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By Daniel Baxter |
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September 27, 2010 - The Allied Pilots Association (APA), certified collective bargaining agent for the 11,000 pilots of American Airlines, lauded the European Commission's approval of a new regulation on the investigation and prevention of accidents.
Among other
stipulations, the EC regulation affirms that the sole objective of
accident investigation is to prevent future accidents without
attributing blame or liability.
In March 2010, the
European Parliament Transport Committee had adopted a position that
would inevitably force pilots and other safety professionals to stop
cooperating in safety investigations, to protect themselves from
judicial prosecution. |
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?We commend the
European Commission for ensuring that the focus of the accident
investigation process is placed where it should be?on identifying causal
factors to help prevent a recurrence," said APA President Captain David
Bates. "Accident investigations should not be about assigning blame or
determining liability."
A number of recent
accident investigations in various countries have resulted in criminal
charges against pilots, air traffic controllers and other workers. This
trend has been strongly opposed by pilot unions and other subject-matter
experts routinely involved in the accident-investigation process.
"Criminalization
is bound to have a chilling effect on accident investigators' ability to
do their jobs properly," Bates said. "The threat of criminal prosecution
is not conducive to effective accident investigation, which depends on
the full and willing disclosure of relevant information by all
interested parties. The European Commission regulation on aviation
accident investigation represents an important precedent for regulators
around the world."
IFATCA President
Alexis Brathwaite stressed "this balanced and unanimous vote is very
good news for |