Delegates attending the 2023 IATA AGM and Air Transport Conference heard on Monday June 5th that only 96 out of 214 accident investigation reports between 2018-2022 have been released.
The Association is warning that failing to publish reports on accidents deprives operators and regulators as well as manufacturers of important learning tools when building global safety standards.
“The accident investigation process is one of our most important learning tools when building global safety standards. But to learn from an accident, we need reports that are complete, accessible and timely,” said Willie Walsh, IATA’s Director General.
The requirements of the Convention of International Civil Aviation (Chicago Convention) Annex 13 are clear. States in charge of an accident investigation must:
- Submit a preliminary report to the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) within 30 days of the accident.
- Publish the final report, that is publicly available, as soon as possible and within 12 months of the accident.
- Publish interim statements annually should a final report not be possible within 12 months.
IATA AGM Istanbul Turkey ©Des Latham
There is also a delay in reporting, most investigations and reports are taking up to three years to release. They also say that interim statements provide “little more than what was presented in the preliminary report”.
“Over the past five years, fewer than half of the required accident reports meet the standards for thoroughness and timeliness. This is an inexcusable violation of requirements stated clearly in the Chicago Convention. As an industry we must raise our voice to governments in defense of the accident investigation process enshrined in Annex 13. And we count on ICAO to remind states that the publication of a complete accident report is not optional, it is an obligation under Annex 13 of the Chicago Convention,” said Walsh.
Leave a Reply