Civil Aviation Authority

International Standards set forth by the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) say that discipline or punishment for people involved in an aviation accident or incident is appropriate only if evidence shows that the occurrence "was caused by an act considered, in accordance with the law, to be conduct with intent to cause damage, or conduct with knowledge that damage would probably result, equivalent to reckless conduct, gross negligence or willful misconduct."

ICAO also says that the only objective of an accident or incident investigation should be to prevent future accidents and incidents, not to determine blame or liability of anyone involved in the occurrence-and, international aviation leaders say, not to supply data to criminal prosecutors.

In many cases, the risk that the threat of criminal prosecution places on the future safety of air travel greatly may outweigh and societal benefit in satisfying the inherent human desire for revenge or punishment in the wake of a terrible loss. The same sentiments were expressed in an October 2006 resolution approved by Flight Safety Foundation, the Royal Aeronautical Society, the Academie Nationale deIAir et deIEspace and the Civil Air Navigation Services Organization.

The resolution said, "The paramount consideration in an aviation accident should be to determine the probable cause and contributing factors in the accident, not to punish criminally flight crews, maintenance employees, airline or manufacturer executives, regulatory officials or air controllers. By identifying the ‘what' and the ‘why' of an accident, aviation safety professionals will be better equipped to address accident prevention for the future. Criminal investigation can and do hinder the critical information –gathering portions of an accident investigation, and subsequently interfere with successful prevention of future aviation industry accidents."

The joint resolution may assist prosecutors to step back and see the wisdom in preserving an existing aviation safety system that has worked remarkably well in reducing aviation accidents.

Towards a just culture and accountable officers.

Since the approval of the resolution, prosecutors generally become less likely to file charges against "people on the line," Voss said. Instead, the emphasis appears to have shifted to managers who were accountable for failed systems, he said."This is more consistent with what we talk about in good safety practices-the concept of accountable executives," he said."However ,it does still have a little bit of a chilling effect because it makes people in executive positions uncomfortable----It's a thing that's hard to celebrate ,but you also have to acknowledge that it probably reflects an emerging understanding of safety issues on the part of prosecutors."

In addition, he noted that the government agencies that investigate accidents have become increasingly likely in recent years to cite weak safety practices or safety cultures within aviation organizations among causes, or contributing factors, of accidents.

The International Federation of Airline Pilots Associations IFALPA found that in cases in which aviation personnel have been prosecuted for negligence, judges and juries often have been reluctant to convict. According to IFALPA "There is recognition that it is fundamentally wrong to convict someone criminally for trying to do their job. There are several examples where pilots have been acquitted. In each case, the pilot was attempting to respond to either malfunction or highly unusual circumstances and got it wrong. Where there have been convictions, the circumstances have been far more political than legal.

"IFALPA believes that all personnel should be held accountable for their decisions and actions in a safety –critical system.However, experience have shown that criminal prosecution makes no contribution to improving system safety".

Actions that do improve safety include accidents investigations, mandatory safety reporting schemes, and flight operational quality assurance (FOQA) programs and similar data analysis programs, all predicated on a "just culture". ICAO defines a just culture as a culture that recognizes that personnel should freely share critical safety information without fear of punishment while also accepting that, in some instances, there may be a need for punitive action .If this standard is met for these reporting programs, it is almost certain that the prosecutorial standards will be limited to intentional acts.

Voss said that,"for the sake of safety and a just culture, safety investigators, plus those who are being investigated must have complete confidence in the integrity of the process.

Achieving that trust will be difficult, he said, noting that the public and government officials frequently favor prosecution of those involved in accidents.

"We need to be realistic," Voss said.

"We're not going to get major changes in regulations, and we're not going to change any constitutions. We need to just talk to prosecutors so that they can do a better job of balancing the rights of individuals that are compromised as a result of an accident versus the needs of the public."

