State Safety Plan

State Safety Programme
for the United Kingdom

Produced by the United Kingdom Civil Aviation Authority in conjunction with the
Department for Transport’s Aviation Directorate, the Air Accident Investigation
Branch, the Ministry of Defence and Air Safety Support International.
For the purposes of brevity, unless otherwise stated, any reference to

State Safety Programme (SSP) will relate to the UK SSP.
For the purposes of brevity, unless otherwise stated, any reference to

Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) will relate to the UK CAA.
CAP 1180
© Civil Aviation Authority 2014
All rights reserved. Copies of this publication may be reproduced for personal use, or for use within a
company or organisation, but may not otherwise be reproduced for publication.
To use or reference CAA publications for any other purpose, for example within training material for
students, please contact the CAA at the address below for formal agreement.
Enquiries regarding the content of this publication should be addressed to:

Safety and Airspace Regulation Group, Civil Aviation Authority, Aviation House, Gatwick Airport South,
West Sussex, RH6 0YR.
The latest version of this document is available in electronic format at www.caa.co.uk/publications,

where you may also register for e-mail notification of amendments.
State Safety Programme for the UK Members
Members of the UK Safety Strategy Board

Patricia Hayes DfT Director General Civil Aviation
Dr Adam Simmons DfT Deputy Director IASE Group
Paul Cremin DfT Head of UK Aviation Safety, SAFA and Permits
Mark Swan CAA Group Director Safety Airspace Regulation
Padhraic Kelleher CAA Head of Intelligence, Strategy and Policy
Dr Hazel Courteney CAA Manager Strategy & Safety Assurance
Ian Shaw CAA Manager, State Safety Programme
Maria Boyle ASSI Chief Executive Officer, Air Safety Support International
Keith Conradi AAIB Chief Inspector of Accidents, Air Accidents Investigation Branch
Acknowledgements
The Department for Transport wishes to express its appreciation to the members of the
UK Safety Strategy Board for their support and contribution to this document.
July 2014 Page 3

State Safety Programme for the UK Foreword
Foreword
Annex 19 to the Chicago Convention (effective November 2013) sets the standards for a
State Safety Programme, placing the responsibility on all contracting States to implement
such a programme. This is an ambitious undertaking and one that the United Kingdom
welcomes. For a State to produce a State Safety Programme, it requires the State to
examine its own legislation, policies and processes in a new light. Although it may have
assumed that all was in order, the State Safety Programme may reveal issues that should
be resolved to improve the way in which aviation safety is managed in the State.
The State Safety Programme belongs to the UK as a State and is not contained within the
province of a single organisation or Government department. However at a practical level,
documents need to be produced and projects managed. As the UK Civil Aviation Authority
has regulatory responsibility for aviation safety in the UK, the Department for Transport
(DfT) has agreed that the coordination of the UK State Safety Programme document
should be undertaken by the CAA. I would like to thank the CAA for undertaking this task.
It is clear that most essential elements of the required safety framework are well
established. However, a number of items have been identified for improvement and we
will be working on these to ensure we fully comply with the intent of Annex 19.
The State Safety Programme outlines the structure of aviation regulation in the UK,
which consists of multiple authorities (DfT, CAA, European Aviation Safety Agency
(EASA)) working together to achieve aviation safety. The State Safety Programme also
highlights that the UK has differing relationships with its Overseas Territories and Crown
Dependencies. The UK’s partnership with EASA and the European Commission (EC)
through the Single European Sky (SES) initiative continues to develop. The State Safety
Programme clarifies these links and notes that these relationships will inevitably evolve.
It is for this reason that we plan to keep this document up-to-date on the DfT/CAA website
and we will also work with our colleagues in EASA and the European Commission to
develop their complementary Community Safety Programme.
In view of these future changes, I would welcome any comments on this document to be
sent for my attention via:
Manager, State Safety Programme

Civil Aviation Authority, 2NW Aviation House,
Gatwick Airport South, West Sussex RH6 0YR.
Patricia Hayes
Director General Civil Aviation
Department for Transport
July 2014 Page 4

State Safety Programme for the UK Contents
Contents
Foreword 4
Introduction 7
UK State Safety Programme overview 9
Chapter 1 UK aviation regulatory system 10

United Kingdom as ICAO contracting state 10
The UK as a member of the European Union (EU) 12
The European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) 12
The United Kingdom of Great Britain & Northern Ireland
- UK ‘main’ 13
The Overseas Territories 14
Air Safety Support International 15
The Crown Dependencies & Gibraltar 15
Jersey 18
Guernsey 18
The Isle of Man 18
Gibraltar 19
Chapter 2 UK Aviation Safety policy and objectives 20

UK safety legislative framework within European context 20
Primary legislation 20
Subsidiary legislation 20
Operating regulations 23
Industry guidance material 26
Civil aviation framework and accountabilities 27
Framework/regulations review 30
UK State Safety Programme documentation and records 30
UK safety responsibilities and accountabilities 30
UK State Safety Programme development 30
UK State Safety Programme responsibilities and resources 30
UK State Safety Programme co-ordination committee 31
UK safety policy 31
July 2014 Page 5

State Safety Programme for the UK Contents
UK acceptable level of safety performance 32

UK State Safety Programme improvement/review 32
UK accident and incident investigation 36
UK enforcement policy 38
Chapter 3 UK aviation safety risk management 40

Safety requirements for the service provider’s SMS 40
Air operator and approved maintenance organisation
SMS requirements 40
Aerodrome operator SMS requirements 40
Air Navigation Serve Providers (ANSPs) SMS requirements 40
Approved training organisation SMS requirements 41
Agreement of product or service provider’s safety performance 41
Periodic assessment of product or service provider’s
safety performance 41
Chapter 4 UK aviation safety assurance 42

Safety oversight 42
Safety oversight of product and service providers 42
Internal state safety programme review / quality
assurance 43
External state safety programme review / audit 43
Safety data collection, analysis and exchange 44
Occurrence Reporting System 44
Voluntary/confidential reporting system 47
Evidence-based safety improvement activity 48
Chapter 5 UK Aviation safety promotion 50

Internal training, communication and dissemination of
safety information 50
Internal state safety programme, SMS and safety training 50
External communication and dissemination of
safety information 50
Glossary 52
July 2014 Page 6

State Safety Programme for the UK Introduction
Introduction
The Civil Aviation Authority places the UK public at the heart of everything we do. Safety
standards are very high across the UK aviation sector. Whilst passengers benefit from an
enviable safety record overall, we continue to develop a regulatory regime focused on the
major risks, improving early identification of emerging risks and more proportionate in the
effort deployed.
The CAA’s commitment to the SSP is clearly demonstrated by our work with the domestic
industry, as outlined in the CAA Safety Plan, and also the joint projects conducted with our
international partners, both regulators and operators. We have further strengthened our
relationships with the European Aviation Safety Agency and other international bodies to
ensure the UK is effectively influencing policy at the appropriate level.
The aviation industry is continually changing. Volumes of traffic continue to increase, as does
the complexity and sophistication of the system as a whole as new tools and technologies
are employed. There are also new types of aviation traffic emerging, such as Unmanned
Aircraft Systems (UAS) and commercial space operations. Whilst many innovations in the
industry seek to enhance safety, it is essential that any change is assessed against the
potential of new risks being introduced so that the right mitigations can be developed.
The way we work is also changing. We are now actively moving towards a risk and
performance based approach to regulation – known as Performance-Based Regulation
(PBR). Its main aim is to identify the highest aviation risks to the UK passenger and
general public and to ensure that the management of these risks is effective. By assessing
and prioritising the risks, we are able to target our resources in the most important areas
and determine the safety outcomes that are most important to pursue.
July 2014 Page 7

State Safety Programme for the UK Introduction
A key theme remains our ongoing support for the development of a just culture within
aviation that is fair and encourages open reporting of incidents and accidents, whilst
increasing transparency in our monitoring and enforcement work.
We are committed to the principles of better regulation, being transparent, proportionate,

targeted, accountable and consistent and our work to streamline many of our business
processes has already begun to deliver improvements. These changes will support and
improve our regulatory decision-making, stakeholders’ experience, information flows, and
organisational efficiency.
The CAA has a proud track record but we are facing new challenges that mean we are
determined to ensure that our regulatory approach is responsive to new and emerging
risks and adaptable to changes in the complex and dynamic sector we regulate. The SSP
helps to lay out how we will undertake that work.
Andrew Haines
Chief Executive
Civil Aviation Authority
July 2014 Page 8

State Safety Programme for the UK UK State Safety Programme overview
UK State Safety Programme overview
The International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) describes a SSP as:
‘an integrated set of regulations and activities aimed at improving safety’.
The requirement for a SSP recognises that States as well as service providers have safety
responsibilities and provides a framework within which service providers are required to
establish a Safety Management System (SMS).
Currently, ICAO standards for a SSP are contained in ICAO Annex 19 which became
applicable on 14 November 2013.
ICAO standards also require that the Acceptable Level of Safety Performance (ALoSP)
to be achieved is established by the State(s) concerned. The concept of establishing an
ALoSP attempts to complement the current approach to safety management based on
regulatory compliance with a performance based approach. Some guidance on what
constitutes an ALoSP is provided by ICAO. In summary, the ALoSP consists of; a start
point, Safety Performance Indicator (SPI), an in year Safety Performance Target (SPT)
and the safety requirements to achieve the target (operational procedures, technology,
systems and programmes detailed within the CAA Safety Plan).
In Europe, there is activity in both EASA and Eurocontrol to address both a SSP and the
ALoSP, but the activities have yet to be linked. Eurocontrol is promoting a European Safety
Programme, and EASA has developed a European Aviation Safety Plan (EASp) and is
promoting the use of management systems (that include SMS) for operators.
Although the requirement for this UK SSP stems from ICAO international civil standards, it
is recognised that much of the activity in UK airspace involves both civil and state military
aviation. For this reason, the UK SSP addresses the safety oversight arrangements for
both civil and state military aviation in the UK.
The UK SSP has been developed using the ICAO SSP framework and guidance material,
including the ICAO SSP gap analysis document. Where possible, the headings proposed
by ICAO in its framework document have been adopted in this document.
July 2014 Page 9

State Safety Programme for the UK UK aviation regulatory system
Chapter 1
1
UK aviation regulatory system
The purpose of this Chapter is to describe the safety oversight arrangements in

place in the various elements of the UK as an ICAO contracting State, as well as a
member of the European Union (EU). It explains the relationships between these
elements and the UK Government and, ultimately, to ICAO and the EU.
United Kingdom as ICAO contracting state

1.1 When the UK ratified the Convention on International Civil Aviation (the
Chicago Convention) in March 1947, it did so on behalf of the various colonies,
protectorates and dependencies that existed at the time. Today, the UK’s
adherence to the Chicago Convention covers the United Kingdom of Great
Britain and Northern Ireland (UK ‘Main’), the UK’s Overseas Territories (OT) and
the Crown Dependencies (CD).
1.2 Figure 1 below shows a simplified relationship between the various elements of
the contracting State and ICAO.
July 2014 Page 10

State Safety Programme for the UK Chapter 1: UK aviation regulatory system
The United Kingdom as Contracting State to ICAO

Simplified constitutional relationship between ICAO, the UK, its territories and dependencies
Chicago Convention and ICAO
The Crown
(HM the Queen,Privy Council,
UK Parliament, etc)
Lord Chancellor and Secretary of State for Secretary of State for Foreign
Secretary of State for Justice Transport supported by the & Commonwealth Affairs
Liaison Liaison
supported by the Department for Transport (DfT) supported by the Foreign &
Ministry of Justice (MoJ) Commonwealth Office (FCO)
Consultation, UK-based Consultation, Appointment of

Legislation, Main Interface Governors, UK-based Legislation,
Overall Aviation Policy
with other UK Interface with other UK
Government Departments Government Departments
Crown Dependencies UK ‘Main’ Overseas Territories

