by Andy Cook, Associate Director General, Transport Canada, Civil Aviation
We hope that you have found this special issue of the Aviation Safety Letter (ASL) to be interesting and informative.
In closing, we’d like to recap the information that has been shared here, especially the compelling safety issues that have been identified and what Transport Canada is doing to address them. We’d also like to take this opportunity to encourage members of the Canadian aviation community, and other stakeholders, to participate in the regulatory process by sharing your comments, suggestions and questions through the Canadian Aviation Regulations Advisory Council (CARAC).
Summing up
All aviation professionals know that safety must always be our primary concern. They also know that the ongoing effective mitigation of risk is essential for flight operations to be conducted safely. With respect to the visibility requirements for instrument approach procedures, change is needed to ensure that Canadian regulations will effectively manage risk and will be consistent those in the rest of the world.
The first two articles of this issue discuss the numerous accidents that have occurred when the reported visibility was less than the charted visibility for the instrument approach procedure being conducted. The analysis of these accidents—and the human factors that underlie them—make clear that instrument approaches conducted with these visibility conditions carry an increased level of risk.
This issue also includes information on how runway level of service requirements will be simplified, the vitally important role played by NAV CANADA, as well as the new technologies and other improvements that will benefit the Canadian aviation community. In addition, it provides answers to stakeholder questions about aerodrome operations and the approach ban safety initiative.
Moving forward
Keeping the Canadian aviation community informed, obtaining stakeholder feedback and answering stakeholder questions are necessary steps to ensure that the proposed regulations effectively manage risks in a manner that supports the diverse needs of Canada’s aviation industry. These efforts are well underway, and they will continue.
For example, in 2023, the approach ban safety initiative team provided national information sessions—that were open to anyone interested—in English (September 6) and French (October 4). The team also had numerous meetings with air operator associations, an airport association, as well as a wide range of individual air operators, from Canada’s largest airlines to our smaller regional carriers.
These outreach efforts will continue; the approach ban safety team is planning another national teleconference as we approach pre-publication of the draft regulations in the Canada Gazette, Part I. We are also planning additional meetings with stakeholders.
Having the ability to provide feedback during the regulatory development process is the right of every Canadian, and stakeholders are strongly encouraged to submit their comments, suggestions and questions through the CARAC.
All stakeholder feedback is considered. Input from stakeholders has produced—and continues to produce—important results that our team will be sharing during our next national teleconference.
We are moving forward to improve safety—and we are listening!