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PRESS RELEASE - COMMUNIQUE DE PRESSE |
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For immediate release
19 May 2004
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European Air Traffic System Improved But More Action Needed After Überlingen Report |
Brussels, Belgium – The accident investigation report on the tragic mid-air collision at Überlingen on 1 July 2002 has highlighted the need for extra efforts to be put into accident prevention plans and actions, EUROCONTROL said here today.
The report highlights the need to improve safety in five areas. Safety management and safety training are key, as is the use of the independent Airborne Collision Avoidance System (ACAS). The report also underlines the need for pan-European regulations to be transposed into national legislation and for these regulations to be fully enforced and monitored. EUROCONTROL is studying the report carefully so that it can rapidly take all the necessary action to strengthen the safety of the air transport system in Europe.
“Each time there is an accident, we can and do learn from it in order to improve the air traffic management system and make it even safer and more efficient,” said Mr Víctor M. Aguado, Director General of EUROCONTROL. “We are looking very closely at the report from the BFU to ensure that we are addressing all the points that it raises.”
Already after the Überlingen accident, and based on what was then known of the possible causes of the accident, EUROCONTROL, together with its Member States, air navigation service providers, airlines and other stakeholders, put together the European Strategic Safety Action Plan (SSAP). The plan lays out eight high-priority areas for improvement in all aspects of air traffic management safety. Implementation is already underway in many states in Europe. However, EUROCONTROL is now reviewing the plan to ensure that it covers all the areas raised in the BFU report. There is also still work to be done with States to ensure that the plan is efficiently implemented by the target date of 2006.
In line with the BFU report, the SSAP calls for specialist staff to be involved in air traffic management safety and their numbers to be increased where required. It also seeks strengthened incident reporting and data sharing, as well as increased use of ground-based safety nets such as Short Term Conflict Alert (STCA). All this should be backed up by appropriate regulations, and EUROCONTROL will be working with its Member States to ensure EUROCONTROL Safety Regulatory Requirements (ESARRs) are rapidly passed into national law. ACAS is also clearly an essential final safety net. Over the past two years, EUROCONTROL has taken measures to ensure that the safety benefit from ACAS is maximised. This has included pressing for the now-introduced reinforced international procedures for its use, and providing 'best practice' training material. The feasibility of providing downlinked ACAS resolution data to the controller's work station is being investigated. Work is also underway to ensure, where possible, ACAS safety performance is even further improved.
“Europe has one of the best safety records of any region in the world. That does not mean we are complacent, but rather that we are working continuously with our partners to ensure that accidents such as the one at Überlingen do not reoccur, and that air transport remains one of the safest modes of travel,” Víctor M. Aguado added.
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Strategic Safety Action Plan |
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BFU |
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Report on the accident (German and English) |
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Skyguide |
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EUROCONTROL, the European Organisation for the Safety of Air Navigation, has as its primary objective to develop a seamless, pan-European air traffic management (ATM) system that fully copes with the constant growth in air traffic, while maintaining a high level of safety, reducing costs and respecting the environment.
EUROCONTROL has 33 Member States: Albania, Austria, Belgium, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus, the Czech Republic, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg, the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, Malta, Moldova, Monaco, the Netherlands, Norway, Portugal, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Turkey, Ukraine and the United Kingdom.
On 8 October 2002, the Member States and the European Community signed a Protocol on the Accession of the European Community to the revised EUROCONTROL convention. Pending its entry into force after ratification by all Parties, certain provisions of the Protocol are already being provisionally applied.
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For further information, please contact: |
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Lucia
Pasquini
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+32 2 729 3420 |
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Kyla
Evans
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| Work : |
+32 2 729 5095 |
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Last validation: 19/05/2004
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