Jersey, Guernsey, Isle of Man Great Britain and Northern Ireland Anguilla; Bermuda; British Indian
Ocean Territory; British Antarctic
Territory; British Virgin Islands;
Cayman Islands; Falkland Islands;
Gibraltar; Montserrat;
Pitcairn Islands; St Helena and
Dependencies (Tristanda Cunha
& Ascension Island);
South Georgia and South
Sandwich Islands;
Sovereign Base Areas of
Akrotiri and Dhekelia; Turks and
Caicos Islands.
Figure 1 The ‘Crown’, the common factor in all three elements above, is a term used to refer to the
collective that now comprises the Monarch in her Governmental capacity, ministers, civil servants and the
armed forces. The functions of the Crown include the Executive, the Legislative and the Judicial.
1.3 The Privy Council consists of all the members of the British Cabinet, former
Cabinet ministers, and other distinguished persons appointed by the Sovereign
including past and present leaders of the British opposition parties. Its functions
include advising the Queen on Orders in Council, granting Royal Charters and,
through its Judicial Committee, acting as the final court of appeal from courts in
the OT. The British Cabinet remains formally a committee of the Privy Council.
July 2014 Page 11

1.4 Orders in Council are approved by the Queen at meetings of a small number
of Privy Counsellors. Orders in Council establishing legal requirements are
Statutory Instruments and are normally subject to UK Parliamentary scrutiny, as
is the case with most other Statutory Instruments. The Order in Council is an
important method of giving force of law to the more significant executive orders.
Orders in Council are also used to extend civil aviation legislation to the OT, as
well as to the CD. The Office of Public Sector Information provides access to
legislation of the UK; this is available online including all amendments.
1.5 The UK DfT is the primary governmental body responsible for civil aviation in the
UK and for upholding the UK’s compliance with the Chicago Convention. As such,
the DfT establishes overall aviation policy across all three elements of the UK in
cooperation with the FCO for the OT and the Ministry of Justice (MoJ) for the CD
The UK as a member of the European Union (EU)

1.6 In 2002 the European Community (now the EU) adopted Regulation (EC) No
1592/2002 on common rules in the field of aviation safety and establishing the
EASA. The principal legal objective was to establish and maintain a high and
uniform level of civil aviation safety in Europe. In effect, this established EU
competence in civil aviation safety, in recognition that safety improvements
could better be achieved by combined action at both European and national
levels. The Regulation and underpinning implementing rules, covering the
certification of aeronautical products and their continuing airworthiness, had
direct legal effect in the UK.
1.7 In 2003, the UK Government informed ICAO and its contracting states that EASA
was the Government’s authorised agent for the fulfilment of specified State
of Design and State of Manufacture obligations under ICAO Annex 8. In 2008,
Regulation 1592/2002 was replaced by Regulation (EC) No 216/2008, which
extended the scope of EASA to include airline operations and personnel licensing.
This Regulation was amended a year later, extending the scope of EASA further to
cover aerodromes and Air Traffic Management (ATM).
The European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA)

1.8 EASA is an Agency of the EU governed by European public law; it is distinct from
the Community institutions with a separate legal identity. The Agency is led by
an Executive Director appointed by the Management Board. The Management
Board brings together representatives from each Member State and the EC
and is responsible for determining the Agency’s strategic priorities, establishing
the budget and monitoring the Agency’s operation. The Management Board
is assisted by the EASA Advisory Board (EAB) which comprises organisations
representing aviation personnel, manufacturers, commercial and general aviation
operators, the maintenance industry, training organisations and air sports.
July 2014 Page 12

1.9 The Agency’s overarching mission is to promote the highest common

standards of safety and environmental protection in civil aviation. It assists the
EC in the preparation of aviation safety legislation and monitors subsequent
implementation of standards, including conducting standardisation inspections
in the Member States. Through undertaking safety analysis and research the
Agency produces the annual EASp (see paragraphs 2.20- 2.21).
The Agency also provides an extensive range of technical training, and promotes
European safety standards through international cooperation.
1.10 In addition to developing ‘soft law’ of certification specifications, acceptable

means of compliance and guidance material, the Agency is also empowered to
issue various certificates and approvals, including:
type-certification of aircraft and components;
approval of organisations involved in the design of aeronautical products;
approval of production and maintenance organisations located outside the

territory of the EU;
approval of the Airbus production organisation by agreement with four

Member States;
approval of pilot training organisations and aeromedical centres located

outside the territory of the EU;
certification of flight simulation training devices used by training

organisations it approves or located outside the territory of the EU (or within
the EU if the Member State so requests);
authorisation of third country (non-EU) operations into, within or out of the

territory of the EU.
1.11 It should be emphasised that the National Aviation Authorities (NAAs) continue
to carry out many operational tasks such as the certification of individual aircraft
and licensing of pilots in accordance with the EU rules.
The United Kingdom of Great Britain & Northern Ireland - UK ‘main’

1.12 Aviation safety oversight arrangements in the UK are divided principally between
the DfT and the Civil Aviation Authority. However, as described above, the EC
and the European Aviation Safety Agency play an increasingly significant role.
1.13 The DfT is responsible for implementing EU aviation legislation. As a result most of
the certification tasks required by the EASA Basic Regulation and its implementing
rules, described above, such as the certification of individual aircraft, approvals of
national organisations and personnel are executed within the UK by the CAA. The
CAA oversees the organisations they approve, conducting inspections and taking
measures to prevent continuation of any infringement.
July 2014 Page 13

The Overseas Territories

1.14 The UK OT are fourteen territories,1 which are constitutionally separate from
the UK. All have separate constitutions made by a UK Order in Council.2 The UK
remains responsible, however, for discharging its obligations under the Chicago
Convention in respect of civil aviation in the OT.
1.15 Parts of the 1949 and elements of the 1982 Civil Aviation Acts have been extended
to the OT by Orders in Council. The 1949 Act provides for a State to make an Air
Navigation Order (ANO) to implement the Annexes to the Chicago Convention and
to regulate air navigation generally. The Air Navigation (Overseas Territories) Order
(AN(OT)O) gives the Governor of each of the OT similar powers and responsibilities
in respect of aviation safety oversight as given to the CAA under the UK ANO.
• Gibralter • Akrotiri and Dhekelia

• Bermuda
Turk and Caicos Islands
Cayman Islands • • Anguilla
British Virgin Islands Montserrat
• Ascension Island
• British Indian Ocean Territory
• Saint Helena
• Pitcairn Islands
• Tristan da Cunha
Falkland Islands • • South Georgia and the South Sandwith Islands
British Antarctic Territory
Figure 2 The Overseas Territories
1 The OTs are Anguilla; Bermuda; British Indian Ocean Territory; British Antarctic Territory (‘BAT’); British
Virgin Islands; Cayman Islands; Falkland Islands; Gibraltar; Montserrat; Pitcairn, Henderson, Ducie and
Oeno Islands; St Helena, Ascension and Tristan da Cuna; South Georgia and South Sandwich Islands;
Sovereign Base Areas of Akrotiri and Dhekelia; and Turks and Caicos Islands.
2 BAT has a written Constitution consisting of an Order in Council and the various Ordinances made under it.
The BAT has a Government with some officials based in London. There are also Orders in Council which act
as the formal Constitutions for the British Indian Ocean Territory (BIOT) and the Pitcairn Islands. The Sovereign
Base Areas of Akrotiri and Dhekelia were established under the 1960 Treaty for the Establishment of the
Republic of Cyprus and are military bases administered by the base Commanders under the MoD.
July 2014 Page 14

1.16 The AN(OT)O 2013, however, has a few fundamental differences to the UK ANO,
one of which provides for the Governor to be able to designate the majority
of his powers to a person, in practice either a local Director of Civil Aviation
(DCA) who is usually an employee of the OT’s Government, or to Air Safety
Support International (ASSI), a wholly owned subsidiary of the UK CAA. The
Governor is required to consult with ASSI before making any such designation.
ASSI conducts regular assessment visits to the OT where a person has been
designated by the Governor other than ASSI itself.
1.17 For further details regarding the aviation safety regulatory situation in the OT,
see the State Safety Programme for the OT. This has been developed as part
of the UK SSP. Part 1 of the State Safety Programme for the OT provides an
overview of the legislative and regulatory arrangements that are unique to the
OT, and which are not the same as the UK / European system.
Air Safety Support International

1.18 Under the Civil Aviation Authority (Overseas Territories) Directions 2003,3 the
CAA established ASSI as a subsidiary company to oversee aviation safety
regulation in the OT (except British Antarctic Territory and Gibraltar) and to
ensure compliance with the requirements of the Chicago Convention. ASSI has
been charged with developing and maintaining Overseas Territories Aviation
Requirements (OTARs) to support the requirements of the AN(OT)O.
1.19 The AN(OT)O also requires the Governor to publish the detailed requirements
which applicants for certificates and licences will have to meet. Such requirements
are primarily the OTARs developed by ASSI in conjunction with the OT DCAs.
1.20 ASSI is responsible for supporting the OT’s existing aviation authorities in
the safety regulation of all aspects of civil aviation, including the licensing
of personnel and the certification of aircraft, airlines, airports and air traffic
services. In OT where the civil aviation regulators do not have the resources or
the expertise to undertake the task themselves, ASSI can be designated by the
Governor to perform the civil aviation regulatory tasks on behalf of the Governor.
ASSI may therefore perform the role of policy-maker, regulator or adviser/mentor,
depending on the situation in the Territory.
The Crown Dependencies & Gibraltar

1.21 The CD comprise of the two Bailiwicks of Guernsey and Jersey, commonly
referred to as the Channel Islands, and the Isle of Man. The Channel Islands
are located in the Bay of St. Malo, off the French coast, and the Isle of Man is
located in the Irish Sea, between Britain and Ireland. All of the CD have seaports
and airports which handle international passenger and freight traffic.
3 Directions given to the CAA by the Secretary of State pursuant to section 6 of the Civil Aviation Act 1982.
July 2014 Page 15

1.22 The CD are self-governing dependencies of the Crown, and constitutionally

separate from the UK. This means they have their own directly elected legislative
assemblies, administrative, fiscal and legal systems and their own courts of
law. They are not represented in the UK Parliament and UK legislation does not
extend to them.
1.23 The UK Government, however, is responsible for their international

representation and defence and the Crown is ultimately responsible for their
good government. The CD have a very different constitutional relationship with
the UK, compared to that of the OT.
1.24 Although an OT, Gibraltar has been included in this group because it has
developed its civil aviation regulatory system along similar lines to the CD.
Gibraltar is also subject to the same EU aviation safety legislation as the UK.
Gibraltar is situated to the south of Spain; it has a seaport and a UK military
airfield, which is offered for civilian use. Gibraltar has its own constitution, which
sees the UK Government responsible only for its international representation
and defence. Gibraltar has its own directly elected legislative assembly,
administrative, fiscal and legal systems and their own courts of law. It is not
represented in the UK Parliament and UK legislation does not extend to it.
July 2014 Page 16

UK ‘CD’ Aviation Environment (Safety Related)

Simplified constitutional relationship between ICAO, the UK, its territories and dependencies
ICAO
The Crown
(HM the Queen, Privy Council, UK Parliament, etc)
‘UK’ Level
Foreign & Commonwealth

Ministry of Justice (MoJ) Department for Transport (DfT)
Office (FCO)
Lord Chancellor and Secretary of State for

Secretary of State for Transport
Secretary of State for Justice Foreign & Commonwealth Affairs
Crown Air Accidents Aviation Overseas

Dependencies Investigation Directorate Territories
Branch Branch (AAIB) (inc DGCA) Directorate
‘CD’ Level
MoU on MoU on
Liaison Link to Crown MoU on AIG Chicago MoU on AIG Chicago Liaison Link to Crown
Convention Convention
Director of Civil Aviation Director of Civil Aviation
Regulate Regulate
Certificate Certificate
License License
Approve Approve
Aviation Industry Aviation Industry
Guernsey, Jersey, IoM Gibralter
Figure 3 The relationship with the UK and ICAO
July 2014 Page 17

