International Civil Aviation Organization, European Commission sign pact to improve global aviation safety

The International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) and the European Commission (EC) have agreed on the use of a single repository and a common categorization scheme (taxonomy) to report all aviation accidents and incidents worldwide in order to improve aviation safety.

Under the agreement, ICAO will promote, among its 190 Member States, the European Coordination Centre for Accident and Incident Reporting Systems (ECCAIRS), developed by the European Commission Joint Research Centre (JRC) for collecting and analyzing aviation safety data as well as the sharing of safety information, according to a joint statement issued in Montreal, Canada.

The statement said the European Commission, executive body of the European Union (EU), will promote the use of the ICAO taxonomy as the standard for reporting and exchanging accident and incident information within the EU.

It noted that a common taxonomy is indispensable for defining safety issues by enabling a common interpretation of safety data. In this context, ECCAIRS facilitates electronic information exchange and integration among different organizations from various countries, as well as the analysis of safety data originating from multiple sources.

“Through this agreement, ICAO and the EC are taking concrete steps to create the first-ever global system for reporting aviation accidents. The signing further demonstrates our long-standing commitment to working together on initiatives and actions that significantly improve the overall effectiveness and sustainability of air transport,” said Raymond Benjamin, Secretary General of ICAO.

The agreement further calls for both the European Commission and ICAO to share and harmonize their training and supporting efforts and material for the benefit of all ECCAIRS end-users, according to the statement.

By Ekow Quandzie