From 15 to 18 August, ALPA International (our North American counterpart) held their yearly Air Safety Forum, where I had the opportunity to speak about ECA’s work in the security area. This event is one of the most interesting events on Aviation Safety organised by pilots and attended by some 500+ representatives worldwide – from US Government Officials to National pilots’ associations and aircraft manufacturers. With “One level of Safety: 80 years and counting” as the theme of this year’s edition, ALPA-I reiterated their continuing commitment to improving aviation safety worldwide. Capt. Lee Moak, ALPA-I’s President, opened the plenary session expressing concerns regarding the delay in the publication of new pilot fatigue rules by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) and urged the Government to take action on this important subject.

Keynote speakers from around the world were invited to present on a wide range of safety issues: from pilot training to aviation security and human factors. One particularly interesting and topical presentation was given by Dr. Immanuel Barshi (NASA) on human factors. As he explained, saying that an accident has been caused by “human error” is actually uninformative, as the human factor is everywhere – from the design to the operation of the aircraft. Very often, technology is well ahead of humans, which explains why it gets more and more complicated to understand it. And although training is essential, it is not the panacea. He therefore suggests a more human-centred approach to flight safety, i.e. by involving pilots from the very beginning of the design process, the aircraft will be better suited to the humans. Some interesting points that deserve special thought...

The forum was not only interesting from a content point of view, but also an opportunity to discuss common interest with other pilot representatives. It was the occasion for the Presidents of ECA, ALPA-I and IFALPA (International Federation of Air Line Pilots’ Associations) to engage in direct talks on how to improve coordination between our three associations. We have a lot of issues of common interest – such as Flight Time Limitations or Fatigue Risk Management System (FRMS) implementation to mention a few. Consequently, the sharing of knowledge and expertise on technical issues is paramount in achieving our common goal. The three associations therefore agreed to work more closely together and meet at least three times a year, so we can combine our strengths and make a more efficient use of our resources.

This event showed once more the commitment of hundreds of volunteer pilots working in their spare time to make flying safer. The attendance of the US FAA, ICAO and Aircraft manufacturers also demonstrated that they highly appreciate pilots’ contribution. In Europe, EASA seems to have a different appreciation of our input, when not inviting us to speak at a Conference on Loss of Control as you can read elsewhere in this edition. However, we as ECA - Board, Staff and volunteer experts - will continue to commit to improving aviation safety.