In accordance with Article 81 (6)(a) of the Air Navigation Order (ANO), the Director General for Civil Aviation is the designated authority to put in place a mechanism to collect, evaluate, process and store occurrence data. Furthermore, in accordance with Article 81 (6)(b) of the ANO, occurrences reported in accordance with Article 81 (1) of the ANO, as well as reports of accidents and serious incidents, are stored in a database compatible with software developed for the purpose by the European Commission. (ECCAIRS)
The CAD, has already set up a functional occurrence reporting system through which occurrence reports sent to the directorate are managed. However, as with all other systems, there is always room for improvement.
In its effort to achieve continuous improvement, the Safety Management Unit (SMU) has highlighted a number of areas which can be developed and improved further and every effort is being done to amend the current occurrence reporting system and develop a more efficient and effective one. Confidentiality is essential to any successful occurrence reporting system and this is something taken very seriously by all at the CAD, starting with senior management. In this regard, one of the first changes to be implemented is being done to safeguard the reporter�s identity and to ensure that confidentiality is maintained at all times.
In this regard, all occurrence reports shall now be directed to only one person within the CAD, this person being known as the Gate Keeper. The Safety Officer forming part of the Safety Management Unit is the person to whom all reports shall now be sent. A dedicated email address with restricted access has also been created to ensure that all occurrence reports are collected and stored in only one location.
Therefore, from now on, kindly forward all occurrence reports to occrepsmu.tm@transport.gov.mt, disregarding any other email address to which occurrence reports were sent to in the past. The gate keeper shall maintain full confidentiality of the system and shall de-identify reports when follow-up is required.
Channeling all occurrence reports to one person within the CAD ensures that:
a) All reports are received
b) Reporter confidentiality is maintained
c) Only the appropriate person within the CAD shall be notified of report
d) Reports shall be de-identified and such confidential information shall only be maintained by the gate keeper
e) No names, addresses or contact data shall be inputted into the ECCAIRS database
The above is evidence of the CAD�s commitment in developing an effective occurrence reporting system through which reports shall be managed. The ultimate goal of the CAD is to be able to measure the level of safety within the State. This can only be achieved through receipt of occurrence reports. In this regard, we look forward to everyone�s full and complete cooperation and believe that together we can make this initiative a success.
Regards
Nigel
Nigel J. Dunkerley
Flight Inspector � General Aviation
Transport Malta
Civil Aviation Directorate
Luqa Airport
Luqa, LQA 3000
Malta
Tel: (356) 2555 5625
Fax: (356) 2167 3526
Email: nigel.dunkerley@transport.gov.mt
info.tm@transport.gov.mt
