Anonymous incident reporting should make Belgian aviation safer

AVIATION SAFETY – Belgian Federal Minister of Mobility Georges Gilkinet appeals to women and men in the aviation sector: “Dare to share your experiences to improve the safety of Belgian skies“

Aviation safety is everyone’s business. To prevent any accident, it is essential that front-line actors can share their experiences in terms of aviation safety in complete openness and transparency. A few months ago, the “Just Culture” body was formalised by the Federal Public Service (FPS) Mobility and Transport: everyone can now, via an online form, anonymously report any human error covered by the European “Just Culture” concept. The Minister of Mobility, Georges Gilkinet supports this new initiative which should contribute to strengthening air safety.

Georges Gilkinet: “I wish, as Minister of Mobility, to maintain or even further strengthen the level of air safety that exists today in Belgium. This new “Just Culture” body brings an additional human dimension to the search for this security, by allowing players in the sector to report any event that has contributed or could have contributed to a risk in terms of aviation safety while preserving their anonymity. I fully support this initiative, which complements the checks and investigations that already exist to make our skies safe.”

Emmanuelle Vandamme, President of the FPS Mobility and Transport: “Guaranteeing transport safety is one of the essential missions of our public service. This requires a good understanding of activities and incidents in the field. It is only when incidents are reported without fear that our services can take action to prevent such situations from recurring in the future. With the new body ‘Just Culture’, we are taking an important step in the protection of incident reporters and therefore also in Belgian aviation safety.”

A fairer European approach to everyday aviation safety

It was in 2014 that the European Parliament and the Council adopted the concept of “Just Culture” with the aim of reducing the number of air accidents by collecting, processing and analysing air events within the framework of a just culture. This concept was introduced in order to promote the notification of any event having constituted or which could constitute a risk in terms of aviation safety.

This large-scale notification process aims to acquire in-depth knowledge of the aeronautical context and to allow better identification of the factors that could lead to an air incident or accident. The ultimate goal is to prevent their occurrence as much as possible. Air safety aspects must take precedence over any other consideration, in particular economic or financial.

Thanks to the anonymity ensured by the concept of “Just Culture”, each person who notifies an event is protected against sanctions which could be taken against him, in particular by their employer or by the authorities concerned, if this event of which he is in wholly or partly liable arises from human error proportionate to the level of knowledge or training expected of that person and not from a deliberate act or gross negligence.

An online + direct procedure to encourage the sharing of experience

To implement this European concept in Belgium, the FPS Mobility and Transport has just set up the “Just Culture” body, in accordance with the Royal Decree of 9 August 2020. In order to ensure fair processing of these reports, the Body is functionally independent of the General Direction of Air Transport and of any other party or organisation whose interests could come into conflict with the mission entrusted to it.

Georges Gilkinet: “This “Just Culture” body is likely to upset the habits of the aviation sector. It is the instrument of a new internal culture. The women and men who use it will not be punished for their simple human errors, but protected for their altruism and their professional conscience. It is indeed a question of putting more humanity and not laxity in air safety. I am convinced that it will further strengthen the security of our Belgian skies.”

If a person is sanctioned because he has made an event report or is mentioned in such a report, he can also report this to the “Just Culture” body. However, it only has an advisory role and does not replace the ordinary means of redress.

Georges Gilkinet: “I even dare to think that this “Just Culture” concept could also apply in other sectors, such as health care, intelligence and security services, critical infrastructures,… Put more human, altruism and collegiality in our daily work, this will contribute to the construction of a more just society for all.”

Reports made via this body will be handled discreetly and appropriately by the services of the FPS Mobility and will lead to useful remedial actions, of whatever nature: legal modification, reinforced monitoring, questioning of the operators concerned, implementation of a training programme, information campaign against operators whether they are pilots or air traffic controllers, modification of working methods, etc.

At the same time, the “Just Culture” platform, also provided for by a Royal Decree of 9  August 2020, will very soon be set up by FPS Mobility. Its mission will be, in particular, to enable and promote dialogue and the exchange of knowledge and experience between the various players in the aviation sector and the justice system. Within this platform, the events and problems or questions encountered will be discussed in order to draw the consequences and improve this concept of just culture, without affecting the powers attributed to other bodies in terms of aviation safety, aerial and justice. Its objective is to strengthen the safety of all through a collective and systematic approach.

BRUSSELS 02/03/2022