1.25 A Memoranda of Understanding (MoU), concerning the CD assisting the UK

Government in meeting its obligations under the Chicago Convention, is in place
between the DfT and each of the CD. The MoU covers the obligations of both
parties including the obligation of each of the CD to arrange for regular external
audits of its safety oversight arrangements.
1.26 The MoU also includes the requirement for each of the CD to
‘contract in, as may be required, any expert services which cannot be provided in
house’
to assist the regulator in performing his duties. At the moment, each CD

contracts with the UK CAA, through CAA International (CAAi), for the provision
of auditing services covering aerodromes and air traffic services. In addition, the
Isle of Man contracts with a private company for airworthiness services.
Jersey
1.27 Civil aviation in Jersey is regulated by the Office of the Director of Civil Aviation
(this Office was created by the Civil Aviation (Jersey) Law 2008). The DCA
has overall responsibility for ensuring the safety of civil aviation in Jersey and
its airspace. The DCA is particularly responsible for ensuring the safety of
aerodromes and air traffic, licensing aerodromes and approving ATCOs. The DCA
is also responsible for regulating from Jersey:
the operation of the Channel Islands Control Zone and the safety of air traffic
in that zone, and
the operation of meteorological services for the purposes of international air

navigation in Jersey and the Channel Islands Control Zone.
Guernsey
1.28 Civil Aviation in Guernsey is regulated by the Office of the Director of Civil
Aviation (this Office was created by the Aviation (Bailiwick of Guernsey) Law,
2008). The DCA has overall responsibility for ensuring the safety of civil aviation
in the Bailiwick of Guernsey and its airspace. The DCA’s prime functions are to
regulate the safety of aerodromes, air traffic and air transport services in the
Bailiwick, to licence aerodromes and to licence ATCOs.
The Isle of Man

1.29 Civil aviation in the Isle of Man is regulated by the Isle of Man Civil Aviation
Administration (IoM CAA), which is a division of the Government’s Department
of Economic Development. The IoM CAA is responsible for administering the Isle
of Man Aircraft Registry and for regulating the Isle of Man Airport. The IoM CAA
July 2014 Page 18

is also responsible for ensuring aviation legislation in the Isle of Man meets ICAO
Standards and Recommended Practices (SARPs) and other relevant European
aviation standards. The IoM CAA operates pursuant to the Isle of Man’s Airports
and Civil Aviation Act 1987 and the Air Navigation (Isle of Man) Order 2007.
Gibraltar
1.30 The Office of the DCA was established by Gibraltar’s Civil Aviation Act 2009 and
came into being on 29 January 2009. The purpose of this Act is identified as:
‘An Act to make provision generally for the regulation of civil aviation (save for
aviation security) in Gibraltar; to provide for the management and control of the
commercial and civil use of the airport and of the air terminal and aircraft using
its facilities; and for connected purposes.’
1.31 The DCA is responsible to the Minister of Transport for the discharge of his
duties and functions under the Act. In general terms he is responsible for
ensuring that all civil aviation operating within Gibraltar airspace and at Gibraltar
Airport does so safely and in compliance with the Chicago Convention, EU
obligations in respect to civil aviation and other international agreements and
international obligations in respect to civil aviation which apply to Gibraltar. He
also has responsibility to issue an approval to the Gibraltar Air Traffic Control
(ATC) service provider, licences to the Gibraltar Air Traffic Controllers (ATCOs),
validations of permits to fly, and Dangerous Goods approvals to aircraft operators
wishing to carry Dangerous Goods into or out of Gibraltar by air.
July 2014 Page 19

State Safety Programme for the UK Chapter 2: UK Aviation Safety policy and objectives
Chapter 2
2
UK Aviation Safety policy and objectives
UK safety legislative framework within European context
Primary legislation
2.1 The primary legislation dealing with aviation matters in UK ‘Main’ is the Civil
Aviation Act 1982 (last updated in 2012). This is supplemented by specific
provisions in other primary legislation such as the Transport Act 2000, the
Airports Act 1986 and the Railways and Transport Safety Act 2003. The principal
Acts lay complementary duties on the Secretary of State and the CAA. The
CAA’s specific safety regulatory functions are set out in United Kingdom
Regulations and in European Regulations described in 2.1.3.
2.2 In general, air navigation services and aerodromes are provided by the private
sector although the UK Government does hold a share in the ownership of the
National Air Traffic Service (NATS) (the provider of en route air traffic services in
the UK, which also provides air traffic services at the major airports) and some
military aerodromes are made available to civil international traffic.
Subsidiary legislation
2.3 The Basic EASA Regulation 216/2008 and the implementing rules made under
it (the EASA Regulations) contain the regulations applicable to most civil aircraft
in Europe. Those Regulations confer powers upon the competent authorities of
Member States for the regulation of such aircraft.
2.4 Some aircraft however (State aircraft and aircraft described in Annex II of the
Basic EASA Regulation – together termed non-EASA aircraft) are not covered by
the EASA Regulations and remain subject to national regulation.
2.5 The Air Navigation Order 2009 (article 246) designates the Civil Aviation Authority
as the competent authority of the United Kingdom for the purposes of the EASA
Regulations. The ANO also contains the UK national regulations for non-EASA
civil aircraft.
Overseas Territories aviation safety regulatory legal framework
2.6 The regulatory framework meets the following objectives or criteria:
July 2014 Page 20

a) To ensure that the safety regulatory regime of the UK OT meets the ICAO 8
Critical Elements of a safety oversight system. Effective implementation of
the critical elements demonstrates that ASSI and each Overseas Territories
Aviation Authority (OTAA) are fit for purpose safety regulatory bodies.
b) The UK OT legislative system comprises of three tiers:
Primary legislation: in this case the Civil Aviation Act 1949 (Overseas
Territories) Order 1969
Secondary legislation: the Air Navigation (Overseas Territories) Order 2013

(AN(OT)O)
And beneath these, supporting requirements and guidance: the OTARs

and Overseas Territories Aviation Circulars (OTACs).
c) The regulatory framework enables the fulfilment in the OT of the UK’s

obligations under the Chicago Convention and compliance with the Annexes.
d) The AN(OT)O provides a sound legal framework for enabling the adoption of
the OTARs as a modern, cohesive package of requirements.
e) One set of common requirements (OTARs) is provided for use by all OT that
are subject to AN(OT)O 2013.
f) The OTARs, wherever possible, comprise a stand-alone system of regulation

that largely eliminates the need for constant cross-reference to the AN(OT)O
or the ICAO Annexes.
g) The OTARs/OTACs provide a simplified interpretation of the AN(OT)O

wherever practicable.
h) The regulatory framework suits the level of aviation activity in the OT.
i) The regulatory provisions use ICAO terminology wherever possible.
Air Navigation (Overseas Territories) Order 2013
2.7 The AN(OT)O is secondary (i.e. subordinate) legislation. The AN(OT)O enables,
or gives power to, the requirements and guidance contained in the OTARs and
OTACs.
2.8 ASSI has produced a series of amendments to the AN(OT)O to address all
of the objectives and criteria above. The latest revision is a complete re-write
simplifying and modernising the AN(OT)O to form a coherent unit with the
OTARs, the OTARs being the principal regulatory instruments and the
AN(OT)O providing mainly the necessary legal basis. The rebalanced and
consolidated version, AN(OT)O 2013, became effective in January 2014 and
reflects changes required following the safety oversight audit carried out by
ICAO in 2009.
July 2014 Page 21

2.9 It is important to note that the Governors of the OT are given a wide variety
of discretionary powers under the AN(OT)O to grant certificates, licences and
approvals of various kinds. In practice, these powers are exercised on behalf of
the Governors by officials working for the OTAA or, where so designated, ASSI.
An individual or organisation affected by a decision made on behalf of a Governor
by an official of the OTAA or ASSI is entitled to seek a review of such decision in
accordance with Article 13 of the AN(OT)O.
Jersey
2.10 The relevant provisions of the Civil Aviation Act 1982 have been extended
to Jersey. The UK ANO 2005 has been applied to Jersey with appropriate
amendments. Under the ANO regulatory responsibility is given to the DCA (as
referred to in 1.27). New legislation will be introduced in 2014 to establish the
regulatory framework for a new aircraft register.
2.11 The Civil Aviation (Jersey) Law 2008 not only creates the Office of the DCA,
but also requires the operator of an aerodrome in Jersey to have a licence and
establishes the DCA as the licensing authority. This Law gives power to the Chief
Minister to make subordinate legislation such as Air Navigation Orders. The Air
Navigation (Jersey) Order 2008 concerns the operation of aircraft, aerodromes
and ATC services. This Order is the application, with modification, of the United
Kingdom Air Navigation Order to Jersey.
Guernsey
2.12 Guernsey has separate primary legislation, the Aviation (Bailiwick of Guernsey)
Law 2008 and the Air Navigation (Bailiwick of Guernsey) Law 2012. The 2012 Law
is equivalent to an ANO. Under this Law regulatory responsibility is given to the
DCA.
2.13 The Aviation (Bailiwick of Guernsey) Law, 2008 not only creates the Office of
the DCA (as referred to in 1.28), but also requires the operator of an aerodrome
in the Bailiwick to have a licence and establishes the DCA as the licensing
authority. The Law contains at Schedule 15, The Rules of the Air for the Bailiwick,
and at Schedule 16, the Air Navigation (Dangerous Goods) Regulations.
Isle of Man
2.14 In the Isle of Man, the relevant provisions of the Civil Aviation Act have been
extended to the Isle of Man by Order in Council. The Air Navigation (Isle of
Man) Order 2007 repeats appropriate provisions of the UK ANO in relation to
the aircraft register (airworthiness, licensing and aircraft operations). The Civil
Aviation (Subordinate Legislation) (Application) Order 2006, which is made
under an Act of the Tynwald, the Isle of Man Parliament, covers all other aviation
July 2014 Page 22

activity. The DCA, an officer of the Isle of Man Department of Trade & Industry,
regulates the Isle of Man airports and air traffic services, operated by the Isle of
Man Department of Transport. This is in addition to regulating other functions as
a result of the Isle of Man aircraft register.
Gibraltar
2.15 Gibraltar has primary and secondary legislation, namely the Civil Aviation Act 2009
and the Civil Aviation (Air Navigation) Regulations 2009. The legislation establishes
a DCA independent of the airport and air traffic services, empowered and required
by the legislation to regulate these services in order to ensure compliance with
ICAO. In addition, EU aviation safety legislation applies to Gibraltar.
Operating regulations
2.16 Under Regulation (EC) No 216/2008, commonly known as the EASA Basic
Regulation, and as amended by Regulation (EC) 1108/2009 and Regulation (EU)
6/2013, European competence is extended beyond airworthiness to establish
essential safety requirements in the fields of air operations and personnel
licensing, aerodromes, ATM/air navigation services and the authorisation of third
country operations into, within or out of the territory of the EU.
2.17 The EASA Basic Regulation (and Implementing Rules (IRs)) is directly binding
on the UK and all other Member States. It confers powers on the EC to develop
the detailed IRs detailing how to comply with the essential requirements, which
are adopted under comitology arrangements by Member States in the EASA
Committee. In addition to this ‘hard law’, the EU regulatory framework also
includes ‘soft law’ adopted by EASA in the form of certification specifications,
acceptable means of compliance and guidance material. This ‘soft law’ is
not legally binding but provides a presumption of compliance with the legal
requirements. Member States and industry may deviate from ‘soft law’ provided
they comply with the IR.
2.18 The EASA Basic Regulation and Implementing Rules (IRs) provide for NAAs
of Member States to issue certificates and approvals. These certificates and
approvals must be issued under and in accordance with the IRs made by EU
Regulations and take account of advice, guidance and means of compliance
published by EASA. The NAAs undertaking these tasks are subject to
standardisation visits by EASA teams to ensure consistency across the EU.
2.19 The EASA Basic Regulation and IRs provide for NAAs of Member States to
issue certificates and approvals. These certificates and approvals must be issued
under and in accordance with the IRs made by EU Regulations and take account
of advice, guidance and means of compliance published by EASA. The NAAs
undertaking these tasks are subject to standardisation visits by EASA teams to
ensure consistency across the EU.
July 2014 Page 23

