual risk low.                         titude to our work as an authority,
assess safety risks and form a risk           We are now living in a time of         helping the aviation sector to
picture both at the aviation stake-       extensive digitalisation. The other        develop safely. Let’s carry on our
holder level and at national or           side of that coin are cyber threats.       safety and security work ambi-
global level, tailored specifically for   As we have learned from safety             tiously, in a spirit of continuous
each level. The European Plan for         work, exchange of information is           improvement. It is essential to
Aviation Safety, which also takes         one of the cornerstones for safety.        maintain trust in the air transport
into account ICAO’s safety plan,          The same holds true in the efforts          system among the general public,
provides a firm basis for national        for improving cyber safety, which          whether the aircraft are manned or
aviation safety plans. It is worth        are now progressing at a good              unmanned.
making full use of it at State level.     pace in Europe. The management                 Investment in safety is an in-
The effectiveness of safety plan           of risks associated with cyber             vestment in the future. ■
actions is monitored using prede-         threats will apply the same proce-
termined safety performance indi-         dures as for safety management.
cators.                                   The basis for EASA’s cyber safety

  Before his employment at Trafi, Pekka Henttu worked for Finnair for 33 years as a pilot (13 500 flight hours) and in
  various management positions, such as head of regulatory issues and technical chief pilot. In addition to Commander
  qualification, he also has an M.Sc.Eng degree from Helsinki University of Technology. He has a total 41 years of
  experience as an aviation professional. Mr Henttu has been Director General of Civil Aviation at Trafi since 1 May 2011.
  He also carries out other duties in the European aviation community, including as chairman of the EASA Management
  Board, member of the ECAC Coordinating Committee (as Focal Point for Safety), and vice chairman of ICAO’s European
  Regional Aviation Safety Group.

                                                                                                            ECAC NEWS # 66                               3
ECACNEWS - SAFETY Aviation's biggest achievement - Mise en
The value of simulations
                                      to improve safety
                                      Philippe Merlo
                                      Director DECMA,
                                      Directorate European Civil-Military Aviation

    The recent years have been among the safest in the history of aviation, but this has not come about
    by sheer luck. Changing complex systems in any business is risky and expensive. Knowing whether
    changes will actually improve safety before they are implemented is therefore essential.

    W      e at EUROCONTROL, the
           European Organisation for
    the Safety of Air Navigation, have
                                            Safety has many facets and even
                                            the tiniest change can affect
                                            safety. To convince the safety au-
                                                                                   the European Operational Concept
                                                                                   Validation Methodology, developed
                                                                                   by EUROCONTROL and the Euro-
    always kept safety as our prime ob-     thorities our solutions are safe we    pean Commission, and provides
    jective, at every stage of our work,    need a robust and proven method        solid guidelines on how to build a
    from identification of the problem      and strong evidence.                   case, demanding evidence at every
    and definition of a potential solu-         Fortunately we at EUROCON-         step.
    tion (e.g. new procedures, tools,       TROL can demonstrate not only             To build a case, we must first
    airspace structure), through the        that the changes will, or will not,    understand the operational envi-
    initial feasibility assessment and      bring about the desired benefits,      ronment, clarify the expected
    advanced integration exercises, up      but also to what extent they will
    to initial operations.                                                         benefits for all stakeholders and
                                            affect safety. This is what is called   examine the proposed solutions.
         With its Experimental Centre in    validation.
                                                                                   We break them down into smaller
    Brétigny near Paris, EUROCONTROL           The cornerstone of our vali-        components of change and define
    has been the leader in air traffic        dation method is the “case-            benefit mechanisms, working out
    management research, and in par-        based” approach. It is based on        how each change could deliver im-
    ticular in the field of simulations,
    for over 50 years now. The aviation
    industry is continuously devising
    new solutions to improve the over-
    all performance of aviation. These
    may come from navigation service
    providers or from the European
    research project, SESAR, and may,
    say, reduce delays, shorten routes,
    optimise algorithms or simply
    bring in new technology. But what-
    ever their origin or nature, for each
    and every single change we must
    be sure they will improve safety, or
    at least not affect it.
       If they are not improving safety
    we must detect, stop or correct
    them as early as possible.
       That is no easy job.
                                                                                                A case with claims and evidence

4   ECAC NEWS # 66
ECACNEWS - SAFETY Aviation's biggest achievement - Mise en
The value of simulations to improve safety

provements. We then know what            simulation exercises. These need to   tremely powerful means of assess-
to demonstrate, what to measure,         be prepared in minute detail in       ing safety aspects as this is one of
and under what conditions. This is       order to achieve the highest possi-   the first times in the life cycle of a
spelled out in unequivocal claims        ble degree of realism. This is a      new solution that all elements are
supported by robust evidence. For        prerequisite for building credible    integrated: the new tools, proce-
example, the high-level claim that       and valid data as evidence to test    dures or technology are inserted
a particular concept will improve        the claims.                           into a realistic operational environ-
safety and flight efficiency is bro-                                             ment, involving real active air traffic
ken down into lower-level, testable,                                           controllers working with realistic
claims that the concept will lead to
fewer aircraft crossing and safety
                                             “ Assessing                       traffic.

