Confidential Human Factors Incident Reporting
Programme
The CHIRP Charitable Trust
Ian Dugmore – Chief Executive (Retired)
CHIRP
ARPAS UK
19 March 2019
Scope
• What is CHIRP and what is our role
in UK safety reporting?
• CHIRP’s support to safe RPAS
operations.
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CHIRP’s Role & Mission
• The role of the Trust is to manage an
independent, voluntary confidential reporting
programme for the aviation and maritime
industries
• CHIRP’s mission is to improve the safety of the
travelling public and that of individuals employed
within or associated with aviation and maritime
operations
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Aviation Programmes
Background, Funding & Regulatory Underpinning
• Commenced 1982
• Funded by the Civil Aviation Authority since 1997
• Civil Aviation Publication CAP 1180 – State Safety
Programme for the United Kingdom published in July
2014. Para 4.34 states: CHIRP is a voluntary reporting
scheme as required by ICAO Annex 13 para 8.3.
• EU Regulation No 376/2014 - Article 5 makes provision
for independent systems for collection and processing of
safety information that might not otherwise be captured.
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Reporters are encouraged to report directly through
company/CAA safety reporting systems.
Safety reports only: CHIRP has no remit to accept reports about
industrial relations, contractual issues etc.
Reporting Relationships - UK
Normal Operations
Incidents
Injury
Accidents
{CHIRP
Aircraft Accident
Investigations Branch {Fatal
Accidents
{CAA Mandatory
Occurrence Reports
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The CHIRP Charitable Trust
Trustees
Secretariat
Trustees• Head of Air Accidents Investigation Branch
• Head of Marine Accident Investigation Branch
• CAA Head of Safety Reporting
• Chief Executive Maritime Coastguard Agency
• Representatives from Maritime Sponsors
• Independent Aviation and Maritime Members
Secretariat (7):• Aviation
• Director Aviation
• Cabin Crew Programme Manager & Company
Secretary
• Deputy Director (Engineering) - part time
• Maritime
• Director Maritime
• 3 part time Maritime Assistants CHIRP
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CHIRP Charitable Trust
Trustees
Secretariat
Air Transport Advisory Board
Cabin Crew Advisory Board
General Aviation Advisory Board
Maritime Advisory Board
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Air Transport Advisory Board
Aircraft Accident Investigation Branch Association of Licensed Aircraft Engineers
Agusta Westland Babcock
British Airline Pilots Association Bristows Helicopters
British Airways Engineering Business & General Aviation Association
CAA Chief Medical Officer CAA Airworthiness
CAA Flight Operations CAA Air Traffic Standards Investigations
easyJet Flight Operations Liaison Group
Guild of Air Traffic Control Officers Military Aviation Authority
National Air Traffic Services Ryanair
Thomas Cook Airlines UNITE Trade Union
Virgin Atlantic Airways UK Airprox Board
UK Flight Safety Committee
Independent pilot, ATCO and engineer Members
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Reporting Process
Reporters
CHIRP
Industry CAA
Follow-up &
FEEDBACK are
most important
CHIRP
Advisory
Boards
9
FEEDBACK
• By letter to the reporter
• By FEEDBACK newsletter
– Air Transport FEEDBACK e-mailed to 33700 UK professional
pilots, ATCOs, FISOs and licenced engineers
– General Aviation FEEDBACK e-mailed to 20000 GA pilots
– 3000 hard copies of Cabin Crew FEEDBACK distributed via
operators and trade unions
– Additional copies reproduced and distributed by operators
• All editions of FEEDBACK available on tablet and
smartphone App
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Reporting Levels
2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018
Flight Crew 82 71 61 63 77 164
Cabin Crew 244 245 235 242 1190 1144
ATCOs 10 8 10 10 6 10
Engineers 21 22 24 19 17 14
GA 51 46 23 44 42 37
Ground Handling &
Security- - - 12 9 13
Air Display - - - 5 2 2
Aviation Total 408 392 353 395 1343 1384
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Why are Human Factors Incidents not reported?
• Fear of punitive action by either the aviation regulatory authorities, employers, or both.
– Just Culture?
• Belief or experience that the only visible result of submitting an incident report was an investigation which sometimes brought about negative consequences, but never any positive response.
• Incident report seen as just more ‘red tape’
• The perception by individuals that publicly admitting they had made a mistake by submitting an incident report on their own performance made them look inferior to their peers.
("CAIR in Australia" - Alan L Stray, 1990)
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Scope
• What is CHIRP and what is our role
in UK safety reporting?
• CHIRP’s support to safe RPAS
operations.
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RPAS ReportingRPAS safety/hazard reporting processes should mirror those used in manned aviation as closely as possible to foster a cooperative ethos of ‘all on the same team’.
• Professional RPAS pilots– Reporters will be encouraged to use company or CAA reporting
processes as appropriate.
– For those unwilling to report openly, CHIRP will forward disidentified reports to the organisation best able to investigate/address the reported issue.
– Identities of reporter’s and operators protected.
• Amateur/Leisure RPAS pilots may have no background in, or knowledge of aviation, airmanship or reporting processes.– CHIRP’s role will be to guide and educate reporters to become
‘air-minded’.
– Reporters will be encouraged to think of themselves as part of the national aviation community in which the processes, permissions and responsibilities are coherent throughout.14
The Way Ahead
• Funding
• Timing
• Promoting the Programme – Reporting relies on awareness of CHIRP as a conduit. CHIRP
will require assistance in promoting the Programme to the reporting populations from:
• CAA
• RPAS Operators
• ARPAS UK
• Air Navigation Service Providers
– NATS Drone Assist
– FEEDBACK Newsletter
• E-mail distribution
• ARPAS & Operator assistance
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Summary
• CHIRP is a well-established facility for reporting safety
issues independent of the regulator, employers and unions
– A safety net for CAA Mandatory Occurrence Reporting and industry
reporting
• People will report errors and hazards if the conditions are
right and it is easy to do.
• CHIRP intends to use the same processes for RPAS
reporting as has been used successfully in manned
aviation for many years.
• Requires cooperation between operators and CHIRP
• Think of CHIRP as part of the national safety team and not
a competitor
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Questions?
www.chirp.co.uk @CHIRP_Aviation