European Aviation Safety programme and EASp
2.20 The European Aviation Safety Programme is a collective term for the integrated
set of EU rules together with the activities and processes used to jointly manage
and improve safety at the EU level. The overall objective is to ensure that the
system for the management of aviation safety in the EU delivers a safety
performance that is the best of any world region, uniformly enjoyed across
the whole of the EU, and continuing to improve over time. Consequently, the
approach to safety management is evolving beyond regulatory compliance to
developing proactive, evidence-based risk management leading to targeted
actions and to contain and improve performance in the areas of high risk.
2.21 The EASp4 connects identified safety risks/issues with mitigating actions. It is
developed, agreed and implemented in collaboration between EASA, NAAs and
industry. It is not legally binding and relies on cooperative action by all relevant
parties to support the actions identified in the plan and to ensure its continued
updating and effectiveness. It is complementary to national safety plans. The
current version contains actions for the period 2013 – 2016. Annual iterations
of the plan allow for actions to be revised in view of performance and progress
achieved, and determines whether issues are better addressed at national level
or by collective pan-European action.
Single European Sky
2.22 The Single European Sky (SES) initiative originated from within the EC in 1999
when there was general dissatisfaction with the levels of delay experienced by
airlines and passengers. A High Level Group (HLG) was established by the EC to
investigate and report on the underlying issues. The general thrust of the HLG’s
recommendations were accepted by Member States of the EU and resulted in
four legislative measures which came into effect in April 2004:
1. The Framework Regulation establishes the EC as the regulator for the civil
sector and the Single Sky Committee to assist it in its regulatory activities;
2. The Airspace Regulation which will establish a single European Upper

Information Region and within it organise airspace into Functional Airspace
Blocks (FABs);
3. The Service provision Regulation establishes a common licensing system

for civil ATM providers; and
4. The Interoperability Regulation which aims to ensure that systems,

equipment and procedures operate seamlessly.
4 http://www.easa.europa.eu/sms/docs/European%20Aviation%20Safety%20Plan%20(2013-2016)%20
-v1.0%20Final.pdf
July 2014 Page 24

2.23 The framework made provision for an ongoing process to develop IRs to expand
upon these four high level Regulations. Once agreed, IRs are published in the
Official Journal of the European Union (OJEU).
2.24 Following review of the progress of the Single Sky in 2007 the EC concluded
that the desired results were not being realised fast enough and that further
action was needed in other areas such as performance and the environment.
This led to the publication of a communication entitled ‘Single Sky II - Towards a
more sustainable and better performing aviation’ which formed the basis of the
EC’s SES II Package.
2.25 The SES II Package consists of five main pillars:
1. Performance;
2. Safety;
3. Technology;
4. Airport capacity; and
5. The human factor.
2.26 The (SES II) Regulation amending the four high level SES Regulations was
published in the OJEU on 14 November 2009 and came into force on 4
December 2009. A performance framework which established indicators and
targets in the key performance areas of safety, environment (measured by flight
efficiency), capacity (measured by delay) and cost efficiency was adopted in
2011. The first reference period (RP 1) runs from 2012 to 2014; RP2 runs from
2015 to 2019 and requires the establishment of performance targets across all
four key performance areas.
2.27 In summer 2013 the EC launched an ‘interim’ update (SES II+) to the SES
framework, with a focus on simplifying the SES and EASA regulatory
frameworks, ensuring separation of service provision and oversight, making
provision for competition for some ATM support services and developing the
performance scheme, amongst other things. SES II+ is currently going through
the European Parliament and Council co-decision processes, which are currently
expected to last until the end of 2014.
Overseas Territories Aviation Requirements
2.28 The basic philosophy underlying the OTARs is to have a package of requirements
that forms a means of compliance with the ICAO SARPs and that is consistent
with the legislation in force.
2.29 ASSI is required, under the directions from the Secretary of State, to produce
the means of compliance to enable the Governors to be satisfied that applicants
for, or holders of, licences, certificates and approvals meet their legal obligations.
July 2014 Page 25

Governors have the authority to publish requirements under Article 5 of the

AN(OT)O. It should be stressed that these requirements (the OTARs) do not
constitute ‘Regulations’ in legal terms and the form of the OTARs does not need
to comply with the Statutory Instruments Act 1946. They do, however, conform
to the wider ICAO definition of Regulations used in ICAO Doc 9734 Safety
Oversight Manual in relation to Critical Element 2.
2.30 The OTARs set out, for the benefit of those regulated:
the requirements for obtaining and holding a licence, certificate, authority or

approval;
the way in which the rights and privileges of licences, certificates, authorities
or approvals are exercised;
the way obligations which come with the privileges are to be discharged; and
general instructions regarding the operation and equipment of aircraft.
The criteria to be applied in relation to OTARs are that:
penalties or sanctions for failure to comply with any obligation imposed

upon a person or organisation must be contained in legislation (AN(OT)O)
if it is to be enforceable;
the OTARs do not themselves constitute legislation or Regulations;

they are the means by which compliance with the legislation may be
demonstrated. They are also the means by which the Governor can
be satisfied as to the basis for the issue or maintenance of a licence,
certificate or approval;
the OTARs employ common terms or expressions used by ICAO in

making the SARPs and adopted by most of the countries around the
world.
Industry guidance material

2.31 In the UK, the DfT’s priorities for 2012-2015, as defined in its Business Plan,
include the objective to:
‘Create a sustainable framework for aviation in the UK, ensuring the UK is well
positioned to compete internationally, improve passenger experience at airports
and maintain high standards of safety and security for passengers and freight’.
2.32 The primary UK legislation is the Civil Aviation Act 1982. Section 60 gives the
power to give effect to the Chicago Convention. Under Section 4, it establishes
the general objectives of the CAA:
July 2014 Page 26

‘to secure that British airlines provide air transport services which satisfy all
substantial categories of public demand, at the lowest charges consistent with a
high standard of safety in operating the services’.
2.33 However, under Section 4, there is no express statutory obligation for the
CAA to achieve a high standard of safety. The objective that British airlines
operate to a high standard of safety simply assumes that British airlines will
do so taking account of the other factors. The CAA does also provide regular
industry guidance through the various publication media including Aeronautical
Information Publications (AIPs), Aeronautical Information Circulars (AICs), and
Notices To Airmen (NOTAM).
Overseas Territories Aviation Circulars
2.34 Whereas the OTARs are intended to provide a comprehensive suite of

requirements, there is also a need to promulgate additional information which
is not appropriate for inclusion in the OTARs themselves. Such information and
guidance is included in OTACs. OTACs cover the following topics:
2.35 Practical, detailed guidance for industry on meeting the requirements in the
OTARs;
Information of a temporary nature;
Administrative material;
Information published in advance of a formal amendment to OTARs;
The means of ensuring that aspects of the State civil aviation system comply
with ICAO SARPs where this is a State responsibility, e.g. Charts and SAR.
Civil aviation framework and accountabilities
Responsibilities of the DfT
2.36 The Secretary of State has a general duty of organising, carrying out and
encouraging measures for the development of civil aviation, for the promotion
of safety and efficiency in the use of civil aircraft and for research into questions
relating to air navigation. This duty falls to the Secretary of State for Transport
who is supported by the DfT.
2.37 The DfT’s aims and objectives are developed and set out each year in its
Business Plan. Specific objectives within that fall to relevant business units,
including the Aviation Directorate, the Air Accidents Investigation Branch (AAIB)
and the Maritime and Coastguard Agency (MCA). The latter is an Executive
Agency of the DfT. The Head of the Aviation Directorate of the DfT is assigned
July 2014 Page 27

various policy responsibilities and takes on the title of the UK Director General of
Civil Aviation (DGCA).
2.38 The Secretary of State and the DfT are responsible for developing and
amending primary aviation legislation and for making secondary legislation,
such as operating regulations, in areas covered by the Annexes to the Chicago
Convention. Section 60 of the Civil Aviation Act provides that the Privy Council,
subject to approval by Parliament, may make Air Navigation Orders to implement
the Annexes to the Chicago Convention and to regulate air navigation generally.
Under an agreement between the DfT and the CAA, the responsibility for
drafting the UK ANO rests with the CAA.
2.39 The Secretary of State appoints the Board of the CAA and is accountable to
Parliament for the activities of the CAA. He/she may also issue directions to
the CAA in certain circumstances, for example, to ensure compliance with
international obligations.
2.40 Separately, as part of the overall aviation security regime, the Secretary of
State for Transport through the DfT is responsible for aviation security policy
and exercises powers under the Aviation Security Act 1982 (as amended by
the Aviation and Maritime Security Act 1990) in relation to aviation security. The
Secretary of State for Transport has conferred various aviation security functions
on the CAA within the Civil Aviation Act 2012 including the provision of advice
and assistance to the Secretary of State on this matter as well as inspection and
enforcement powers.
2.41 Responsibility for civil aeronautical and maritime Search and Rescue (SAR) policy
rests with the DfT. As such the DfT is responsible, through the UK SAR Strategic
Committee, for setting the criteria and for assessing the adequacy of UK civil
aeronautical and maritime SAR resources, response and coordination.
2.42 For the provision of air navigation services, the principal legislation is the
Transport Act 2000. This Act places objectives5 on both the Secretary of State
and the CAA to exercise their functions so as to maintain a high standard of
safety in the provision of air navigation services.
Responsibilities of the CAA
2.43 The CAA is responsible for the safety regulation of the civil aviation industry,
for the development of policy on the sustainable use of UK airspace and for
ensuring the provision of necessary supporting infrastructure for air navigation.
The functions of the CAA are laid out in the Civil Aviation Act 1982, the Transport
Act 2000, the Civil Aviation Authority (Air Navigation) Directions 2001 and the
Civil Aviation Authority (Chicago Convention) Directions 2007.
5 Sections 1(1), 2(1) and 70(1), Transport Act 2000.
July 2014 Page 28

2.44 The UK ANO gives the CAA a number of functions relating to the issue of
licences, certificates and approvals. The standards that applicants are expected
to meet in order to be granted such a licence, certificate or approval are
contained in supporting documentation developed and adopted by the CAA. This
includes the Civil Aviation Publications (CAPs).
2.45 The UK ANO also empowers persons authorised by the CAA to enter
aerodromes to inspect any aircraft or relevant documents as well as the
aerodrome itself. A large number of CAA staff are authorised to exercise some
or all of these powers, including flight operations inspectors, airworthiness
surveyors, ATM and aerodrome inspectors.
2.46 The CAA has no direct regulatory responsibility for the safety oversight of
aviation in the OT or CD, nor is it responsible for accident investigation, SAR or
the safety oversight of foreign aircraft in the UK.
Responsibilities of the Military Aviation Authority (MAA)
2.47 The authority to operate and regulate registered United Kingdom military aircraft
is vested in the Secretary of State for Defence. Where Defence can rely on
exemptions or derogations from either domestic or international law, under
the Secretary of State’s delegated authority the MAA will introduce standards
and management arrangements that produce outcomes that are, so far as
reasonably practicable, at least as good as those required by legislation. It is
the responsibility of the MAA to develop, promulgate and enforce a regulatory
framework to promote an engaged safety culture and assure appropriate
standards are being met in the delivery of military Air Safety through an
independent end-to-end assurance process.
2.48 The Director General Military Aviation Authority (DG MAA) is appointed by the
Secretary of State for Defence and derives his authority from the MAA Charter.
The Charter makes the DG MAA responsible to the Secretary of State for
Defence for the overall direction and management of the MAA.
2.49 Part of the Ministry of Defence (MoD), the MAA is an independent and
autonomous organisation responsible for the regulation, surveillance, inspection
and assurance of the Defence Air operating and technical domains. It ensures
the safe design and use of military air systems. As the single regulatory authority
responsible for regulating all aspects of Air Safety across Defence, the MAA
has full oversight of all Defence aviation activity. Through independent audit
and continuous surveillance of military aviation, the MAA aims to provide the
Secretary of State for Defence with the necessary assurance that appropriate
standards of Air Safety are maintained in delivering operational capability.
July 2014 Page 29

Framework/regulations review
2.50 The legislative framework is reviewed where directed by the DfT in order to
make provision where new legislation and supporting policy is required, e.g. for
Spaceplanes and UAS.
UK State Safety Programme documentation and records

2.51 In parallel with the mechanism for introducing new policy at the behest of the
DfT, a biennial review is undertaken of the SSP documentation. This review
is conducted by completing a gap analysis in accordance with the Safety
Management Manual (ICAO Doc 9859). These periodic reviews of the SSP are
captured at a European level within the EASp Quarterly Safety Summits at EASA.
UK safety responsibilities and accountabilities
UK State Safety Programme development