alerts, a lower workload for air          safety in aviation                       But before conducting such
                                                                               real-time simulations we must
traffic controllers while indeed
reducing the flown track miles in            can be very                       build the simulated environment.
                                                                               For air navigation service providers
the airspace concerned, and not
creating new hot spots. This has to
                                            challenging,                       (ANSPs), that must be as close as
                                                                               possible to their own operational
be tested not only under normal            but simulations                     environment – right down to the
conditions but also under non-
                                                                               seating, the screen layout and
nominal conditions, e.g. when a            lend a helping                      colour of the aircraft labels and
technical failure occurs or during
bad weather.                                    hand. ”                        even the mouse position!
    It is after this stage that we se-                                              Once this is done, we verify the
lect the best simulation approach            Most projects begin with math-    simulation environment with the
in order to collect all the support-     ematical simulations as these are     air traffic controllers. They help us
ing evidence. This could be a math-      relatively easy and inexpensive to    tweak it so it feels just like home.
ematical, fast-time simulation, or       run and involve fewer actors, but     The simulation is run in a known
a gaming exercise and may be a           they can simulate very large          environment first, so as to establish
real-time simulation or a live trial.    airspace over long periods, thus      a baseline and to make sure the
Or even a combination of these, as       generating a high repetition of       simulator works correctly. This rep-
each has its strengths and limita-       data. They help to quickly discard    resents the baseline, a reference
tions.                                   weak solutions, pinpoint trouble      point to be able to subsequently
     Once the validation scenarios       areas and generate lots of useful     measure the effects of the changes
and objectives have been defined,        data to be fed into the next step.    or new solution. It is indeed often
the actual preparation of the simu-          The logical next step, in par-    easier to make relative compar-
lations can start. This can be a very    ticular when the focus is on          isons rather than absolute mea-
lengthy task, spanning many              safety assessment, is to proceed      surements.
months, requiring several opera-         with real-time simulations. These         Then we run the new or future
tional, technical and validation         are more demanding and expen-         scenarios four times, as a rule, so
meetings to accurately build the         sive to conduct but are an ex-        that we generate enough statisti-

                                                                                                     ECAC NEWS # 66     5
ECACNEWS - SAFETY Aviation's biggest achievement - Mise en
The value of simulations to improve safety

    cally valid data. A typical exercise     some tools were properly used or       or operational experts, and most
    lasts for about an hour but it can       not. Recommendations can also be       importantly, a neutral, impartial,
    take twice as long if the airspace is    expressed on how to improve the        solid and credible assessment of the
    large or the new concept complex.        fine-tuning, configuration or im-      benefits and potential drawbacks of
        We collect a vast amount of          plementation of a specific safety      the tested solutions, accompanied
    subjective and objective data.           decision aid.                          by a series of recommendations to
    Every event is recorded and mea-             Once the exercises have all        further improve the benefits of the
    sured: the time it takes for air traffic   been run – this typically takes two    solutions.
    controllers (ATCOs) to respond;          weeks – another key phase in our           At Brétigny, we have differ-
    how long they talk on the radio or       work begins: analysing the moun-       ent types of simulator platforms
    telephone; the traffic density and         tains of data that the simulations     and various tools for validation.
    number of aircraft movements in          have generated. This is a joint        The major one used for air traffic
    the sectors; how often and when          task both for our EUROCONTROL          control simulations is ESCAPE, used
    exactly the ATCOs use the new            human factors, validation and          in three air traffic control simu-
    tools, procedures or safety nets; the
                                             operational experts, and for the       lation rooms with in each one up
    number of instructions and safety
                                             experts from the research project      to 40 controller positions and 16
    alerts. To collect subjective data we
                                             or ANSP who designed the new           pseudo-piloting positions.
    often have observers supervising
                                             solutions.                                  We also have other simulators
    the conduct of the exercises and,
    after each session, the ATCOs are            Analysing the data collected       to complement these air traffic con-
    given a questionnaire which helps        and writing up the report usually      trol simulators, allowing our experts
    us clarify the human factor elements,    takes three months. The reports        to address all the phases of flight:
    e.g. situational awareness and           provide a clear overview of the        • For network projects we have the
    stress level. We also measure their      validation approach: objectives, hy-     EUROCONTROL Network Manage-
    workload perception every two            potheses, scenarios, claims, metrics     ment Validation Platform (NMVP)
    minutes. Each ATCO is invited at         used, profile of participating ATCOs     and the ISA Software’s INNOVE.
    regular intervals to rate their own
    feelings about the work by choos-
    ing from a series of buttons. These
    data are all essential to build a co-
    herent picture of the safety impact
    of the new solution or concept.
        A debriefing is held at the end
    of each day. As everything is
    recorded, we can enrich the discus-
    sions with a synthesised view of
    the relevant data for each exercise.
    Controllers can see for themselves
    how they handled the new system
    or tools and comment on all events
    and data. For example, controllers
    can comment on the usefulness of
    a new safety net, whether the
    safely alerts or advisory messages
    were relevant and correct; opera-
    tional and human factors experts
    can investigate and ask if and why

6   ECAC NEWS # 66
ECACNEWS - SAFETY Aviation's biggest achievement - Mise en
The value of simulations to improve safety

• For airports: the ASTRIUM airport        real-time simulations could test            or only very rarely, happen in real
  operations centre (APOC) and the         what happens and how to react,              life but that can lead to disastrous
  combined EUROCONTROL eDEP-               not only when the overall air traffic         consequences if the AI machine
  based tower simulator with third-        management system is down, but              does not know how to react. Simu-
  party 3D visualisation.                  also in the event of smaller-scale          lations could provide such rare and
• For the cockpit: a third-party           but nevertheless vicious data cor-          non-nominal scenarios to test and
  Airbus A320 cockpit simulator.           ruption. A total failure of radar           train the AI systems.
• For environmental studies: our           tracking information may be easy                EUROCONTROL, with its vast
  IMPACT suite of simulators for           to detect, but what if tracks are           experience in air traffic manage-
  emissions and noise assessment           maliciously biased by a few miles           ment simulations and simulators, is
  studies.                                 horizontally or a few hundred feet          ready to contribute to the safety of
• And a variety of other mathemat-         vertically? We must be able to spot         aviation and make sure the coming
  ical simulators.                         this, and be ready to react.                decades remain amongst the safest
    For future issues such as                  New AI systems or algorithms            in history. ■
cyber security and artificial intel-       require a massive amount of data                Further reading on the EURO-
ligence (AI), simulations will also        to be trained how to react and              CONTROL Experimental Centre, its
be a very valuable tool in ensur-          decide. But this data need not only         research activities and simulation
ing that the right solutions are de-       reflect normal operations. AI sys-          infrastructure: https://eec50.euro-
signed, tested and implemented.            tems must also be confronted with           control.int/a & https://simulations.
   In the field of cyber security,         non-nominal situations that never,          eurocontrol.int

