Occurrences in civil aviation – reporting, analysis and follow-up

KEY POINTS

The regulation sets out rules on:

• the reporting of occurrences that would endanger an aircraft, its occupants and any other person, equipment or installation affecting aircraft operations;
• the reporting of other relevant safety-related information in that context.

Mandatory reporting

• Occurrences that may represent a significant risk to aviation safety must be reported by front-line aviation professionals listed in the regulation. These include occurrences related to:
  • the operation of the aircraft, for example collision-related events and in-flight events;
  • technical conditions, maintenance and repair of an aircraft, for example structural defects and system malfunctions;
  • air navigation services and facilities, for example collisions, near collisions or potential for collisions;
  • aerodromes and ground services, for example handling of passengers, bags, mail and cargo.
• A comprehensive list of occurrences to be reported under mandatory systems is detailed in an implementing act, Implementing Regulation (EU) 2015/1018.
• The responsible persons (e.g. the pilot, the air traffic controller or the person signing an airworthiness certificate) and organisations in each case must report occurrences within 72 hours of becoming aware of them, unless exceptional circumstances prevent this.

Reporting system

• Each organisation established in an EU Member State must set up mandatory and voluntary reporting systems for the collection, evaluation, processing, analysis and storage of occurrences reported.
• Each Member State and the EASA must set up mandatory and voluntary reporting systems for the collection, evaluation, processing, analysis and storage of occurrences reported, including those reported to them by the organisations.
• Small organisations may be allowed to put in place a simplified mechanism for the collection and storage of details of occurrences.

Storage of safety occurrences and recommendations

• Each Member State and the EASA must submit the occurrences they have collected to a European central repository (ECR) that is managed by the European Commission.
• The ECR also contains safety recommendations (Article 17 of Regulation (EU) No 996/2010 – see summary) issued by the Member States’ safety investigation authorities (Article 4).
• Implementing Decision (EU) 2019/1128 lays down rules for the management of the ECR, requiring, among other things, that all the safety recommendations and their responses that it contains be made available to the general public through a public website.

Risk classification

• A delegated act, Delegated Regulation (EU) 2020/2034, which entered into force on 31 December 2020, supplements Regulation (EU) No 376/2014.
• It sets out the common European risk classification scheme¹, which is defined as a methodology for categorising the overall safety risk of an occurrence according to the worst-likely accident outcome of the occurrence and the likelihood of this potential outcome occurring.
• The overall purpose is to determine the safety risk of an occurrence and thus help the relevant entities in their assessment of occurrences and in determining where to focus their efforts to mitigate reoccurrence.
• Implementing Regulation (EU) 2021/2082 sets out the arrangements for the implementation of the European risk classification scheme.

Exchange of information and access to ECR data

• Through the ECR, EU Member States and the European Economic Area (EEA) countries will have the EASA exchange safety-related information stored in their respective databases.
• Access to the ECR information is governed by strict confidentiality and protection rules. Only persons or organisations entrusted with regulating civil aviation safety or any safety investigation authority within the EU have full access, secure and online, to information on occurrences contained in the ECR.
• Interested parties, as listed in Regulation (EU) No 376/2014, may request and obtain information contained in the ECR under certain conditions.

Confidentiality and protection of sources of information

• Handling of reports must be done with a view to preventing the use of information for purposes other than safety.
• In order to promote a ‘just culture’, safeguards must be put in place to keep the identity of the reporter and those mentioned in the occurrence reports confidential. In this context, Member States and EEA countries also have the obligation to designate a ‘just culture body’ responsible for the implementation of the just culture requirements set out in Regulation (EU) No 376/2014.
• Employees must not be subject to any prejudice by their employer based on an occurrence report. A few exceptions are defined, such as in the case of wilful misconduct or gross negligence on the part of an employee.
• Except if national criminal law envisages otherwise, Member States cannot institute proceedings on the basis of reports against sources and, in the event of proceedings, the information outlined in the record of events must not be used against the reporters or the persons mentioned in the record of events. An exception to this rule is made where there has been a serious disregard of an obvious risk and a profound lack of professional responsibility in taking the necessary precautions that were required in the circumstances, which could cause foreseeable damage to a person or property, or seriously compromise the level of aviation safety.