To all pilots based in Europe – Do you know that since yesterday (15 Nov) new rules apply to reporting occurrences all across Europe? Your airline might have one of the best safety and reporting cultures, but the new EU Occurrence Reporting Regulation (EU Reg. 376/2014) brings a number of changes, including new rights & responsibilities.

Here, take a look at what’s in it for you:

Stricter and broader protection for you as a reporter, for the people mentioned in any occurrence report and for the safety information that you will share. The same confidentiality rules and same protection regarding the misuse of information are also applicable to contract pilots!

• Internal company rules to implement Just Culture: After consulting their staff representatives, airlines must adopt internal rules describing how ‘Just Culture’ principles are guaranteed and implemented within the organisation. 
• Each EU Member State must establish a body responsible for monitoring the implementation of Just Culture at a company level, and to which pilots and contracted personnel may report infringements to their rights.
• Updated list of mandatory reporting items, including fatigue: see list here! 
• If, for whatever reason, the pilot prefers to report directly to the national civil aviation authority or to EASA, he or she is free to do so.
• Voluntary reporting scheme:  If an event is not in the mandatory occurrence reporting list, but you do consider it might have safety implications, it can be reported voluntarily through a dedicated and separate system. As a rule of thumb – report every time, when in doubt.  

To guide you through your new rights & responsibilities under the current Occurrence Reporting Regulation (EU Reg. 376/2014) in more details, our European structure (ECA) prepared some material. Do not hesitate to have a look at their dedicated webpage and their interactive media tool.