  Philippe Merlo has led the new Directorate European Civil-Military Aviation (DECMA) since its creation in April 2018.
  DECMA, a merger of two former directorates (Directorate Air Traffic Management (ATM), which Mr Merlo had been in
  charge of since joining EUROCONTROL in February 2014, and Directorate Pan-European Single Sky), represents a
  significantly expanded mandate and portfolio.
  DECMA brings under one roof a strong technology, State support and innovation function:
  • Its State support units work to ensure the development and implementation of the Single European Sky (SES) at
      the pan-European level, supporting the EU and States as needed.
  • Its civil-military ATM coordination division ensures appropriate civil-military and military-military ATM coordination
      via EUROCONTROL’s unique civil-military competences.
  • Its R&D and SESAR Contribution Management division plays a core role in SESAR 2020, where EUROCONTROL leads
      eight projects and contributes to many more with the aim of achieving the objectives of the SES and the performance
      scheme, as well as ensuring full alignment of SESAR initiatives in accordance with the ATM Master Plan.
  • Its ATM strategies division ensures the strategic development of ATM, with particular focus on ensuring coordination
    at a global level with the key actors.
  Mr Merlo has spent his entire career in ATM, beginning as a flight test engineer in 1986 in the French Directorate
  General of Civil Aviation after graduating from the École Nationale de l’Aviation Civile in Toulouse. He would then steadily
  rise within the organisation to occupy a number of managerial functions of increasing responsibility, including four years
  as head of the En-Route ATC Centre in Bordeaux and four years as director of all technical systems and innovation. In
  2010 he became deputy CEO of DSNA, the French air navigation service provider, in which capacity he was increasingly
  involved in ATM at a European level, before joining EUROCONTROL four years later.

                                                                                                               ECAC NEWS # 66    7
ECACNEWS - SAFETY Aviation's biggest achievement - Mise en
Role and priorities of the ICAO
                                      Air Navigation Commission
                                      Claude Hurley
                                      President, ICAO Air Navigation Commission (ANC)

    As we, States, industry stakeholders and ICAO look forward, together, to this autumn’s ICAO
    Air Navigation Conference, I appreciate this opportunity to reflect on how ECAC States and
    aviation stakeholders can best continue the strong participation they have always brought to
    ICAO’s standard-making process.

                                                                                         expertise in the interest of the
     The role of the Air Navigation Commission                                           whole international civil aviation
    within the ICAO framework                                                            community.
                                                                                             We are not alone, of course, in
                                                                                         this work, and rely on many others
    T ohaps
        begin this reflection, it is per-
            best to start by looking
                                            the Convention on International
                                            Civil Aviation (Chicago Convention).
                                                                                         to help us achieve our objectives
                                                                                         on behalf of all States.
    briefly at the Air Navigation Com-          While I feel blessed every day
    mission’s (ANC) role within the                                                          Of note is that a number of ex-
                                            to be able to work with such distin-         perts, directly representing States
    ICAO framework. Our primary task,       guished aviation professionals as            and industry organisations, partic-
    on behalf of all ICAO States, is to     my colleagues in the Commission,             ipate in the ANC deliberations as
    consider and recommend Stan-            as well as in the Secretariat, I             accredited observers, and their
    dards and Recommended Practices         believe the key to our long-term             insights are necessary to the Com-
    (SARPs), as well as Procedures for      success in providing technical               mission gaining a broader under-
    Air Navigation Services (PANS) for      advice to the ICAO Council lies not          standing of the possible impact of
    adoption or approval by the ICAO        necessarily in our expertise, but in         the proposals being discussed.
    Council.                                the fact that while each commis-                 As well, the many dedicated
        In the ANC itself, we are 19        sioner is nominated by specific              individuals who collectively make
    commissioners, who are nominated        ICAO Member States, they do not              up the Secretariat ensure that we
    by States and appointed by the          represent the interest of any partic-        are well supported and advised in
    ICAO Council, which has judged us       ular State – or even region. Instead,        our discussions, and are also the
    to have “suitable qualifications and    as envisaged in the Chicago Con-             bridge that allows all stakeholders
    experience in the science and prac-     vention, each commissioner acts              in the process to communicate
    tice of aeronautics”, as outlined in    independently, leveraging their              effectively.

