Last Friday, the
Irish Air Accident Investigation Unit (AAIU)
published the last two minutes of the Cockpit Voice
Recorder (CVR) transcript of a fatal helicopter
accident (CHC Sikorsky S-92 "Rescue 116"), which
occurred at Black Rock, on the west coast of
Ireland, on the 14th of March 2017.
That same day,
this transcript filled newspapers and websites,
including the front page of the Irish Times.
The International
Federation of Air Line Pilots’ Associations (IFALPA)
and the European Cockpit Association (ECA) strongly
condemn this publication as unwarranted,
unacceptable, counterproductive to flight safety,
and a breach of both ICAO Annex 13 Standards and EU
Regulation 996/2010.
Not only does the
publication contravene the internationally agreed
principles of accident investigation
confidentiality, set out in ICAO Annex 13 and EU
Accident Investigation Regulation 996/2010, but it
unnecessarily adds to the burden of the victims'
families, and is also a breach of trust to all those
involved in commercial aviation.
There is
absolutely no justification for - or benefit from -
publishing specifically the last two minutes of this
flight, other than feeding a thirst for
sensationalism.
Indeed, according
to ICAO Annex 13 paragraph 5.12 and the EU
Regulation 996/2010 Article 14 (paragraph 1) the
State conducting the investigation of an accident
shall not make CVR recordings and any transcripts
from such recordings available for purposes other
than accident or incident investigation. Such
recordings shall be included in the Final Report or
its appendices only when pertinent to the analysis
of the accident. Annex 13 goes on to state that
"parts of the records not relevant to the analysis
shall not be disclosed." No benefit has been noted
in the report to justify the Irish investigation
body’s decision to disclose CVR data.
In this early
stage of the technical investigation, many critical
questions remain to be answered. IFALPA and ECA call
for adherence to the proper accident investigation
process and expect a comprehensive and accurate
analysis of events based on the highest professional
standards.
"IFALPA and ECA
remain fully committed to enhancing aviation safety
and our organisations’ resources are at the disposal
of the Accident Investigation Agencies to achieve
this aim."
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