2.52 Primary responsibility for the SSP rests with the DfT DGCA. However, as the
CAA is the specialist aviation safety regulator and performs many safety-related
functions under directions from the DfT, the DfT has agreed that the CAA should
coordinate the production of the UK SSP document.
2.53 The SSP document describes how the UK addresses items raised by ICAO
under an SSP.
2.54 The role and responsibilities of the EC and EASA for safety oversight are
described in more detail under the European Aviation Safety Programme.
Although many safety oversight functions will remain with national authorities,
the role and responsibilities of EASA are expanding and the UK SSP document
will, therefore, be amended as and when required.
UK State Safety Programme responsibilities and resources

2.55 The majority of safety oversight responsibilities rest with the CAA’s Safety and
Airspace Regulation Group (SARG). Although the Civil Aviation Act 1982 requires
the achievement of a ‘high standard of safety’, SARG has further defined its role as
‘continue to work with others to help improve safety standards worldwide and
look for new ways to act successfully’.6
2.56 The drive for continuous improvement is a challenging objective, especially in

times of expansion or contraction.
6 CAA SARG’s Strategic Plan 2011-2016: http://www.caa.co.uk
July 2014 Page 30

2.57 SARG is responsible for the planning and regulation of all UK airspace including
the navigation and communications infrastructure to support safe and efficient
operations. This role is to secure the most efficient use of airspace consistent
with the safe operation of aircraft and the expeditious flow of air traffic whilst
taking into consideration the requirements of operators and owners of all classes
of aircraft. Environmental implications and national security issues must also be
considered. These duties are laid down in the Transport Act 2000 Section 66(1).
This airspace regulatory function includes staff seconded from the MoD. This
mix of civilian and military experts has experience of commercial, business,
recreational and military aviation.
UK State Safety Programme co-ordination committee

2.58 The committee responsible for the co-ordination of the SSP is the UK Safety
Strategy Board. This board, Chaired by the DGCA is composed of senior
representatives of the DfT, CAA, MAA, ASSI, European Affairs and AAIB. The
group meet on a quarterly basis and review UK aviation safety performance and
consider current and future safety improvement activity.
UK safety policy
2.59 In order to achieve a high level of safety, the CAA has developed the following
targeted outcomes as part of its Strategic Plan 2011-2016.
the CAA will have influenced safety outcomes worldwide to reduce risk of
harm to UK consumers, by supporting EASA, involvement with ICAO and
delivering safety improvement training internationally through CAAi and our
State Safety Partnerships;
the UK aviation industry will have reduced aviation safety risk from current
levels, in-line with agreements with the CAA, expressed in the SSP and the
National Performance Plan for Air Navigation Services;
safety Regulation will be fully aligned with ‘Better Regulation’ and efficiency,
providing increased value for money for our citizens and industry;
the UK aviation industry and the CAA will have measurably increased
capability and performance in safety management, human factors and just
culture, and demonstrated the benefits in terms of risk reduction;
through delivery of Future Airspace Strategy (FAS), the CAA will have
reduced current and future safety risks associated with ATM;
the Airspace Safety Initiative will deliver tangible safety improvements for all
airspace users in the ‘outside controlled airspace’ environment.
July 2014 Page 31

2.60 In order to achieve these objectives, the CAA has established comprehensive
safety monitoring and planning processes to develop safety initiatives. It is also
committed to comply with all ICAO provisions for SMS.
2.61 The UK has a safety policy of complying with ICAO SARPs wherever possible.
However, where the UK considers that it is impracticable or inappropriate
to transpose ICAO provisions into UK legislation, it advises the Secretary of
State prior to notifying any differences to ICAO or publishing in the UK AIP,7 in
accordance with Article 38 of the Chicago Convention.
UK acceptable level of safety performance

2.62 ICAO provisions call for States to establish a safety programme in order to
achieve an ALoSP. They require that the acceptable level of safety to be achieved
shall be established by the State(s) concerned.
2.63 The UK ALoSP is comprised of three safety performance targets:
1. Fatal accident rate 5 year rolling average is in the best 5% of States;
2. SPIs track the frequency of operational events regarded as potential

precursors to fatal accidents, and indicate continuous improvement in
reducing these risks; and
3. Compliance with ICAO Standards, Recommended Practices and Procedures

(SARPs) of at least 90% with sound and considered rationale where
differences have been filed.
UK State Safety Programme improvement/review

2.64 ICAO has outlined the four steps that a State should take to implement a
SSP. The CAA fully implemented the UK SSP and is now working through the
continuous improvement of the programme. The principal areas of work centre
on the refinement and full implementation of State Safety Risk Management
(SSRM) and strengthening the State Safety Assurance (SSA) function. The SSP
documentation will be reviewed annually. The performance-based approach
to regulation that will deliver SSRM and SSA will be communicated through
bespoke safety promotion activity.
The CAA Safety Plan and State Safety Risk Management process
2.65 One of the CAA’s key strategic objectives is to enhance civil aviation safety
performance by pursuing targeted, proportionate and continuous improvements
in systems, culture, processes and capability. This objective places the safety
7 Ref. The UK Aeronautical Information Publication (AIP), Section GEN 1.7, from NATS Aeronautical
Information Service.
July 2014 Page 32

of the UK citizen at the heart of all safety improvement activities, and involves
effective collaborative partnerships with industry, ICAO, EASA and individual
States to ensure that complementary safety outcomes are set and achieved.
As some elements of risk to UK citizens reside in foreign destinations or non-
UK airlines flying in the UK, these are now considered as an activity under the
SSP. The vast majority of such risks are assured by international standards at the
ICAO level. However where specific issues or ‘hotspots’ are identified, they are
addressed proactively through a direct relationship with the state authorities,
service providers and operators concerned.
2.66 Safety risks are identified and prioritised through the CAA’s safety risk
management process. At the highest level, this involves the systematic analysis
of global fatal accidents involving large airliner type aircraft (carried out by the
CAA Accident Analysis Group (AAG)) and high-risk events involving similar UK
aircraft operated worldwide and foreign aircraft in UK airspace (carried out by
The High Risk Events Analysis Team (THREAT)). This analysis has identified the
CAA ‘Significant Seven’ lethal outcomes that prioritise safety risks.8 These form
the overarching categories against which further in-depth analysis is carried out
and safety improvement actions identified. Joint CAA-industry action groups
are used for this purpose. The latest outputs from AAG are contained in CAP
1036 ‘Global Fatal Accident Review 2002-2011’ and outputs from THREAT will
be available from February 2014. This analysis helps identify the operational
scenarios that most frequently result in these seven lethal outcomes.
2.67 These operational scenarios are then analysed through the use of barrier
modelling, developed by joint CAA-industry groups. These barrier models use a
combination of safety data and subject matter expertise to establish the key risk
controls in place, assess their effectiveness and identify actions to improve their
strength. The barrier models are also used to drive safety data collection needs
so that risk control performance can be better monitored and assurance provided
on the effectiveness of safety improvement actions through appropriate SPIs.
2.68 Barrier modelling identifies common root causes that underlie these key
safety events, such as pilot performance, maintenance error or non-precision
approaches. Projects to proactively address these root causes are planned and
implemented in order to raise the underlying safety of the UK aviation system,
and these form a large element of the CAA Safety Plan.
2.69 Safety intelligence from performance-based oversight audits of industry is

used to augment analysis of safety data and development of barrier models to
complete the generation of an overall risk picture for UK aviation safety, which
is then broken down by industry sector and entity (an individual organisation
or groups of similar smaller organisations). In addition, local risk groups within
8 CAA ‘Significant Seven’: Loss of Control, Runway Excursion, Controlled Flight into Terrain, Runway
Incursion, Airborne Conflict, Ground Handling and Fire.
July 2014 Page 33

specialist capability teams identify the risk priorities within their subject matter
and address it locally or raise it to the CAA Safety Action Group (SAG) as
appropriate.
2.70 The risks identified by each of the individual safety risk management processes
are discussed within the SAG, which agrees on their prioritisation and the
actions required for their mitigation. These actions are then captured and tracked
through the CAA Safety Plan. The CAA Safety Plan is produced biennially, with
active industry participation, and updated annually. Alignment of the CAA Safety
Plan actions with the EASp is ensured as far as is practicable. Emerging or
future safety issues are also collated through the SAG and added to the list of
risks for prioritisation. As the regulatory framework in which the CAA operates
is changing (for example, the increasing scope of EASA and the development
of the SES), the CAA will remain focused on safety improvement and the CAA
Safety Plan is the culmination of this effort.
2.71 Safety improvements cannot be delivered without the CAA’s continuing

engagement with all sectors of the UK aviation industry. The design and
publication of the CAA Safety Plan as a public document is part of the CAA’s
determination to build on that relationship to enable greater involvement from
industry in the development of the CAA Safety Plan and to share the results of
that partnership.
The CAA Safety Risk Management governance structure
2.72 To oversee the CAA’s Safety Risk Management process, the CAA has
established the SAG, Safety Review Board (SRB) and Safety Improvement
Advisory Group (SIAG):
2.73 The SAG identifies safety priorities and recommended actions and presents
these to the higher level SRB.
2.74 The SRB endorses the priorities and ensures that appropriate resources are
allocated to drive the desired improvements in safety performance, based on risk
assessment, and gives strategic direction to the SAG.
2.75 The SIAG consists of senior industry representatives who challenge and advise
on the CAA’s proposed risk priorities, actions, and internal processes for ensuring
that regulatory action is used to best effect for safety.
2.76 The SAGss objectives are:
1. Create and maintain a holistic overview of the total risk picture of the CAA
regulated industry and to UK citizens;
2. Identify emerging tactical and strategic risks that are likely to affect the
industries regulated by the CAA that affect the UK citizen;
July 2014 Page 34

3. Drive continuous improvement of safety benefits within the industries

regulated by the CAA that affect the UK citizen.
2.77 The SRB’s responsibilities include:
1. Monitoring safety performance against the CAA’s safety policies and

objectives;
2. Agreeing the ‘total risk picture’;
3. Identifying new and emerging strategic safety risks;
4. Directing and monitoring the effectiveness of the SAG;
5. Ensuring the effectiveness of the safety oversight of regulated organisations

and personnel;
6. Identifying where action should be considered outside of the current SARG

remit;
7. Reviewing and signing-off major policy, rule and interpretation changes

proposed by the CAA’s Rule and Policy development function;
8. Overseeing development and delivery of the relevant parts of the CAA

Strategic Plan by the SAG;
9. Handling issues escalated from the SAG;
10. Approving Terms of Reference as recommended by the SAG for projects,

new entities and other safety activities as determined by the SAG;
11. Ensuring the effectiveness of the organisation’s safety management

processes.
2.78 The SIAG’s responsibilities include:
1. Providing external assurance to the SSP;
2. The oversight, steering and challenging of the implementation of the CAA

Safety Plan;
3. Supporting the implementation of a risk and performance-based approach to

regulation.
Change management
2.79 Aviation is in a continuous state of change, with advances in technology

and a changing business and regulatory context. Regulatory staff may raise
issues arising in their areas of specialisation through local risk groups to their
management and the SAG. This may result in measures such as:
July 2014 Page 35

review of SARG structure or skills to accommodate changing demands;
adjustment of regulatory oversight according to risk as assessed by the SRB;
research to provide objective evidence of the nature and extent of issues

arising;
specific promotion of occurrence reporting in areas of change or concern;
monitoring of key safety data parameters.
2.80 Issues that the CAA considers require regulatory change are introduced to EASA
either directly or through the Regulatory Advisory Group or one of the four
Thematic Advisory Groups.
UK accident and incident investigation
UK mainland accident investigation
2.81 Regulation (EU) No 996/2010 of the European Parliament and of the Council of
20 October 2010 on the investigation and prevention of accidents and incidents
in civil aviation states that
‘Each Member State shall ensure that safety investigations are conducted or
supervised, without external interference, by a permanent national civil aviation
safety investigation authority capable of independently conducting a full safety
investigation, either on its own or through agreements with other safety
investigation authorities’.
2.82 The Secretary of State has made Regulations, under Section 75 of the
Civil Aviation Act 1982. The Civil Aviation (Investigation of Air Accidents and
Incidents) Regulations 1996 provide for the appointment of inspectors of air
accidents and a Chief Inspector, and provide appropriate powers for those
inspectors to conduct independent investigations into accidents and serious
incidents involving civil aircraft. The Regulations also provide for the continued
establishment of the AAIB and fulfils the UK’s obligation in relation to ICAO
Annex 13.
2.83 The AAIB conducts an independent accident and investigation process. The sole
objective of this process is the prevention of accidents and incidents; it is not
to apportion blame or liability. The AAIB is established within the DfT, separately
from the Aviation Directorate, and separate from the CAA. The Chief Inspector
reports, on matters concerning aviation accidents and incidents, directly to the
Secretary of State.
July 2014 Page 36

