Air Adventures Coroner's Report

The Aviation Industry Association says the central thrust of the Coroner’s recommendations arising from the Air Adventures inquest are out of line with current practices which have contributed to a 30% reduction in general aviation accidents in the three years since the tragedy.

It says that while it may, after proper study, support some of the technical recommendations, it will strongly discourage the Government from adopting an enforcement driven approach.

“The Coroner’s belief that the only available options for generating improvement are ‘encouragement or enforcement’ is not true but also ignores the fact that neither has any standing as an effective safety instrument”, said Irene King, Chief Executive of AIA.

AIA contends that the Government will need to align the Coroner’s findings with modern methods of safety management. The focus should be on ensuring that the operator’s safety management system is effective, reliable and durable with or without ongoing audits

“The principal place for the regulator is not at the bottom of the cliff handing out tickets, but at the top of the cliff ensuring that operators who do not have such systems, don’t get to fly – and certainly not to fly passengers.”

AIA fully accepts that there is a need for improvement within CAA and modernisation of the Civil Aviation Rules although it recognises that this has begun.

“The present CAA Director has worked constructively with the industry to lead and drive change, contributing to the 30% reduction in accidents since 2003. But this process needs to be accelerated together with a more risk-based allocation of resources that’s all about getting more safety knowledge and systems where it counts – in the cockpit.”

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