                                                ICAO Air Navigation Commission Session

8   ECAC NEWS # 66
Role and priorities of the ICAO Air Navigation Commission

                                                                                                                          © Commissioner Mervyn Fernando
                                             The ICAO Air Navigation Commission

   The ANC’s mission                      ICAO’s Air Navigation Conference
                                        and the path of “implementable” SARPs
Irisksnproactively
         the big picture, we aim to
                   identify emerging

                                        Tint/Meetings/anconf13),
                                                                         th
                                             he theme of ICAO’s 13 Air Nav-
          and devise mitigation mea-                                                  After the conclusion of the
sures in accordance with the ICAO            igation Conference (www.icao.        ANC’s preliminary review process,
global plans, such as the Global                                  to be held      State letters on these proposals for
Aviation Safety Plan (GASP) and the     in October this year, is From Devel-      amendments to the SARPs are then
Global Air Navigation Plan (GANP).      opment to Implementation, which           sent out by the Secretariat to all
                                        ties in directly with the ANC’s two       ICAO States, which is the first for-
    To do this, the ANC is tasked by
                                        main focus areas for 2018: ‘imple-        mal opportunity that States have to
the Council to manage ICAO’s tech-
                                        mentation’ and ‘communications’,          comment on the specific proposals
nical work programme, with one
                                        which you will have understood,           being brought forward.
of the main outcomes being
                                        falls within the greater framework             It is widely recognised that the
amendments to the Annexes to the
                                        of ICAO’s well publicised No Coun-        high response rate to State letters
Chicago Convention, or more
                                        try Left Behind initiative.               amongst ECAC States has ensured
specifically, proposals for new or
amended SARPs. While ICAO recog-             Of note is that this Air Naviga-     that ICAO receives not only a num-
nises, as do States, that new regu-     tion Conference is the best chance        ber of valuable comments on these
lations are not always either the       for States to influence the direction     proposals, but provides us with an
only, or necessarily the best, solu-    of ICAO’s technical work, ahead of        indication of which particular areas
tion to emerging risks, more often      the next Assembly, so that your           caused the greatest concern. We
than not amendments to the              choices for priorities are fully re-      can only encourage all States to
SARPs are needed to maintain and        flected in how ICAO prepares itself       make the investment of time and
improve aviation safety and air         for the decisions to be made in the       effort in this State letter consulta-
navigation efficiency, while inte-        40th Assembly, in 2019.                   tion process, as your feedback is
grating increased traffic into the            For us in the ANC, implementa-        fully considered by the Secretariat
current aviation infrastructure.        tion essentially means that we            and the ANC, as it very much helps
    To ensure that we are making        need to ensure that the SARPs we          us in our final review process. Our
progress along the path, we do          help develop are implementable. As        aim is to recommend mature, im-
very much need States to give us        we aim to get that feedback early         plementable SARPs to the ICAO
their feedback, either in the form of   on in the SARP development pro-           Council for their adoption, and it is
comments to specific proposals for      cess, we look to you, as States and       best that we know ahead of time if
SARP amendments, but as well, as        aviation stakeholders, to continue        States have any concerns.
to whether or not we are even on        to provide us with valuable advice.           As a specific example, I want to
the right path. On the latter ques-         As one example, the strong            assure you that the ANC has noted
tion – are we choosing the right        participation of experts nominated        the ECAC States’ commitment to
path – your participation in the Air    by ECAC States, both in the ANC’s         implementing safety management
Navigation Conference will allow        technical panels, as well as with         systems (SMS) and State Safety
you to give direct feedback on the      study groups of the ICAO Secre-           Programme (SSP) – this has been
proposed priorities for ICAO’s tech-    tariat, has helped bring maturity to      obvious from your contributions to
nical work, and that, ahead of the      the proposals brought forward to          the development of Amendment
2019 ICAO Assembly.                     the ANC for our preliminary review.       1 provisions to Annex 19 – Safety

                                                                                                       ECAC NEWS # 66                                      9
Role and priorities of the ICAO Air Navigation Commission

                                                                                              This is one of the reasons why
                                                                                          the proposed revisions to the
                                                                                          Global Aviation Safety Plan (GASP)
                                                                                          encourages implementation of the
                                                                                          GASP goals, targets and indicators
                                                                                          at the regional and national levels,
                                                                                          in a coordinated and collaborative
                                                                                          fashion. The safety roadmap, pre-
     Management, and in particular the         can all benefit from lessons along
                                                                                          sented in the GASP, serves as an
     strong response to the State letter       the path. It is only through the
                                                                                          action plan to assist the entire avi-
     for the proposal. If you will allow       sharing of best practices, resources,
                                                                                          ation community in achieving the
     me to be repetitive, responding to        and expertise that we, globally, can
                                                                                          GASP goals through a structured
     State letters is one of the key mech-     improve safety performance.
                                                                                          common frame of reference for all
     anisms for the ANC to receive feed-             As air traffic continues to grow       relevant stakeholders. We encour-
     back from States and the industry,        it is obvious that we need to move         age all ECAC States to review the
     and we want to assure you that we         from purely rule- and compliance-          draft GASP and Global Air Naviga-
     consider all of your comments, and        based methods of ensuring safety           tion Plan (GANP) ahead of this
     we do believe strongly that all           to being predictive, using all of the      autumn’s ICAO Air Navigation Con-
     feedback helps to improve interna-        information available to us collec-        ference, and provide, as always,
     tional provisions for all States.         tively. Sharing information amongst        your constructive feedback during
         The feedback loop does con-           regulators, service providers and          the conference itself, or through
     tinue though, as the ANC is made          across borders will enable us to           the submission of your own work-
     aware when we later review the            have a clearer picture of the poten-       ing papers.
     reports of ICAO’s Planning and            tial risks and allow us to work                Looking forward to seeing as
     Implementation Regional Groups            together to address them. This             many of you as possible during the
     (PIRGs) and Regional Aviation             might require cultural changes in          Air Navigation Conference, but
     Safety Groups (RASGs) on either           the ways we work but has the               whether or not you can join us in
     best practices or even implementa-        potential to make significant posi-        Montreal in October, please realise
     tion challenges that States face. In      tive changes in safety. It is through      that your and your State’s contribu-
     these reports, and in conversations       continuous communication and               tions and commitment to working
     we have with the ICAO regional            feedback that we will acquire              together to improve what is already
     offices, we note the many excellent         greater situational awareness of           the safest global transportation
     examples from States, such as those       safety in our organisation, in our         system – aviation – is greatly appre-
     from the European Air Navigation          industry, and even perhaps, how            ciated by all.
     Planning Group (EANPG), which we          our industry touches and is                    Wishing you, on behalf of the
     have encouraged the Secretariat to        touched by other industries, both          Air Navigation Commission, happy
     share with other regions so that we       in our States and around the globe.        landings! ■

