MONTRÉAL, 5 March 2013 – The International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) wrapped up its first 2013 Safety Week last Friday, confirming 2012 as one of the safest years on record for global aviation as well as the adoption of a new Safety Management Annex to the Chicago Convention.
The UN aviation agency confirmed that there were 3.2 accidents per million departures in 2012, reflecting a total of 99 accidents over approximately 31 million flights. 2012 aviation fatalities were also down to 372, from 414 in 2011. This is the lowest number of fatalities reported since 2004.
ICAO indicated the positive results reflect progress across many ongoing collaborative safety initiatives as well as particularly significant improvements in the area of runway safety. The Organization stressed that its safety statistics are based on the proprietary data submitted by its 191 Member States and include operations involving aircraft having a maximum certificated take-off weight at or above 2 250 kgs.
Historic Annex Development
Responding directly to recommendations it received at the global High-level Safety Conference it convened in 2010, ICAO also confirmed during its Safety Week proceedings that the Organization’s governing Council had now formally adopted a new Safety Management Annex to the Chicago Convention of International Civil Aviation.
ICAO Annexes contain all the globally-agreed standards and recommended practices underpinning the international air transport system. The creation of Annex 19 consolidates provisions relating to State Safety Programmes (SSPs) and Safety Management Systems (SMS) into a single source and involved close collaboration between ICAO, its Member States and key international organizations over the past three years.
“This is the first new Annex to the Chicago Convention in over three decades and a truly historic achievement for ICAO and the international aviation community,” stressed ICAO Council President, Roberto Kobeh González.
The establishment of Annex 19 supports ICAO’s global safety strategy, which calls for improved standardization, increased collaboration among aviation stakeholders, new information sharing initiatives and prioritization of investments in technical and human resources required to ensure safe operations in the future.
