Memo: Air safety: New EU rules to strengthen air accident investigations

New EU rules to strengthen the effectiveness of air accident investigations across Europe were presented, for the first time, by Siim Kallas, Vice-President responsible for transport, to EU transport ministers meeting in Brussels on 11 March 2010. Strong political support from ministers could pave the way for the adoption of the new rules in 2010 – the European Parliament is scheduled to vote on the proposals in July.

Aviation is one of the safest modes of transport in the EU; however accidents do happen. The number of fatal accidents for 2008, for example, involving aircraft registered in EU/EFTA Member States and performing commercial air transport operations was three. Annual figures are overshadowed by the sheer scale of tragic accidents such the Air France accident (June 2009) or the Spanair accident (August 2008). Drawing on the experience gained over 15 years since the main EU rules covering aviation investigations came into force, the European Commission brought forward in October 2009 proposals to update the current legal framework. The main aim is to: strengthen the implementation of safety recommendations, build investigation capacity in Member States, clarify the roles of different institutions involved in investigations and strengthen the rights of victims and families. The Commission is also aiming at making better use of information on aviation occurrences which is a key to accident prevention.

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