       Captain Claude Hurley, FRAeS, was nominated by Canada, and appointed by the ICAO Council to the Air Navigation
       Commission (ANC) in 2014. He was elected as its president for the 2018 calendar year. Mr Hurley previously served
       two years as vice-president of the ANC, and has also chaired the ANC group on implementation as well as the ANC
       group on Safety Management Systems. His substantive position is as an executive with Transport Canada, where he
       managed and led teams with responsibilities in aviation safety regulatory oversight. Prior to joining Transport Canada,
       Mr Hurley flew for many years, first with the Canadian Armed Forces, then more recently in industry, in roles as diverse
       as training pilot, type rating examiner, technical pilot, as well as supporting flight operations in management roles.

10   ECAC NEWS # 66
ICAO Global Aviation Safety Plan –
       Current and upcoming editions
                                                             Arnaud Desjardin
                                  Regional Officer, Safety, ICAO EUR/NAT Office

The ICAO Global Aviation Safety Plan (GASP - ICAO Doc 10004) sets forth a strategy which sup-
ports the prioritisation and continuous improvement of aviation safety. It is a strategic document
that enables States, regions and industry to adopt a flexible, step-by-step approach for safety
planning and implementation.

I(SARPs),
   n accordance with ICAO Standards
   and Recommended Practices
          States must develop their
                                           d) providing a methodology to guide
                                              States in the identification of cur-
                                                                                      tion by 2022. Additionally, RASGs
                                                                                      should continue to advance to ma-
                                                                                      ture regional monitoring and safety
                                              rent and emerging hazards, and
safety oversight capabilities and im-         the management of safety risks.         management programmes. The long-
plement a State Safety Programme                The GASP has significantly            term objective calls for States to build
(SSP). The GASP is a means for States      changed since its introduction in          upon safety management practices
to achieve compliance with ICAO            1997, and has evolved through con-         within the SSP to develop advanced
safety-related SARPs and to go be-                                                    safety oversight systems, including
                                           tinuous consultation and review. The
yond the minimum level of compli-                                                     predictive risk management.
                                           2014-2016 edition was published in
ance by proactively enhancing safety                                                       The 2020-2022 edition of the
                                           2013 and included GASP objectives
through the management of opera-                                                      GASP will maintain some key ele-
                                           for States to achieve through the im-
tional safety risks. The GASP assists                                                 ments from its previous edition, such
                                           plementation of an effective safety
States to identify deficiencies and pri-                                              as goals for States to improve their ef-
                                           oversight system, an SSP and safety
oritise actions so they can meet their                                                fective safety oversight capabilities
                                           capabilities necessary to support
safety responsibilities by providing                                                  and to progress in the implementa-
                                           future aviation systems. The current
an implementation strategy pre-                                                       tion of SSPs. Main changes in the plan
                                           edition (2017-2019) was published in
sented in the global aviation safety                                                  will include new goals and targets for
                                           2016 and includes a global aviation
roadmap. The GASP further assists                                                     States, regions and industry as well as
                                           safety roadmap developed to sup-
States in strengthening their capabil-                                                tools to measure States’ safety over-
ities in the management of safety          port an integrated approach to the
                                                                                      sight capabilities. The goals include:
through a structured process               implementation of the GASP objec-
                                           tives. The three near-term objectives,     • a continuous reduction of opera-
founded on the critical elements                                                        tional safety risks;
(CEs) of a State safety oversight sys-     which had to be achieved by 2017,
                                           are:                                       • the implementation by all States of
tem. A State’s safety responsibilities                                                  the eight critical elements of a
comprise both safety oversight and         a) States lacking fundamental safety
                                                                                        safety oversight system;
safety management, collectively im-           oversight capabilities are to
                                                                                      • the full implementation of effective
plemented through an SSP.                     achieve an Effective Implementa-
                                                                                        SSPs;
     States, regions and industry facil-      tion (EI) of at least 60% overall of
                                                                                      • an increased collaboration at the
itate the implementation of the GASP          the eight Critical Elements (CE) of
                                                                                        regional level to enhance safety;
through coordinated Safety En-                a State safety oversight system.
                                                                                      • an expanded use of industry pro-
hancement Initiatives (SEI). The GASP      b) States which have an EI of 60% or         grammes;
seeks to assist States, regions and           greater should implement a State        • an appropriate infrastructure avail-
industry in their respective safety           Safety Programme (SSP), which             able to support safe operations.
planning and implementation by:               will facilitate addressing risks spe-
                                              cific to their aviation systems; and        Furthermore, in order to mitigate
a) establishing GASP goals, targets                                                   the risk of fatalities, States, regions
   and indicators;                         c) all States and stakeholders are
                                                                                      and industry need to address the
b) providing a framework for plan-            encouraged to put in place mech-
                                                                                      high risk categories of occurrences
   ning and implementation of SEIs;           anisms for the sharing of safety in-    (HRCs). The selection of types of
c) presenting the global aviation             formation through their Regional        occurrences which are deemed
   safety roadmap, which can be               Aviation Safety Groups (RASGs)          global HRCs (previously referred to as
   used to achieve the GASP goals             and other regional or sub-regional      “global safety priorities” in the 2017-
   and to set specific targets at both        fora.                                   2019 edition of the GASP) is based on
   national and regional levels as well         The mid-term objective calls for      actual fatalities from past accidents,
   as for industry partners; and           all States to achieve SSP implementa-      high fatality risk per accident or the

