engleski

Strategy Directions for Aviation safety Issue in View of Small vs. Large Category Aircraft

Differentiating aircraft categories as well as related standards and regulations is obviously necessary and selfexplanatory. However, differentiating aircraft categories in our strategic policy to achieve a final mission in aviation – safety, security and system efficiency, could misslead us and result with an barrier to achieve it. There were recently two accidents involving General Aviation – “small” aircraft striking into a Pirelli tower (Piper crashed in Pirelli tower, Milan, Italy - fatal accident ) and another “small” aircraft causing SAS “large” aircraft crash (Cessna Citation runway incursion with SAS scheduled flight – fatal accident). Research on General Aviation safety issues points out that GA is treated as “secondary” aviation, of less priority, and in some regions as marginal. Nevertheless, GA is a part of aviation system, and system cannot be safe if one of the chain-couplings is weak, or consequently can create “unsafe skies” (FAA’s agenda for Safer Skies launched in 1998) as mentioned accidents proves. Recently FAA’s new safety programs included General Aviation safety issues, and positive benefits are evident, but not everywhere equally and not globally, and it is continuously treated as a separate part of aviation. Regulations for GA are not harmonized or not even implemented (JAA’s JAR OPS 2). We know findings of SAFA (Safety Assessment of Foreign Aircraft launched by ECAC, based on ICAO Annexes 1, 6 and 8) program for large aircraft, but can you imagine what results we would find out if GA have undergone same program equally? GA offers, as a rule, the lowest-paying employment opportunities in aviation industry causing high turnover of professional staff), while individual ownership struggles between cost effectiveness vs. safety, resulting with decreasing quality and safety. On a large scale, quantitative evaluations of economy impact, number of passengers or flight hours are often neglected or underestimated and GA is considered as a minor, yet positive and significant growth trends are evident. It is therefore suggested, as a correction to the strategic directions within safety issues, to treat GA equally. It shouldn’t be treated as a bastard in aviation industry because of its size. We have to change attitude and approach to GA and we have to change culture of GA itself to achieve safety, security and system efficiency in aviation, and the only way to do it is to implement more rigorous and higher rules and standards.

General Aviation; Aviation Safety Assessment; Airworthiness; Operations; Maintenance

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