The President of the International Federation of Air Line Pilots’ Associations (IFALPA) stressed the importance of enabling pilots to express safety concerns freely without the fear of reprisal in order to minimize the likelihood of aviation accidents.
In an interview on Thursday during the federation’s annual conference in Seoul, IFALPA President Amornvaj Mansumitchai emphasized the need to not only learn from accidents but also from the successful daily operations in aviation. Mansumitchai proposed implementing non-punitive reporting systems, robust data collection, and impartial accident investigations to achieve this goal.
Over the years, aviation safety has significantly improved through transparent information sharing and investigations aimed at extracting lessons, rather than assigning blame. However, IFALPA has highlighted that many aviation incidents remain unreported due to concerns about potential penalties from management or regulatory authorities. The federation advocates for a positive safety culture in aviation that embraces non-punitive safety reporting and data collection to address this issue.
Mansumitchai pointed out that trust is essential for obtaining accurate information, as individuals may hesitate to openly discuss near-misses if trust is lacking. Recent fatal accidents in Kazakhstan, South Korea, and the United States, as well as a non-fatal plane flip during a crash landing in Canada, have underscored the importance of prioritizing aviation safety.
Additionally, aviation organizations have expressed concerns about the delayed or absent final reports on accidents globally, citing factors such as judicial interference or a lack of political willingness to disclose certain details. Guidelines from the U.N.’s International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) emphasize that safety data should not be used for disciplinary, civil, administrative, or criminal proceedings by states.