                                                                                                             ECAC NEWS # 66      11
ICAO Global Aviation Safety Plan – Current and upcoming editions

     number of accidents and incidents.               ICAO plays a role in coordinating           stakeholders. Each region and each
     The following HRCs, in no particular       and monitoring the implementation                 State should use the GASP to develop
     order, have been identified for the        of the GASP at the global and re-                 a regional aviation safety plan and
     2020-2022 edition of the GASP: con-        gional levels. The role of ICAO within            national aviation safety plan, respec-
     trolled flight into terrain (CFIT); loss   the GASP includes the following:                  tively, which includes industry partic-
     of control in-flight (LOC-I); mid-air      a) promoting collaboration at the                 ipation. The regional or national
     collision (MAC); runway excursion              global level to enhance safety;               aviation safety plan presents the
     (RE); and runway incursion (RI).           b) coordinating activities of the                 strategic direction for the manage-
         This next edition of the GASP will         RASGs to ensure their alignment               ment of aviation safety at the re-
     also recognise the importance of               with the GASP;                                gional or national level, for a set time
     safety risk analysis at national and re-   c) ensuring close coordination                    period and should be developed in
     gional levels. It will incorporate             between the RASGs and the                     line with the GASP’s goals, targets
     guidelines and a structure by which            Planning and Implementation                   and HRCs. The global aviation safety
     States, groups of States or entities           Regional Groups (PIRGs);                      roadmap in the next edition of the
     within a region identify hazards and                                                         GASP will be composed of two
                                                d) encouraging the active participa-
     mitigate operational safety risks                                                            pieces:
                                                    tion of States and industry in the
     therein, through the assistance of Re-         RASGs;                                        a) organisational challenges – this
     gional Aviation Safety Groups (RASG)                                                            part of the roadmap (referred to as
                                                e) encouraging the active involve-
     as well as regional coordination. For                                                           the ORG roadmap) will provide
                                                    ment of regional mechanisms,
     the area of accreditation of the Euro-                                                          SEIs to meet GASP goals related to
                                                    such as Regional Safety Oversight
     pean and North Atlantic (EUR/NAT)                                                               States’ safety oversight capabilities
                                                    Organisations (RSOO) and regional
     Office of ICAO, the RASG-EUR is the                                                               and the implementation of SSPs,
                                                    Accident Investigation Organisa-
     leading group for the regional imple-                                                           as well as industry’s implementa-
                                                    tions (RAIO) in RASG activities;
     mentation of the GASP. It ensures                                                               tion of SMS. It contains two dis-
                                                f ) implementing a global aviation
     the effective coordination and coop-                                                             tinct components, in line with the
                                                    safety oversight system (GASOS)
     eration between all stakeholders                                                                GASP goals, to address safety
                                                    with the goal to improve national
     and monitors the progress in the                                                                management responsibilities: State
                                                    and regional safety oversight
     implementation of the GASP. It also                                                             safety oversight (SSO) system; and
                                                    capabilities;
     supports the establishment and op-                                                              SSP, including service providers’
                                                g) encouraging States with effective                  SMS.
     eration of performance-based safety
                                                    safety oversight systems to pro-
     systems within the Region.                                                                   b) operational safety risks – this part
                                                    vide assistance to other States,
         Contracting States entitled to                                                              of the roadmap (referred to as the
                                                    where practicable;
     participate as members in the RASG-                                                             OPS roadmap) will provide SEIs to
                                                h) providing data and tools to                       meet the GASP goals related to a
     EUR meetings are those whose terri-            support the monitoring of GASP
     tories or dependencies are located                                                              continuous reduction of opera-
                                                    implementation;                                  tional safety risks and regional and
     partially or wholly within the area
                                                i) facilitating the sharing and ex-                  industry safety risk management
     of accreditation of the EUR/NAT
                                                    change of safety information and                 activities to address the HRCs.
     Office of ICAO (56 Contracting States).
                                                    best practices across regions;
     Regional organisations, within the                                                               The 2020-2022 GASP edition will
     area of accreditation of the EUR/NAT       j) facilitating access to resources and           be presented at the ICAO 13th Air
     Office of ICAO, which have mechanisms            technical assistance by States; and           Navigation Conference (AN-Conf/13)
     in place for the management of avia-       k) facilitating training and workshops.           at ICAO headquarters, Montreal,
     tion safety, are entitled to participate       The next edition of the GASP will             Canada on 9 to 19 October 2018. The
     as members in the RASG-EUR (1). Inter-     include detailed roadmaps, which                  Conference will be invited to put for-
     national organisations, air operators,     serve as action plans to assist the               ward recommendations on the 2020-
     aircraft design organisations and          aviation community in achieving its               2022 edition of the GASP, and the
     manufacturers, air navigation service      goals through a structured, common                final version will be published in
     providers, aerodrome operators,            frame of reference for all relevant               December 2019. ■
     aircraft maintenance organisations,
     aviation training organisations and
     other aviation industry representa-
     tives are invited to participate in and
     contribute to the work of the RASG-        (1) European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) • European Civil Aviation Conference (ECAC) • European
     EUR and its contributory bodies.               Commission (EC) • EUROCONTROL • Interstate Aviation Committee (IAC)

       Arnaud Desjardin has a first-level university degree in aeronautical engineering, 22 years of work experience, including
       16 in a civil aviation authority of France, and 6 in the private sector in the United States, developing ATC systems for the
       Federal Aviation Administration (FAA). He worked as a safety investigator for the French accident investigation authority
       (BEA) in Paris-Le Bourget for 12 years and was the investigator-in-charge of the investigation into the Airbus A320
       accident on 24 March 2015 in the French Alps, operated by Germanwings. Mr Desjardin joined the ICAO EUR/NAT
       Regional Office on 1 September 2017 as a Regional Officer, Safety.