In future, the public likely will continue to demand punishment of aviation professionals who are involved in accidents and incidents .Nevertheless, the public sentiment cannot be permitted to override "the fundamental principle that punishment does not improve safety" because the threat of punishment-which may deter intentional acts-has no effect on unintentional errors that lead to accidents.

Aviation Safety leaders face a growing challenge in convincing prosecutors to be diligent in filing criminal charges against pilots, controllers and others involved in aircraft accidents.

Globally, there is a growing tendency of prosecutors and judges to seek criminal sanctions in the wake of aviation accidents, even when the facts do not appear to support findings of sabotage, criminal negligence or willful misconduct .The trend may be associate with the publics increased desire for accountability in many areas of industry-not just in aviation.

Without accountability through administrative remedies, such as civil penalties and license suspensions or revocations, one might argue that criminal prosecution in some situations would be reasonable. However, administrative and civil remedies nearly always exist and research by a Flight Safety Foundation working group found almost no adequate basis, other than willful conduct, for punishing individuals and companies further by subjecting them to risk of imprisonment or the equivalent of a corporate death sentence, particularly in an industry where safety reputations mean everything.

The aviation community all too well realizes that a single aviation disaster has many devastating consequences. Most importantly, lives are lost. Family members and friends of the victims mourn these losses; most seek answers, many seek change, and some seek revenge. Like the entire aviation industry, they want to know what happened, and why. In time, and with hard work, many lessons are learned. Possibly, the best way to honor victims of tragedy is to make sure all relevant information is obtained that might prevent future accidents. If individuals are not helpful to investigators out of fear of being prosecuted and sentenced to jail, investigators may never discover the truth.


Vital To Improve Safety

Most accidents are the result of human errors and often arise in context of a series of acts and omissions. Aviation technology is imperfect still, and individuals are even less perfect. Most professionals in any profession make mistakes in their everyday jobs. These mistakes in their everyday jobs. These mistakes normally go unnoticed and rarely result in real harm. Aviation, however, can be most unforgiving .For decades, the system has progressively elevated to its current high level of safety. In part because the industry has been permitted to conduct thorough investigations and collect complete information about the causes of accidents.

Nowadays, accidents in aviation are fortunately rare, so rare that sometimes we cannot learn sufficiently only from them .To learn, we need also to ask pilots,controllers,technicians-operational people often trying to balance multiple goals under time pressure-to tell us their stories, to pass on their insights, their experiences-what went wrong and what went right, what may be worth changing and should not be touched, where the gains are and where, if we act ,we will produce more side effects than benefits. When we punish these people, these valuable intelligence officers working on the front line, for their honest mistakes, we cut our information sources, we obstruct our capability to improve safety, we deny our society an opportunity for safer flights. This effect is also extended to the wider community of colleagues when one of them is ‘victimized'. By doing this we put a bomb in the works of the delicate improvement machine.

Prosecutors face the difficult duty to seek justice and protect society. It is their duty to seek justice, not merely to convict. Their crucial role is to protect the innocent as well as identify the guilty, to respect the rights of the accused as well as recognize the interests of the public. As prosecutors are quintessential public-interest lawyers, the aviation community has to make a case towards them as to how it learns and improves aviation safety for the same public, the same society that prosecutors protect.

Increased Criminalization

"Criminal Prosecutors are becoming increasingly eager to press charges against pilots, air traffic controllers and other aviation professionals involved in aircraft accidents, and that eagerness is a growing threat to flight safety" says Flight Safety Foundation President and CEO William R. Voss.

"The safety of the travelling public depends on encouraging a climate of openness and cooperation following accidents," Voss said." Overzealous prosecutions threaten to dry up vital sources of information and jeopardize safety."

"In situations of gross negligence, willful misconduct or reckless conducts, the judicial authorities need to pursue their own, separate investigation," Voss said. "The future lives of passengers depend on the vital safety information that is gathered during an accident investigation. The aviation industry is not against holding aviation professionals accountable if there is a case to answer. But it is important that everything follows international standards.

