Vorig jaar - 2008 - Volgend jaar Archief

CATS

Advies betreffende het Causale Model van Luchtvaartveiligheid

Samenvatting van de bevindingen:

• CATS is een state-of-the-art causaal model;
• Initiële toepassingen van CATS dienen gericht te zijn op strategische kwesties, niet op tactisch risico management;
• Toepassing van het CATS model zal zeker vragen om beleidsmaatregelen en acties die buiten de reikwijdte van de Nederlandse luchtvaartsector vallen;
• Voor de verdere ontwikkeling van het model is internationale acceptatie van en betrokkenheid bij het CATS programma vanaf dit moment essentieel;
• De validatie van CATS zal lastig blijken te zijn en zal toegang tot vertrouwelijke gegevens vereisen;
• Er worden op dit moment diverse verwante – wetenschappelijke – activiteiten ontplooid die de noodzakelijke instrumenten kunnen leveren voor de verdere verfijning van CATS, bruikbare gegevens kunnen leveren voor de validatie, en kunnen bijdragen aan het opbouwen van internationaal vertrouwen in het model.

International Developments

Corporate Manslaughter; Developments in Safety Oversight; Safety Aspects of the introduction of Very Light Jets; Shortage of Qualified Personnel

The first international development described is corporate manslaughter. On 6 April 2007 the Corporate Manslaughter and Corporate Homicide Act came into force, creating an offence of Corporate Manslaughter in England and Wales, and an offence of Corporate Homicide in Scotland. An organisation will be guilty of the offence of Corporate Manslaughter if the way in which its activities are managed or organised causes a person’s death and amounts to a gross breach of duty of care owed to that person, provided that the way in which the activities are managed or organised by its senior management is a substantial element of this reach.

The effect on aviation safety of the risk of prosecution for the offense of Corporate Manslaughter is most probably negative, as it could very well lead to an attitude or policy of management that discourages the collection of data and a tendency or policy to get rid of any data as quickly as possible. This all to avoid the use of these data by the prosecutor, in his or her effort to prove that the causal factors of accident X or incident Y where already well known within the company, and that apparently no adequate actions were taken.

The effect of possible manslaughter charges on aviation safety in the Netherlands will not differ from the effects described above. However, at this very moment, corporate manslaughter charges are not possible in a comparable way as is now possible in e.g. the United Kingdom.