ALPA Hosts Symposium on Just Culture and Data Sharing

Aviation data-gathering and analysis programs, especially FOQA and ASAP, have made enormous contributions to improving airline safety in North America, and similar efforts are beginning to take root on other continents. ALPA gathered more than 100 ALPA aviation safety representatives and government and industry leaders from around the world to discuss how to further data sharing efforts in Washington, D.C., yesterday at the Proactive Use of Data: International Progress Toward a Just Culture Symposium. Well over 100 viewers from 29 countries tuned in to the webcast.

“Data sharing is pivotal if we’re to enhance safety worldwide,” said keynote speaker Michael Huerta, FAA administrator. “And I think there’s little doubt that data sharing has the potential to be the single-greatest catalyst for aviation safety in the decades to come.” Distinguished panelists from Canada, Europe, and the United States expanded on varying issues, including fundamental concerns regarding use and misuse of data gathered through voluntary, confidential self-reporting safety programs, which remains to be resolved.

Capt. Sean Cassidy, ALPA first vice president and national safety coordinator, declared, “The establishment of effective proactive safety data programs has been a key issue on ALPA’s agenda for many years now and has been the focus of discussions at every level in our organization. ALPA’s goal is to work with our industry and government partners to make these programs part of the fundamental fabric of our airlines. We want to see them well developed, well maintained, and well used to identify risks in our operations before there is any adverse effect on those operations.”

Look for additional coverage of this seminal event in a future issue of Air Line Pilot.