The past year has seen the Kenyan aviation industry begin to regain its growth track after recovering from the counter effects of the global economic downturn crisis which left the national carrier, Kenya Airways, incurring a ksh.4,08-billion loss in the financial year 2008/2009.The carrier,however,returned to profitability recording a profit of ksh,2,03-billion in the financial year 2009/2010 .This growth has been on the back of the recovery of the tourism industry to a three-year high and more regional business activity that has led to the increase of demand for various air services.

Kenya Airways has already embarked on an ambitious plan to open a new destination every month for the next three years and is in discussions with Airbus regarding the possibility of ordering A330 as a replacement for the delayed Boeing 787 Dream liners. In addition, it is expecting delivery of two Embraer E190 jets early this year.Regional carriers are also on the move with Fly 540 having received another CRJ-200 earlier in the year which it has been deployed on the Mombasa and the new Dare Salaam routes it recently added to its growing network.

Jet link is expected to launch new destinations in Tanzania, as well as to Khartoum, Sudan, and Kigali, in Rwanda. The carrier is also expected to expand its fleet this year to accommodate its expanding network.The general aviation industry has also recorded growth with the number of new aircraft delivered being at a high level.

Cessna has benefited largely from this growth with the number of sales of its Cessna Caravan C208B being at an all time high in the country. The majority of the operators have preferred this model mainly due to its reliability, low operating costs and the wide customer support. Lady Lori received delivery of a Cessna Caravan 208B earlier and deployed it for use in offering passenger charters across the region.

Ai Kenya Express took delivery of its new C208B with its upgraded G1000 glass cockpit to serve its routes to various game parks countrywide.Yellow Wings has also taken delivery of a new Caravan and will use it to serve its corporate air charters in the region.The Kenya Police Airwing is another operator to take delivery of a Caravan C208B which it will use in various roles including Government VIP flights and aerial patrols.

Gone are the days when Air travel was a preferred mode of transport only for the affluent section of the society. Today, with the low air fares, air travel has become a common mode of transport for people who desire to travel long distances over a short span of time.

The Aviation Industry of India has grown by leaps and bounds. Over the past years, the industry of aviation has witnessed a constant pace of growth as compared to other industries of the world. Due to the open sky policy of the government, many of the overseas players are entering into the Indian Aviation Market. From then, it has only been growing in terms of players and the number of aircrafts. At present, private airlines account for around 75% portion of the domestic aviation market. With the low cost fares and several private airlines coming up, the aviation industry is booming at much faster pace. The fast pace growth of the industry has increased the demand for aviation officers. Here comes the role of institutes like the Chimes Aviation Academy.

Chimes Aviation Academy (CAA), a division of Chimes Aviation Private Ltd., is India's Premier & Largest, fully integrated Pilot Training Institute in India.CAA is driving a culture of excellence in all facets of the academy. The "World-class, global scale academy" has the latest fleet, comprehensive curriculum and renowned faculty consisting of aviation specialist with global exposure to deliver comprehensive training for professional pilots in India.

Chimes Aviation Academy is staffed by a team of globally acclaimed aviation specialist with deep exposure across training, commercial and defense aviation space. The experienced faculty of CAA, consist of a team of more than 7 Flight Instructors with several years of global instructional experience along with 5 highly acclaimed ground instructors. This aviation training institute in India offers a wide range of courses that provide a platform for the growth and extensive learning in the field of aviation.

Launched in June 2008, CAA has achieved recognition for its marvelous training in Aviation. As a leading Pilot Training institute in India, CAA is the largest operating fleet, more than 6000 Hrs of flying, 60+ resident students, certified Cessna Pilot Centers and India's 1st and only ISO 9001: 2008 certified Pilot Training institute.

The solid infrastructure with cutting edge technology of the latest aircrafts in the aviation industry, CAA offers an excellent learning opportunity for young budding aviation officers who desire to give flight to their career in Aviation.