12   ECAC NEWS # 66
Safety recommendations –
                              How are we doing?
                                                                Robert Carter
                          Principal Inspector, United Kingdom Air Accidents
                     Investigation Branch (AAIB), Chair of ECAC Air Accident
                          and Incident Investigation Group of Experts (ACC)

To any air safety investigator from a State accident investigation authority (AIA), such as the
National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) in the United States, the Federal Bureau of Aircraft
Accident Investigation (BFU) in Germany or the Bureau d’Enquêtes et d’Analyses pour la sécurité
(BEA) in France, developing safety recommendations is an inherent part of the investigation task.

T section
  o us, the ‘Recommendations’
          of the final report is
                                       That definition reads:
                                       “Safety recommendation. A pro-
                                       posal of an accident investigation
                                                                                  gation Branch reports (AAIB – or
                                                                                  AIB as it was then, before marine
                                                                                  and rail stepped in) have always
often the most significant part of
an accident or incident investiga-     authority based on information             carried plenty of safety recommen-
tion; it is certainly the section we   derived from an investigation, made        dations. A good example was a
seem to pore over for the longest      with the intention of preventing           prominent accident that occurred
time. That is right and as it should   accidents or incidents and which in        in the United Kingdom shortly after
be; in making a safety recommen-       no case has the purpose of creating        this author joined the AIB in 1985.
dation, we investigators are putting   presumption of blame or liability for
                                       an accident or incident. In addition
other busy people to a great deal of
                                       to safety recommendations arising           Accident at
trouble even in properly consider-
ing their response, let alone imple-
                                       from accident or incident investiga-       Manchester Airport
                                       tion, safety recommendations may
menting the recommendation. So
                                       result from diverse sources, including     on 22 August 1985
we need to get it right. But what      safety studies.”
makes a good safety recommenda-
tion? And are we doing it right?
                                            That really does say it all, in the
                                       usual elegant and concise ICAO             IManchester
                                                                                    n 1985, the AIB investigated a
                                                                                    tragic and major accident at
                                                                                              Airport, where a B737-
    Safety investigation is a highly   language. It says that this is not
collaborative process and it is        trivial, that safety recommenda-           236 caught fire during its take-off
simply the case that aviation took     tions should be evidence-based             run and 55 passengers died in the
an early lead, thanks largely to       and taken seriously, both in their         subsequent fire. It was a landmark
the ‘Founding Fathers’ of the 1944     development by a State accident            investigation for the United King-
Chicago Convention. This early lead    investigation authority and in their       dom AIB (as it was then), looking at
was in aviation consistently gener-    consideration by the recommenda-           the aircraft operation, emergency
ating coherent and focused safety      tion’s addressee. Most importantly,        services response, propulsion sys-
recommendations, based on struc-       it says that ‘blame and liability’         tem integrity, the development of
tured technical investigations and     should have no part in this process.       the fire, survival factors and the
                                                                                  evacuation of the aircraft. A land-
reports. But in recent years, other
                                                                                  mark investigation with a total of
transport modes (maritime, rail,          History                                 31 safety recommendations, and in
etc.) have been catching up, and
                                                                                  2018 the investigation report still
even the medical world, in the
United Kingdom for instance, has
been adopting this approach. In
                                       W    ithin the ICAO structure of
                                            Annex 13 – Standards and
                                       Recommended Practices (which wag
                                                                                  reads well (1).
                                                                                       Ironically, though, what do not
                                                                                  read so well to our 2018 eyes are
aviation, many have worked to          decided on the ‘13’ numbering? – it        some of the safety recommenda-
refine and develop our founding        surely cannot have been coinci-            tions. The accident had been
document, the ‘Standards and           dence…), passages of text on safety        initiated by the rupture of the com-
Recommended Practices’ of ICAO’s       recommendations have been there
Annex 13 (Aircraft Accident and        from the earliest editions. It is
Incident Investigation). So the        always interesting to look back at
                                                                                  (1) Report available on the gov.uk website:
Annex 13 definition is a good place    where we have come from, and                   https://www.gov.uk/aaib-reports/8-1988-boe-
to start.                              certainly the Air Accidents Investi-           ing-737-236-g-bgjl-22-august-1985

                                                                                                             ECAC NEWS # 66         13
Safety recommendations – How are we doing?