Overseas territories accident investigation
2.84 In each OT the Governor has made accident investigation Regulations under
Section 75 of the Civil Aviation Act 1982, as extended to the OT by an Order in
Council, which empowers the Governor to appoint investigators to investigate
accidents and serious incidents.
2.85 Memoranda of Agreement (MoA) or Understanding are in place between

individual Territories and the UK AAIB. In the majority of the OT a Letter of
Appointment has been signed by the Governor of the OT, pursuant to the MoA/
MoU, appointing the Chief Inspector of the AAIB as the Chief Inspector of Air
Accidents for the OT. The Letter of Appointment empowers the Chief Inspector
to appoint individual inspectors from within the AAIB for the purposes of
undertaking any investigation required under the Regulations and in accordance
with such Regulations.
2.86 Under the Letter of Appointment arrangements, once the Governor has notified
the AAIB of an accident or serious incident, an Inspector in Charge (IiC) will be
appointed by the Chief Inspector of the AAIB. The IiC will be a member of the
AAIB, irrespective of whether the AAIB attends the scene of the accident or
whether the investigation is conducted remotely, from the UK.
2.87 The Accident Investigation Manager is a locally appointed and AAIB approved
individual, who should be independent from the regulator, whose role is to assist
the AAIB in the conduct of its investigation.
Crown Dependencies and Gibraltar accident investigation
2.88 In the Bailiwick of Jersey, accident investigation is governed by the Civil Aviation
(Investigations of Air Accidents and Incidents (Jersey) Order 2000.9 The Chief
Inspector of the AAIB, of the UK DfT, has been appointed as the Chief Inspector
of Air Accidents for Jersey.
2.89 In the Bailiwick of Guernsey, accident investigation is governed by the Civil

Aviation (Investigation of Air Accidents and Incidents) (Guernsey) Order 1998
which give the UK AAIB responsibility for investigating all civil aircraft accidents.
Statutory powers are provided through the 1998 Order which give the Bailiff and
the AAIB powers of investigation relating to the management of the accident
scene.
2.90 The Isle of Man has adopted The UK Civil Aviation (Investigation of Air Accidents
and Incidents) Regulations 1996 and implements these Regulations in
accordance with a MoA. The Isle of Man has an MOU with the UK AAIB dated
12 April 2007 for the UK AAIB to investigate accidents or serious incidents.
9 http://www.jerseylaw.je/Law/display.aspx?url=lawsinforce%2fconsolidated%2f03%2f03.525_
Appendix_CivilAviation(InvestigationofAirAccidents)Order2000.htm
July 2014 Page 37

2.91 The Government of Gibraltar and the UK AAIB signed an agreement
‘to assist the Government of Gibraltar in the event of an investigation into an

aircraft accident or serious incident’,
on 15 January 2009. Additionally, in a letter signed by the Deputy Chief Minister

and dated 17 January 2012, Keith Conradi, the present UK AAIB Chief Inspector,
was appointed to undertake the duties of the Chief Inspector of Air Accidents as
defined in the Gibraltar Regulations.
UK enforcement policy
New regulators’ code 2013
2.92 When enforcing aviation safety legislation, the CAA will have regard to the
‘Better Regulation Principles’ published in 2013 by the UK Government’s
Department for Business, Innovation and Skills, Better Regulation Delivery
Office. These regulatory principles are:
1. Carry out activity in a way that helps those regulated comply and grow.
2. Provide simple and straightforward ways to engage with and hear the views
of those regulated.
3. Base regulatory activity on risk.
4. Share information about compliance and risk.
5. Ensure that clear information, guidance and advice is available to help those
regulated to meet their responsibilities.
6. Ensure the approach to regulatory activity is transparent.
Administrative measures
2.93 Almost every aspect of aviation activity is subject to a permissioning regime:
pilots, aircraft maintenance engineers and ATCOs must have a licence;
commercial aircraft operators and air navigation service providers must have
a certificate;
aerodromes that accept commercial air transport must be licensed;
organisations which design produce or maintain aircraft must be approved; and
individual aircraft must have a certificate of airworthiness or permit to fly.
2.94 With the exception of design organisation approvals, all these permissions are
issued, so far as individuals and organisations in the UK are concerned, by the
July 2014 Page 38

UK CAA. They are all issued in accordance with legal requirements setting out
the criteria which must be met in order to be granted such permission.
2.95 The CAA has powers to limit, suspend or revoke permission where it is no
longer satisfied that the relevant criteria are met. Where licensing action is
proposed, the CAA is obliged to offer the holder of the licence a hearing before
one or more Members of the CAA. The procedure is contained in Regulation 6 of
the Civil Aviation Authority Regulations 1991, with further guidance contained in
CAP 1048, ‘Guidance for applicant: Conduct of reviews of decisions or proposals
made by the CAA Safety Regulation Group’.
Prosecution
2.96 A failure to comply with any of the requirements of the UK ANO and its related
Regulations or specified European aviation safety Regulations is a criminal
offence in the UK. While specialist Investigation Officers undertake any criminal
investigations, regulatory officials are responsible for commissioning those
investigations in appropriate cases and for deciding what action, if any, should
be taken once an investigation has been completed. The decision on what action
is appropriate is based on specialist legal advice and is taken in accordance with
the UK Code for Crown Prosecutors
2.97 The CAA has limited resources and cannot investigate every report which it
receives. Of the many reports and complaints received each year some 200 are
investigated of which about 20 result in prosecutions.
Mandatory Occurrence Reporting (MOR) scheme
2.98 There is a requirement in the UK ANO for the reporting of specified occurrences
to the CAA. This implements the EU Occurrence Reporting Directive.10 As
required by the Directive, the UK ANO provides that (with the exception of
cases of gross negligence) no criminal proceedings shall be instituted in respect
of unpremeditated or inadvertent infringements of the law which come to the
attention of the relevant authorities only because they have been reported under
the MOR Scheme.
Prosecution and licence action
2.99 Licensing action (see paragraph 2.95) cannot be taken in order to punish
the licence holder. Refusal, revocation, suspension or variation of a licence,
certificate or approval may only be taken if the conduct of the person concerned
is such that he does not meet or no longer meets the criteria for holding such a
licence, certificate or approval.
10 EU Directive 2003/42/EC of 13 June 2003 on occurrence reporting in civil aviation.
July 2014 Page 39

State Safety Programme for the UK Chapter 3: UK aviation safety risk management
Chapter 3
3
UK aviation safety risk management
The UK has established a phased approach to the implementation of SMS. There are
2 phases:
Phase 1: the SMS assessment determines whether the key elements of a

SMS are in place (present and suitable).
Phase 2: assesses whether the SMS is operating and effective and looks for
best practice and signs of excellence.
Such an approach will recognise the timescale required to develop and implement a
SMS and for it to operate and mature in effectiveness.
Safety requirements for the service provider’s SMS

3.1 With the extension of SMS across all EASA regulated organisations the UK CAA
has established a common approach to SMS oversight. This includes common
training, procedures and evaluation tools.
3.2 In view of the developing nature of SMS, the CAA is regularly reviewing the
relevance of all guidance material, procedures, tools and training material. This is
being carried out by the SMS Programme Lead and a cross capability team SMS
Steering Group. In addition, an SMS standardisation team has been established
to monitor SMS oversight activities.
Air Operator and Approved Maintenance Organisation

SMS requirements
3.3 The UK has committed to adopting the EASA entry into force dates for SMS
Implementations.
Aerodrome Operator SMS requirements

3.4 Based on existing ICAO Standards the CAA requires SMS for Aerodrome
Operators as part of their aerodrome licence. EASA have now issued SMS
requirements for those airports designated as EASA Aerodromes that the CAA
will evaluate using the common Phase 2 SMS evaluation tool.
Air Navigation Service Providers (ANSPs) SMS requirements

3.5 The status of SMS in the UK regulatory regime has been subject to substantial
change. In response to existing ICAO Standards that call for SMS for ANSPs, the
CAA requires SMS for ANSPs.
July 2014 Page 40

State Safety Programme for the UK Chapter 3: UK aviation safety risk management
Approved Training Organisation SMS requirements

3.6 The UK has committed to adopting the EASA entry into force dates for SMS
Implementations.
Agreement of product or service provider’s safety performance

3.7 The adoption of common training, procedures and evaluation tools will greatly
assist in assessing different organisations in a consistent way, including by
assessing those organisations that have more than one approval in a manner
that will allow the oversight to be integrated rather than carried out in isolated
assessments. The SMS evaluation includes an assessment of the way
organisations develop and monitor their own safety performance and a review of
the organisation’s SPIs.
3.8 To assist organisations to implement a SMS, and on methods to identify

operational hazards, the CAA has published various guidance documents on the
CAA’s website.
3.9 The CAA has an established method for assessing the safety risk and
determining an ALoSP for the UK at State level.11 To determine an ALoSP for
the UK, the CAA has developed a number of SPIs and these are used to assess
safety performance for specific safety measures. The safety indicators reflect the
ALoSP for the SSP.
3.10 The UK has not, at this time, established an acceptable level of safety that is
applicable to organisations in the operation of their SMS. The CAA Safety Plan
and the Significant Seven are expected to be used by service providers to
monitor and measure actions and safety performance. The SMS evaluation will
assess service providers’ management of risk to ensure it is effective.
Periodic assessment of product or service provider’s safety

performance
3.11 The CAA is focusing substantial resources towards ensuring that service
providers implement an effective SMS. This is in the form of CAA Guidance
Material, workshops and seminars and SMS assessments. A multi-disciplinary
assessment method has been established and implemented. However, it
is important to note that this SMS oversight is in addition to elements of
compliance and safety performance monitoring.
11 CAA SARG produces an internal High Level Safety Performance Indicators (SPIs) document as well as
publishing various SPIs in the CAA Annual Report.
July 2014 Page 41

State Safety Programme for the UK Chapter 4: UK aviation safety assurance
Chapter 4
4
UK aviation safety assurance
Safety oversight
Safety oversight of product and service providers

4.1 CAA specialist teams have established their own oversight procedures,
reflecting the oversight requirements under the relevant EASA IRs, and these
are described in detail in the CAA’s internal Safety Regulation Management
System (SRMS).12 This is supported by the CAA’s Regulatory Enforcement
Policy13 which highlights that the CAA will work in a collaborative manner with
industry to achieve compliance with applicable Regulations but that, where this
is not working, sanctions will be applied as appropriate, ranging from warning
letters to prosecution.
4.2 As an example, the CAA has systems for addressing identified safety-related
shortcomings through audit findings. These are recorded in order of priority with
the most severe Level 1 finding being made where the CAA determines that
the level of compliance and/or safety performance has fallen to the extent that
there is a significant risk to flight safety. Such a finding will normally result in
some form of regulatory action, such as the suspension of an approval or the
prevention of an aircraft from flying or, in the most severe cases, prosecution.
4.3 Another example is the CAA’s ‘On Notice’ procedure which can be applied to
an organisation whose performance in terms of safety management, though
currently above minimum acceptable levels, shows a trend which, unless
corrected, would soon result in unacceptable safety levels. The organisation is
advised that they are ‘On Notice’, and that unless action is taken in accordance
with a plan acceptable to the CAA and within an agreed timescale, further
regulatory action will be taken. Such action could be the suspension of approvals
related to identified non-conformities, or, in some cases the suspension of any
certificates, approvals, permissions or any other documents granted by the CAA
to the organisation.
4.4 The CAA believes that measures such as these together with the existing
oversight system, provides the graduated system needed to ensure that
operators maintain the required standards.
12 The CAA SRMS is an internal document, not available for public access.
13 The Regulatory Enforcement Policy can be found at: http://www.caa.co.uk/enforcement
July 2014 Page 42

