New study reveals striking results about safety culture in Europe

At the beginning of 2016, a European-wide study was carried out, asking pilots to assess the level of safety culture in their airline. BeCA actively participated in the drafting of the questionnaire (some questions came from our own safety survey).

More than 7000 pilots took part in it – including 124 Belgian pilots – and the results were published in December 2016.

While, overall, the study gives a “positive” mark to Europe’s aviation safety culture, a number of worrying findings are highlighted by the research:

• A large majority of pilots is flying while fatigued (58%)
• Only one out of three (39%) believes adequate training is provided when new systems and procedures are introduced
• Less than half of respondents think they receive timely feedback on the safety issues they raise (45%)
• Half of the respondents believe there is no good communication in the company about safety
• Only one out of three (37%) pilots have a high degree of trust in their airline’s management regarding safety
• One out of five (20%) is not satisfied with the level of confidentiality of the safety reporting and investigation processes
• Less than half of the pilots believe the national Civil Aviation Authorities (CAAs) – the primary national actors that oversee aviation – take safety seriously (46%)

You can have a look at the full press release published by ECA here: http://bit.ly/2kb6pHF. Do not hesitate to download their very good summary of the main findings or the full study: http://bit.ly/2l8iamp.

This example shows how important independent studies are. If we, pilots, do not give feedback, we will not be heard and things will never improve. This kind of data evens the path for BeCA to approach politicians and airlines, in order to improve the understanding and implementation of a true Just Culture. Both in 2015 and 2016, we conducted a safety survey to assess the level of safety culture in Belgium and its results (http://bit.ly/2jQ9pNu) were a starting point for discussions with BCAA and airline management.

This year will be the final edition of the survey to measure how far we have come over the last 3 years and adapt our strategy accordingly. We will send you an invitation in the coming weeks. Your participation is crucial if we want to be heard.