91998E0125

WRITTEN QUESTION E-0125/98 by Petrus Cornelissen (PPE) to the Commission (30 January 1998)

Subject: Research into civil aviation incidents

1. Can the Commission provide a breakdown of the number of serious incidents in civil aviation which have been investigated in the various Member States of the European Union since directive 94/56 ((OJ L 319, 12.12.1994, p. 14. )) of 21 November 1994 entered into force?

2. What authorities have received the incident reports, and what safety measures or other measures have been taken as a result?

3. When does the Commission intend to submit proposals for investigations into other incidents in civil aviation, as promised at the time of Parliament's debate on the abovementioned directive?

4. When it draws up its proposals, will the Commission take account of the wish expressed in the past by Parliament that it should publish the reports not only of accidents but also of incidents?

Answer given by Mr Kinnock on behalf of the Commission (23 March 1998)

A number of the Member States of the Union, Belgium, Austria, Luxembourg and Italy have not yet implemented the provisions of Council Directive 94/56/EC of 21 November 1994 establishing the fundamental principles governing the investigation of civil aviation accidents and incidents. The Commission sent reasoned opinions to the Member States which had not replied satisfactorily to the letter of formal notice sent in May 1997. Even when legal transposition has taken place, there are still practical problems with the investigation of serious incidents due to the different procedures of investigation. The Commission has therefore received very few serious incident investigation reports and, as a result, it has not been possible to take further measures.

The pilot project of a European co-ordination center for aviation incidents reporting systems (ECCAIRS) carried out by the Commission is now deemed sufficiently mature to become operational. A formal presentation of the system will be organised in March and the Commission proposal, which will take account of the comments received after this presentation, will be issued in 1998.

Council Directive 94/56/EC requires publication of accident reports and a more restricted circulation of incident reports in order to take into account the very different nature of these occurrences. The Commission does not intend to change these requirements in the immediate future. However, the Commission intends to examine the whole question of the collection and dissemination of safety data as a preliminary activity before considering a possible proposal for publication of safety information. The legitimate interest of the public will at all times receive necessary attention.