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Annual Safety Review 2014
Foreword by the Executive Director
PAGE
8
In our previous edition, we noted with satisfaction that 2013 was the safest year ever for aviation in the world
and in Europe. By contrast, 2014 has been a very challenging year for the European Aviation Safety Agency
(EASA) and for aviation safety in general. The disappearance of Malaysia Airlines MH370, the dramatic loss
of MH17, the crash of Air Asia QZ8501 and the radar interferences over central Europe have reminded us that the
safety of passengers can never be taken for granted.
In 2014, EASA initiated fundamental changes in the way it operates in order to allow for a more proportionate
and performance‑based approach to safety. In particular, EASA adopted a new approach to simplify and lighten
the way General Aviation is regulated and overseen in Europe. This approach focuses on safety culture, safety
promotion and, lastly, common sense. It should also be seen as the precursor of a better, lighter approach to avi‑
ation regulation in Europe, with the ultimate goal of increasing the level of safety.
EASA has also reviewed its organisational structure in 2014 to prepare itself for the many challenges that it will
face in the next 10 years, including new opportunities to enhance its role. A new Strategy and Safety Manage‑
ment Directorate was created to develop a single, more transparent, evidence‑based and data‑driven strategy,
which will drive the Agency’s work programme. The rulemaking activities were incorporated into ‘operational’
directorates, in order to increase synergies and to benefit from a better and direct operational feedback.
Over the past year, EASA introduced Operational Suitability Data rules, where aircraft manufacturers are required
to establish certain data that is considered important to fly the aircraft safely. This data will be approved by the
Agency and will then be used by operators and training organisations. The Agency also published the Flight Time
Limitations and Third Country Operators rules and finalised the AIR OPS Regulation, as well as publishing an
Opinion on flight recorders and underwater location devices in response to recent safety recommendations. In
the ATM domain a common regulatory framework was finalised, as a basis for the implementation of the Single
European Sky. In particular, common rules on Air Traffic Controller licensing were adopted.
Furthermore, EASA is committed to continually improving aviation safety and made a number of concrete pro‑
posals in 2014:
A proposal to build a European alerting system to help airlines perform their risk‑assessment when flying over
conflict zones,
A technical analysis of the controller‑pilot communication via Data‑link, identifying the sources of current oper‑
ational problems and proposing a way forward.
This year’s Annual Safety Review includes changes to the content, which include more detailed analyses of the
causes of safety occurrences that help to link the review to the EASp. In addition, EASA, with the involvement
of a number of external groups and industry stakeholders
1
, is developing a set of safety risk portfolios that cov‑
er the different aviation activities.
As demonstrated by the events of 2014, the pursuit of safety in aviation is a task that requires our constant vig‑
ilance and effort.
Patrick Ky
Executive Director
1 Network of Analysts (NoA), the European Strategic Safety Initiative (ESSI)