     bustion chamber casing in one of
     the engines, so the subject of jet
                                               The Joint Aviation Authorities (JAA), European
     engine maintenance was treated           Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) and ENCASIA
     seriously and in depth in the inves-
     tigation and its report. But to our
     2018 eyes, this example of the
     safety recommendations does not
                                              T recommendations
                                                he process of managing safety
                                                                 in those years
                                                                                       dations, with its loose partner
                                                                                       structure and its lack of real regula-
     really do justice to that work:          was not helped by the United King-       tory authority. In the early days
     “4.7 If manufacturers are to continue    dom AAIB, as other AIA organisa-         after its forming in 2002, EASA,
     to supply maintenance guidelines         tions at that time, not keeping a        finding its feet and establishing its
     which require the operator and his       formal tracking of the progress of       role, struggled with safety recom-
     (sic) regulatory authority to deter-     recommendations. Within Europe,          mendations, just as the JAA had
     mine maintenance intervals, partic-      the gradual move towards a more          before. The lines of responsibility
     ularly for critical components, a        formalised and consistent approach       were not yet clear, much of the
     re-evaluation should be undertaken       seems to have developed with the         EASA work was still being done by
     of the methods employed to judge         new century. EASA was formed in          the national aviation authorities
     residual components, particularly        2002 and replaced the JAA as the         and it was often unclear just where
     following repair.”                       place where AIAs would address           regulatory responsibility lay.
                                              safety recommendations, particu-             Since 2002, the situation has
          It is useful in analysing recom-
                                              larly on design and certification        certainly improved, with the inves-
     mendations to ask “Who is being
                                              issues on large aircraft. The devel-     tigation community and the regu-
     asked to do what in this recom-
                                              opment of the JAA, starting in the       lator working to enable safety
     mendation? What does success
                                              1980s and running up to the cre-         recommendations to be considered
     look like?”. It is difficult to say from
                                              ation of EASA, had done a great deal     and processed in a timely, clear and
     the wording of this example
                                              to bring about the consolidation         consistent manner. In 2006, the
     whether this is being addressed to
     a regulator (to the Civil Aviation       and harmonisation of certification       ECAC expert group on aircraft acci-
     Authority, to the Federal Aviation       requirements between the JAA part-       dent and incident investigation
     Administration. Or both? Or even         ners. As well as developing modern       (ACC), under the leadership of Paul-
     to the manufacturer?). And just          certification codes, the JAA part-       Louis Arslanian, then director of the
     what is being recommended and is         ners worked hard to define the sim-      BEA and chair of the ACC, initiated
     it just for jet engine maintenance       ilarities, and the differences, between   and conducted a workshop on the
     or for the airframe and other sys-       the JAA’s Joint Aviation Require-        safety recommendation process.
     tems too? Is the language suitable?      ments (JARs) and other codes, such       This highlighted the areas of best
     A native English speaker can untan-      as the Federal Aviation Regulations      practice and prepared the active
     gle the complex sentence but it          (FARs) in the United States.             ACC members for the ICAO Acci-
     would certainly be challenging for          But the JAA was never a good          dent Investigation Panel (AIG) divi-
     many non-native English speakers.        destination for safety recommen-         sional meeting in Montreal in 2008.
                                                                                                                                © Monet - Fotolia.com

14   ECAC NEWS # 66
Safety recommendations – How are we doing?

                                                                                                     © Wavebreak Media - Fotolia.com
    The ACC under Paul-Louis Arsla-                                             the action are specific, without
nian also brought a shared approach
                                          How do we try                         defining exactly how the good
amongst its members, which in-          to do it now?                           people at Scruggs Aerospace are
formed the extensive 2008-2009                                                  to do it. Incidentally, the advice
discussions in the European Com-                                                from Cranfield and the AAIB is that
mission’s development of the Reg-
ulation (EU) No 996/2010 with the
                                        C oming   back to those early
                                          questions (“What makes a good         there should always be a dedicated
                                                                                recommendations review meeting
                                        safety recommendation? And what
EU States. Those discussions, often     does it look like?”) there are many     before any recommendation is
robust, enabled the regulation,         answers out there and reams of          propagated, even as a draft recom-
when it emerged as Regulation           papers on the topic. This author has    mendation in a draft report.
(EU) No 996/2010 to become a reg-       had the privilege of leading ses-            One thing that will certainly
ulatory document that has been ef-      sions on safety recommendations         have been discussed at this dedi-
fective and surprisingly robust.        at Cranfield University’s safety        cated recommendation review
     The language of EU996 is, help-    investigation courses. On these         meeting will be the addressee;
fully, very close to that of Annex 13   courses, almost a full day is now       should it be Scruggs Aerospace? Or
and Article 17 (Safety Recommen-        dedicated to the topic, where stu-      should it be, say, the regulator?
dations) and causes no problems         dent groups develop their own draft     AAIB practice is to take our clue
to any State investigator familiar      safety recommendations from a           from our discussions before that
with ICAO Annex 13 practice. But        full-on field simulation exercise.      meeting with the likely recipient –
EU996 then goes further, in two              Distilled, the answers often use   if Scruggs Aerospace seems recep-
important ways. One is that a Net-      the SMART model used for many           tive, then that is probably the most
work was defined (Article 7 – Euro-     objective-setting processes. SMART      direct and effective route, not
pean Network of Civil Safety            is ‘Specific, Measurable, Achievable,   requiring action by the regulator.
Investigation Authorities) in order     Realistic and Timely’ and is at least   If, on the other hand, this has hap-
that there should not be a need for     a consistent way to approach the        pened before, or Scruggs is not
a single EU safety investigation AIA.   topic.                                  receptive, the recommendation
This grouping is now known more         • Specific – this is the important      easily becomes “It is recommended
simply (thank goodness!) to all as      one. A good safety recommenda-          that the European Aviation Safety
‘ENCASIA’ (European Network of          tion needs to be made specifically      Agency (EASA) require that Scruggs
Civil Aviation Safety Investigation     to a single named body and state        Aerospace redesign the engine sup-
Authorities). The other is about        the specific recommended action.        port system in the Scruggs Aerostar
follow-up (Article 18 – Follow-up       For example, “It is recommended         SA21 to ensure that it meets the
to safety recommendations and           that Scruggs Aerospace redesign the     strength requirements of EASA Certi-
safety recommendations database)        engine support system in the Scruggs    fication Specification (CS) 23.” What
– and this goes quite a bit further     Aerostar SA21 to ensure that it fully   should be clear in the recommen-
than Annex 13, with its need for        meets the strength requirements         dation wording is who is responsi-
global acceptance, is able to.          of EASA Certification Specification     ble for carrying out the actions to
                                        (CS) 23.” Note that the target and      address the identified safety issue.

                                                                                                     ECAC NEWS # 66                    15
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