About the annual meeting of heads of independent accident investigation bodies (ITSA)

On 14-17 May in Baku headquarters of the Interstate Council on Aviation and Use of Airspace the regular meeting of heads of independent accident investigation bodies (ITSA) was held.

ITSA, as international organisation established in 1993 joins 16 independent accident investigation bodies including Australia, Great Britatin, India, Canada, Netherlands, New Zeland, Norway, Singapore, USA, Taiwan, Finland, France, Sweden, South Korea, Japan and Interstate Aviation Committee - executive body of Interstate Agreement on Civil Aviation and Use of Airspace and Interstate Council on aviation.

This year the honorary right of chairmanship in the Association was received by the Interstate Council on Aviation and Use of Airspace/Interstate Aviation Committee. In 2008, the ITSA meeting, chaired by IAC, was held in St. Petersburg.

The meeting was attended by the IAC Vice-Chairperson, Deputy Director of the department for the ICAO-IAC project implementation and relations with international organisations, Director General of the Interstate Council.

During the meeting, relevant issues of flight safety, the results of severe accidents investigation, best practices in developing and implementing recommendations aimed at improving flight safety and accident prevention, ICAO, IATA, ITSA and other international organisations initiatives, monitoring the implementation of international initiatives and programs in ICAO Member States.

IAC provided the participants of the meeting with reports on the results of the Interstate Council/IAC activity in the field of independent investigation of accidents and events in various fields of civil aviation and the implementation of flight safety initiatives approved at the 36th Session of the Interstate Council held in March.

They included initiatives to improve air traffic management and air navigation support based on use of GNSS GPS/GLONASS satellite systems, G-BAS, liberalization of air transport activities and increasing the availability of aviation services for population of Member States of the Agreement, while ensuring the required level of flight safety, as well as the implementation of international program for aviation specialists training in cooperation with ICAO and IATA. The IAC initiatives on development of research and expert activities in current areas of civil aviation development and flight safety were also presented. A separate report was devoted to the implementation of the ICAO-IAC permanent project aimed at training of qualified aviation specialists, including state inspectors, development of regulatory support and scientific and technical support for the implementation of ICAO standards in the region.

The participants of the meeting highly appreciated the quality of the work carried out by the Interstate Council/IAC and supported a number of initiatives aimed at further improvment of flight safety, noting the importance of implementing the principles of independence and professionalism in accidents investigation on the basis of IAC with involvement of a modern research and expert center and highly professional human resources.

The importance of constructive professional international cooperation in the field of accident investigation and implementation of international civil aviation programs in ICAO member states was noted.

The participants of the meeting noted the importance of researching the impact of new technologies on flight safety and the need to take this influence into account in investigating incidents, including the growing use of unmanned systems, computerization of air transport and infrastructure using elements of artificial intelligence, implementation of new navigation, search and rescue systems, and others.

The participants of the meeting were given an opportunity to get acquainted with the work of the Heydar Aliyev International Airport, the new terminal complex Terminal 1 (recently received a SkyTrax 5-star rating), Silk Way Technics aircraft maintenance organisation, Silk Way Business Aviation terminal, Baku Cargo Terminal and the new air traffic control center "Azeraeronavigatsia" (AZANS).

During the meeting at the headquarters of the Interstate Council, the participants were provided with information on the results of the Interstate Council / IAC activity.

The participants of the meeting expressed their gratitude to the leadership of Azerbaijan, Interstate Council/IAC, aviation authorities of civil aviation of the Ministry of Transport of Azerbaijan, "Azerbaijan Hava Yollari" company, "Azeraeronavigatsia" AZANS concern for hospitality and high level of the meeting management.

The meeting was held in an atmosphere of constructive, professional cooperation and mutual understanding. The next meeting of the Association was proposed to be held in the city of Quebec (Canada).

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