Internal State Safety Programme review / quality assurance

4.5 In order to drive even greater improvements in safety, the CAA is now
introducing a performance-based approach to regulation under the Enhancing
Safety Performance (ESP) initiative. In line with strategic direction from ICAO and
EASA, the PBR approach being implemented will identify the major safety risks
across the total UK aviation system and will seek to ensure that these are being
managed by the responsible organisation or entity within the aviation industry
sector.
4.6 Under PBR, intelligence on the risks and safety management performance
is collated for each entity from numerous internal and external sources.
Multi-disciplinary teams from across the CAA then meet to perform risk and
performance assessments on their assigned entities; the outputs of these
reviews are discussed with the respective Accountable Manager for each
entity and outcomes and actions agreed to ensure that the key risks and safety
performance are being addressed appropriately.
4.7 In addition, safety data from each entity within a sector, such as low-cost
airlines, aerodromes and maintenance repair organisations, will be aggregated
and analysed to identify both sector and Total Aviation System risks. Depending
on priorities and resource availability, sector and Total Aviation System risks will
be assigned to Programme and Project Managers within the CAA who will be
responsible for delivering better safety outcomes.
External State Safety Programme review / audit

4.8 The CAA has established a suite of SPIs to be monitored in support of one of
its key strategic objectives to enhance aviation safety performance by pursuing
targeted and continuous improvements in systems, culture, processes and
capability.
4.9 These SPIs monitor safety performance for issues associated with large
commercial air transport aeroplane operations. They include traditional lagging
indicators, which measure events impacting on safety performance that have
already occurred (for example runway excursions), and leading indicators,
which measure changes to the safety system to manage and improve safety
performance (for example, the proportion of pilots that have undergone stable
approach training). Measures of precursor events, which are lower-severity
lagging indicators, are also being developed through the use of Flight Data
Monitoring algorithms (for example, identifying unstable approaches or deep
landings as precursors to a runway excursion).
July 2014 Page 43

4.10 These SPIs are consistent with the tiered model of SPIs recommended
internationally by EASA and the Safety Management International Co-ordination
Group (SM-ICG). Furthermore, they are compatible with the SPIs developed by
the European Network of Analysts SPI Subgroup as part of the EASp. They also
satisfy the data requirements for the National Performance Plan (NPP) for ATM.
4.11 Specific SPIs have also been established for other aviation sectors such as public
transport helicopter operations, business aviation and general aviation.
4.12 The CAA has established a UK Network of Analysts to facilitate amongst

industry the adoption of best practice in occurrence reporting, use of
standardised SPIs and exchange of de-identified safety data for benchmarking
purposes. Lessons learnt and generic issues from the UK Network of Analysts
are fed into the European equivalent run by EASA.
Safety data collection, analysis and exchange
Occurrence Reporting System

4.13 The main aviation safety occurrence reporting process in the UK is the MOR
Scheme.
4.14 In addition to MOR, there are individual reporting arrangements for aircraft
accidents and serious incidents, Airprox,14 bird strikes, wake turbulence
encounters, Dangerous Goods events, the Confidential Human Factors Incident
Reporting Programme (CHIRP) and whistleblower reports.
Mandatory Occurrence Reporting scheme
4.15 The UK CAA MOR Scheme was established in 1976. Its objective is to contribute
to the improvement of air safety by ensuring that relevant information on safety
is reported, collected, stored, protected and disseminated. The sole objective
of occurrence reporting is the prevention of accidents and incidents and not
to attribute blame or liability.15 It is a legal requirement for specified persons
to submit MORs.16 The CAA receives over 16,000 new MORs per annum and
these reports are stored and analysed using the European Coordination Centre
for Accident and Incident Reporting Systems (ECCAIRS)17 occurrence reporting
software provided by the European Commission Join Research Centre.18
14 An Airprox is defined as a situation in which, in the opinion of a pilot or Air Traffic Services personnel, the
distance between aircraft as well as their relative positions and speed have been such that the safety of the
aircraft involved may have been compromised. (ICAO Doc 4444: PANS-ATM).
15 EU Directive 2003/42/EC.Article1
16 ANO 2009, Art 226 (5).
17 ECCAIRS is software used to assist States in collecting, sharing and analysing their safety aviation
information.
18 See http://eccairsportal.jrc.ec.europa.eu/ for more information on ECCAIRS.
July 2014 Page 44

4.16 The operation of MOR is described in CAP 382. This contains a statement from
the CAA Chief Executive in which the CAA gives an assurance that its primary
concern is to secure free and uninhibited reporting, and that it will not be its
policy to institute proceedings in respect of unpremeditated or inadvertent
breaches of the law which come to its attention only because they have been
reported under the Scheme, except in cases of gross negligence.
4.17 MOR complies with the ICAO Annex 13, para 8.1 and is fully compliant with
the requirements of EU Directive 2003/42/EC on occurrence reporting in civil
aviation. This Directive, now transposed into the UK ANO as Article 226, calls for
national systems to be established to store, protect and disseminate air safety
occurrence reports.
4.18 In accordance with ICAO Annex 13, para. 8.3 and the EU Directive, the CAA
also encourages voluntary reporting of incidents under the MOR Scheme for
the whole spectrum of UK civil aviation operators. The CAA’s organisation and
procedures for processing, recording and disclosing reports do not differentiate
between voluntary and mandatory reports.
4.19 In accordance with ICAO Annex 13, para 8.6, the CAA has developed a method
for the analysis of data contained in MORs and to determine any preventative
actions required. It has developed a process that classifies the risk associated
with each MOR. This risk classification process of MOR data provides essential
information for the CAA’s safety risk management process.
4.20 Analysis of this data is carried out by a specialist safety performance analysis
team. Their role is to develop and monitor SPIs for all the key safety risks,
identify trends, produce focussed analyses on specific safety issues and to
promote the results. This data supports oversight activity, and is available for
industry to use as part of their SMS and to facilitate benchmarking.
4.21 Every month, data is disseminated to the UK aviation community to provide

feedback on occurrences submitted by UK operators and industry and to inform
them of other UK occurrences. It is intended that organisation who contribute
to the MOR database will be able to access this data online in support of their
SMS.
4.22 The CAA receives numerous requests for safety data retrievals from many
sources. This data is provided with due regard to confidentiality issues.
4.23 The UK and all other EU Member States submit the occurrence report data they
have received nationally to the European Central Repository, in accordance with
EC 1321/2007. This repository is administered by the EC to enable analysis of
pan-European aviation safety data.
July 2014 Page 45

4.24 The UK MOR database is the UK national aviation safety database and contains
records on accidents, serious incidents and incidents. The UK accident
investigation body, the AAIB, has full access to this data.
4.25 Note: EU Directive 2003/42/EC and EC 1321/2007 will be repealed in 2014 by

a new EU Regulation on the reporting, analysis and follow-up of occurrences
in civil aviation. The UK ANO will be amended accordingly to reflect this new
Regulation and the CAA will publish amended guidance.
Mandatory birdstrike reports
4.26 In accordance with ICAO Annex 14, para. 9.4.2, and UK ANO Article 277 (that
calls for the mandatory reporting of birdstrikes) the CAA has established a
process to collect and assess birdstrike reports. Relevant reports are forwarded
to ICAO annually, for inclusion in the ICAO Bird Strike Information System (IBIS)
database.
4.27 Under the UK Birdstrike Reporting System, any aircraft commander flying in UK
airspace who believes that his aircraft has collided with one or more birds must
inform the CAA, unless it has already been reported as an accident or damage
occurrence through the MOR Scheme. This non-MOR birdstrike reporting
system is managed by the CAA Airspace, ATM & Aerodromes (AAA) team. Plans
are in place to store all birdstrike reports, irrespective of whether they are an
MOR or not, within ECCAIRS.
July 2014 Page 46

4.28 The UK Birdstrike Committee (UKBSC) has been established to provide a forum
for stakeholders to discuss bird/wildlife strike hazards and methods for reducing
the associated risks (including the reporting of wildlife strikes).
UK Airprox Board (UKAB)
4.29 The UKAB was established in 1998 to assess civil and military Airprox events
in the interests of enhancing flight safety, and is sponsored jointly and funded
equally by the CAA and MoD. It is not the purpose of UKAB to apportion blame
or liability.19
4.30 An Airprox report should be made whenever a pilot or controller considers

that the distance between aircraft as well as their relative positions and speed
have been such that the safety of the aircraft involved was or may have been
compromised. These reports, together with relevant recorded radar data,
radiotelephony transcripts and other supporting casework are assessed by the
UKAB panel of independent experts to establish the casual factors and level of
risk.
4.31 The UKAB assesses Airprox that have occurred in all UK airspace and all airspace
for which the UK Government has undertaken, in pursuit of international
arrangements, to provide air navigation services. The UKAB sends its
assessment reports together with any formal safety recommendation to relevant
aircraft and aerodrome operators, ANSPs and the civil and military regulators. All
reports are published on the UKAB internet website.
Voluntary/confidential reporting system
UK Confidential Human-Factors Incident Reporting Programme
4.32 CHIRP has been in operation since 1982. In 1996 the programme was
restructured in the form of a charitable company limited by guarantee to enable
it to make a more effective contribution to the resolution of important safety-
related issues. The aviation programme is fully funded by a grant from the
CAA. The CHIRP corporate structure was selected in order to provide a totally
independent organisation, with management and fiscal responsibilities held by
an independent Board of Trustees.20
4.33 The aim of CHIRP is to contribute to the enhancement of aviation safety in the
UK, by providing a totally independent, confidential (not anonymous) reporting
system for all individuals employed in or associated with these industries. The
programme accepts reports from pilots, cabin crews, ATCOs, maintenance
engineers and those involved in general aviation.
19 For more information on UKAB, see http://www.airproxboard.org.uk/

20 For more information on CHIRP, see http://www.chirp.co.uk/
July 2014 Page 47

4.34 CHIRP supplements other reporting systems, including MOR. The submission
of a CHIRP report does not fulfil the statutory obligations under the UK ANO
for mandatory reporting. However, CHIRP is a voluntary reporting scheme as
required by Annex 13, paragraph 8.3.
Evidence-based safety improvement activity

4.35 The evidentiary basis for the aviation risk to the UK citizen is described as
residual risk. This risk was derived through reviewing AAG and THREAT data and
identifying likely contributory factors. The next stage was to understand which
parts of the aviation system would be best configured to mitigate a particular
element of risk.
4.36 Importantly around 2/3rds of the risk facing the general population is from
sectors that sit outside of the CAA’s regulatory remit. It is therefore critical that
the CAA understands and collaborates with the DfT and industry to address all
risks either directly, or through a partner agency for example a non-UK NAA.
4.37 The key outputs from this work are a suite of safety improvement projects
that are targeted against the most prevalent risks, wherever they arise. These
projects include a significant focus on emerging technologies such as Space
Planes and UAS. Notably the engagement with foreign partners to improve
safety performance of overseas operators and non-UK operators in the UK
is delivering immediate tangible evidence of safety improvement. The initial
success of State Safety Partnerships forms the foundation for trans-national
aviation safety improvement evidenced though MORs which will underpin the
prioritisation of the CAA’s international work.
Safety of Foreign Aircraft
4.38 Closely related to the international engagement activity above, the Safety
Assessment of Foreign Aircraft (SAFA) programme is intended to provide
understanding and assurance of the safety performance of non-UK aircraft
operating within the UK. In 1996, the European Civil Aviation Conference (ECAC)
launched its SAFA programme to complement ICAO audits by concentrating
on actual aircraft checks at airports (‘ramp inspections’) aimed at ensuring that
relevant ICAO standards were being complied with. The SAFA Directive, 2004/36/
CE was the directive that initiated the SAFA programme in its current form.
4.39 The UK has participated from the start. SAFA is promulgated under the auspices
of the EU, with the UK DfT tasked with meeting the legal requirements of
Regulation (EC) No 216/2008 within UK territory. The DfT works with the CAA
to take any necessary action. In September 2007 it contracted the CAA to
undertake some 600 ramp inspections; this has risen year on year and the CAA
carried out 1,067 ramp inspections in the 2013 Financial Year.
July 2014 Page 48

