Improving safety doesn't happen by luck. EASA takes a data driven approach to it's decision making and the analysis in the EASA Annual Safety Review forms the basis for the decisions that we make. This part of the GA Community Site will give you more information about the safety risk management process and it will give you more information about the safety situation for Balloons, GA and Gliders.
Access the full EASA Annual Review.
How the safety review is produced
Information sources
The EASA Annual Safety Review is produced by the Safety Intelligence and Performance Department of EASA. The analysis in the review comes from two specific data sources:
- EASA’s Occurrence Database. The main source of data is the Agency’s own database, which covers occurrences reported to the Agency in its role as competent authority and also accidents and serious incidents reported to the Agency by Safety Investigation Authorities (SIAs) world-wide. This is augmented by information collected by the Agency from other sources.
- European Central Repository. The European Central Repository (ECR) is the central database of all occurrences reported to the competent authorities of the EASA MS, the reporting of which is governed by Reg. (EU) 376/2014 on the reporting, analysis and follow-up of occurrences in civil aviation.
The safety risk management process
The process of safety risk management leads to the development of the safety risk portfolios. These are developed through an iterative process, starting with the data available in EASA’s occurrence database and in the European Central Repository. This provides the portfolios with a starting list of the safety issues affecting aviation and an indication of the key risk areas that each safety issue relates to. In addition to understanding what the safety issues are, they are risk assessed using the European Risk Classification Scheme (ERCS). EASA has begun applying the ERCS to historical occurrences assessed in this Review and are pleased to provide this additional element in the analysis results.
Each occurrence receives an ERCS risk classification and the overall risk level of the safety issue is then calculated. This is then used to define the risk level of the key risk area. Using this data input, the draft portfolios are then discussed within the collaborative analysis groups. This ensures that the safety issues have been correctly defined and assessed and to add any safety issues that may not yet be present in the data, such as emerging issues.
A collaborative approach - the Collaborative Analysis Groups (CAGs)
EASA doesn't do this work in isolation - the process also involves a collaborative approach with the GA community. The CAGs are expert groups, responsible for analysing the safety of European aviation. Each CAG works on a domain and its membership is derived from key stakeholders in the domain. These stakeholders may come from industry or from EASA’s regulatory partners. Each CAG meets up to three times per year to review available safety information, arrange in depth safety issue analyses and to identify emerging issues. They monitor the safety performance of their domain and provide feedback on the effectiveness of actions taken.
The GA related parts of the Annual Safety Review
The safety review is split into a number of chapters, each of which covers the different operational domains in the European Aviation System. The different domains in each chapter cover the areas for which a specific safety risk portfolio has been developed. The scope of each domain chapter (and corresponding safety risk portfolio) is limited to the EASA Member States, either as the state of operator or the state of registry. The GA related chapters of this review cover the following areas:
- Chapter 2.5 – Non-commercial Operations: The chapter covers all non-commercial operations involving aeroplanes and includes analysis of what would be understood within the traditional definition of general aviation. The chapter also includes flight training and other non-commercial activities.
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Chapter 4 Balloons: This chapter covers all operations involving hot air balloons.
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Chapter 5 Gliders/Sailplanes: This chapter covers all operations involving gliders and sailplanes.
Click on the hyperlink above or in the menu on the side to access these parts of the safety review.