4.40 EC Directive 2008/49/EC on the safety of third country aircraft using Community
airports requires Member States to inspect aircraft registered outside the
Community if they are suspected of non-compliance with ICAO international
standards. This is implemented in the UK by the Civil Aviation (Safety of Third
Country Aircraft) Regulations 2006 (SI 2006/1384) which gives powers to the
CAA to inspect third country aircraft if they are suspected of non-compliance
with ICAO international standards. Aircraft from other EASA Member States
may also be subject to ramp inspections if suspected of non-compliance with
international standards. The safety oversight process takes account of the results
of the ICAO Universal Safety Oversight Audit Programme (USOAP) reports,
information from other SAFA ramp inspections and other recognised information.
4.41 The process also has conditions for banning aircraft that do not meet
international safety standards. Another Regulation21 imposes a duty on EASA to
send information to the EC that may be relevant for updating the EC list of air
carriers that are subject to an operating ban in the EC.22
4.42 The Regulation (EC) No 216/2008 (EASA Basic Regulation) now contains
substantive requirements for aircraft used by third country operators in the
EC. EASA is developing detailed IRs to apply to such aircraft. These rules are
supplemented within Regulation EU 965/2012 (Part ARO.RAMP) and the current
NPA 2013-13 which will apply to both third country and EC carriers (SAFA & Safety
Assessment of Community Aircraft (SACA). SAFA is also moving to a performance
based approach to audit priorities with Regulation 351/2008, which requires States
to prioritise a portion of their inspections based on the latest version of the priority
list, in order to have safety improvement effect where it is most needed.
21 Regulation (EC) No 2111/2005.

22 The current list is at http://www.ec.europa.eu/transport/air-ban/list_en.htm
July 2014 Page 49

State Safety Programme for the UK Chapter 5: UK Aviation safety promotion
Chapter 5
5
UK Aviation safety promotion
Internal training, communication and dissemination of safety

information
Internal State Safety Programme, SMS and safety training

5.1 The CAA has established appropriate development and training courses for its
staff. An individual’s development and training needs are considered during the
annual performance management review. Independent assessment under the
Investors in People initiative occurs every three years.
External communication and dissemination of safety information

5.2 The CAA communicates with stakeholders in many different ways. At a high-
level, safety is addressed in the CAA’s Annual Report. The CAA’s Safety Plan23
describes in more detail the UK high-level safety objectives and outlines the
CAA’s programme of work to achieve continuous safety improvement over the
years to come. The CAA also publishes much guidance material to support
regulatory action.
5.3 Under Annex 15 to the Chicago Convention international obligations and as

required by the UK ANO, the UK publishes the UK AIP. The AIP is part of an
Integrated Aeronautical Information Package which consists of the AIP, AIP
Supplements, AIC, NOTAMs, pre-flight Information Bulletins and Check Lists.
5.4 For meteorological information, the CAA is the Meteorological Authority for
the UK. Aerodrome meteorological observations are provided by trained and
certified observers at 55 UK airports. Meteorological forecasting warnings and
climatological services for civil aviation are provided by the UK Met Office under
designation from the CAA.
5.5 In addition, the CAA frequently publishes on its website documents such as
Letters to Owners and Operators, and Training Communications.
5.6 The CAA publishes each month a listing of MORs received by the CAA. This
‘monthly listing’ is sent to the UK aviation reporting community and provides
valuable feedback to service providers on recent MORs to inform them and
their SMS.
23 The CAA’s Safety Plan is available on CAA’s website: http://www.caa.co.uk
July 2014 Page 50

State Safety Programme for the UK Chapter 5: UK Aviation safety promotion
Engagement with stakeholders
5.7 The CAA participates in numerous consultative committees that involve

representatives of specific sectors of the aviation industry. Examples of these
committees are numerous and the composition reflects the element of aviation
under discussion, general flight operations and aviation safety are discussed in
groups such as: UK Flight Safety Committee, General Aviation Safety Council and
Flight Operations Liaison Group. Similarly air traffic services and maintenance
issues within industry may be raised with groups such as: Air Traffic Services
Safety Regulatory Advisory Committee (ATSSRAC), the Airport Operators’
Association Operations and Safety group and Operations Technical Group (OTG).
5.8 UK Flight Safety Committee (UKFSC)24 The UKFSC is an unincorporated

association of professionals dedicated to the improvement of commercial
aviation safety. Members meet regularly to exchange safety information and
to examine ways to improve safety and to avoid incidents and accidents.
Membership of the UKFSC is available to all bodies involved/concerned with
aviation safety. ‘FOCUS on Commercial Aviation’ is the official publication of
the UKFSC and is circulated quarterly to commercial pilots, flight engineers and
ATCOs, holding current licences. The CAA partly funds and is a member of the
UKFSC.
5.9 General Aviation Safety Council (GASCo)25 GASCo was established in 1964 to
provide a forum in which all of the general aviation organisations could meet to
share safety information. Almost every organisation involved in general aviation
is represented. GASCo is a charity funded by the member organisations, pilots
and the CAA.
24 For more information, see: http://www.ukfsc.co.uk

25 For more information, see: http://www.gasco.org.uk
July 2014 Page 51

State Safety Programme for the UK Glossary
Glossary
ALoSP Acceptable Level of Safety Performance

AAG Accident Analysis Group
AIP Aeronautical Information Publication
AAIB Air Accidents Investigation Branch
AN(OT)O Air Navigation (Overseas Territories) Order
ANO Air Navigation Order
ANSP Air Navigation Service Provider
ASSI Air Safety Support International
ATC Air Traffic Control
ATCo Air Traffic Controller
ATM Air Traffic Management
ATSSRAC Air Traffic Services Safety Regulatory Advisory Committee
AAA Airspace, ATM & Aerodromes
CAAi CAA International
CAA Civil Aviation Authority
CAP Civil Aviation Publication
CHIRP Confidential Human Factors Incident Reporting Programme
Chicago Convention Convention on International Civil Aviation
CD Crown Dependencies
DfT Department for Transport
DGCA Director General of Civil Aviation
DG MAA Director General of Military Aviation Authority
DCA Director of Civil Aviation
EAB EASA Advisory Board
ESP Enhancing Safety Performance
EASA European Aviation Safety Agency
EASp European Aviation Safety Plan
ECAC European Civil Aviation Conference
EC European Commission
EU European Union
July 2014 Page 52

FCO Foreign & Commonwealth Office

FAB Functional Airspace Block
FAS Future Airspace Strategy
GASCo General Aviation Safety Council
HLG High Level Group
IBIS ICAO Birdstrike Information System
IR Implementing Rule
IiC Inspector in Charge
ICAO International Civil Aviation Organisation
IoM Isle of Man
IoM CAA Isle of Man Civil Aviation Administration
MOR Mandatory Occurrence Report
MCA Maritime and Coastguard Agency
MoU/MoA Memorandum of Understanding / Agreement
MAA Military Aviation Authority
MoD Ministry of Defence
MoJ Ministry of Justice
NATS National Air Traffic Service
NPP National Performance Plan
NAA National Aviation Authority
NOTAM Notice To Airmen
OJEU Official Journal of the European Union
OTG Operations Technical Group
OT Overseas Territories
OTAA Overseas Territories Aviation Authority
OTAC Overseas Territories Aviation Circular
OTAR Overseas Territories Aviation Requirement
PBR Performance-Based Regulation
SAG Safety Action Group
SARG Safety and Airspace Regulation Group
SAFA Safety Assessment of Foreign Aircraft
SIAG Safety Improvement Advisory Group
SM-ICG Safety Management International Cooperation Group
July 2014 Page 53

SMS Safety Management System

SPI Safety Performance Indicator
SPT Safety Performance Target
SRMS Safety Regulation Management System
SRB Safety Review Board
SAR Search and Rescue
SES Single European Sky
SARPs Standards And Recommended Practices
SSA State Safety Assurance
SSP State Safety Programme
SSRM State Safety Risk Management
THREAT The High Risk Events Analysis Team
UKAB UK Airprox Board
UKBSC UK Birdstrike Committee
UKFSC UK Flight Safety Committee
USOAP Universal Safety Oversight Audit Programme
UAS Unmanned Aircraft Systems
July 2014 Page 54

State Safety Plan

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State Safety Programme

for the United Kingdom

For the purposes of brevity, unless otherwise stated, any reference to

For the purposes of brevity, unless otherwise stated, any reference to

Enquiries regarding the content of this publication should be addressed to:

The latest version of this document is available in electronic format at www.caa.co.uk/publications,

Members of the UK Safety Strategy Board

July 2014 Page 3

Manager, State Safety Programme

July 2014 Page 4

UK State Safety Programme overview 9

Chapter 1 UK aviation regulatory system 10

Chapter 2 UK Aviation Safety policy and objectives 20

July 2014 Page 5

UK acceptable level of safety performance 32

Chapter 3 UK aviation safety risk management 40

Chapter 4 UK aviation safety assurance 42

Chapter 5 UK Aviation safety promotion 50

July 2014 Page 6

July 2014 Page 7

We are committed to the principles of better regulation, being transparent, proportionate,

July 2014 Page 8

UK State Safety Programme overview

The International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) describes a SSP as:

‘an integrated set of regulations and activities aimed at improving safety’.

July 2014 Page 9

UK aviation regulatory system

The purpose of this Chapter is to describe the safety oversight arrangements in

United Kingdom as ICAO contracting state

July 2014 Page 10

The United Kingdom as Contracting State to ICAO

Chicago Convention and ICAO

Consultation, UK-based Consultation, Appointment of

Crown Dependencies UK ‘Main’ Overseas Territories

July 2014 Page 11

The UK as a member of the European Union (EU)

The European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA)

July 2014 Page 12

1.9 The Agency’s overarching mission is to promote the highest common

1.10 In addition to developing ‘soft law’ of certification specifications, acceptable

 type-certification of aircraft and components;

 approval of organisations involved in the design of aeronautical products;

 approval of production and maintenance organisations located outside the

 approval of the Airbus production organisation by agreement with four

 approval of pilot training organisations and aeromedical centres located

 certification of flight simulation training devices used by training

 authorisation of third country (non-EU) operations into, within or out of the

The United Kingdom of Great Britain & Northern Ireland - UK ‘main’

July 2014 Page 13

The Overseas Territories

• Gibralter • Akrotiri and Dhekelia

Falkland Islands • • South Georgia and the South Sandwith Islands

British Antarctic Territory

Figure 2 The Overseas Territories

July 2014 Page 14

Air Safety Support International

The Crown Dependencies & Gibraltar

July 2014 Page 15

1.22 The CD are self-governing dependencies of the Crown, and constitutionally

1.23 The UK Government, however, is responsible for their international

July 2014 Page 16

UK ‘CD’ Aviation Environment (Safety Related)

Foreign & Commonwealth

Lord Chancellor and Secretary of State for

type-certification of aircraft and components;

approval of organisations involved in the design of aeronautical products;

approval of production and maintenance organisations located outside the

approval of the Airbus production organisation by agreement with four

approval of pilot training organisations and aeromedical centres located

certification of flight simulation training devices used by training

authorisation of third country (non-EU) operations into, within or out of the

the operation of meteorological services for the purposes of international air

Secondary legislation: the Air Navigation (Overseas Territories) Order 2013

And beneath these, supporting requirements and guidance: the OTARs

the requirements for obtaining and holding a licence, certificate, authority or

general instructions regarding the operation and equipment of aircraft.

The criteria to be applied in relation to OTARs are that:

penalties or sanctions for failure to comply with any obligation imposed

the OTARs do not themselves constitute legislation or Regulations;

the OTARs employ common terms or expressions used by ICAO in

Information of a temporary nature;

Information published in advance of a formal amendment to OTARs;