3.7What information shall be transferred to the competent authority?

3.7 What information shall be transferred to the competent authority? i. Occurrence initial notification Diagram 3. Information flow related to the occurrence initial notification [Figure or form omitted from this preview — available in the Avioverse workspace library.] Note: for the purpose of simplification, the scheme indicates that the reporting by individuals is made to the organisation while it is recognised by Regulation 376/2014 that individuals may report directly to the competent authority. See Section 2.8 for more information on the various reporting channels.

‘Reportable occurrences’ are those subject to an initial notification report requirement as described in the principles above. It is understood that organisations shall discuss with their competent authorities to determine what types of occurrences are considered involving an actual or potential aviation safety risk. This should ensure an alignment between the occurrences that the organisation intends to transfer from the VORS and the ones that the competent authority expects to receive. It should also ensure harmonisation among all organisations reporting to the same competent authority. Regulation 376/2014 gives Member States the possibility to request their organisations to transfer them all occurrences they have collected under their VORS (Article 5(6)). It is also understood that when an occurrence is reported to an organisation, this organisation might need to assess whether or not it falls under MOR or VOR and therefore what the applicable notification obligations are. In a situation where a reporter has transferred the report under VORS, the organisation may reclassify it into MOR and vice-versa. Organisations are encouraged to include in the occurrence notification sent to the competent authority all available relevant information. If appropriate, this should include the indication that no further analysis and follow-up will be made on that occurrence (‘‘closed-on-issue’’ or the assessment and actions on the safety risk identified from the occurrence. Organisations are encouraged to report to their competent authority all necessary information to enable a proper understanding and assessment of the occurrence. It is acknowledged that all essential information is not always known at the time of the initial report. However, an effort should be made to gather as much information as possible, especially in the follow-up and final reports. All occurrences reported to the competent authority (either directly or through organisations) are required to be transferred to the ECR (Article 9(1)).

ii. Analysis and follow-up related information Diagram 4. Information flow related to analysis and follow-up related information [Figure or form omitted from this preview — available in the Avioverse workspace library.] All occurrences collected by the organisation (MOR and VOR) are subject to analysis and follow-up requirements (Article 13(1) and (2)). However not all of them (i.e. only reportable ones — see i. above) are subject to further reporting obligations.

Whereas Regulation 376/2014 only requires organisations to transfer to their competent authority analysis results and follow-up information for certain occurrences (those which may involve an actual or potential aviation safety risk), it allows a competent authority to require the transfer of analysis and follow-up information related to all reportable occurrences (i.e. all MOR occurrences and the VOR reportable ones — see i. above) (Article 13(4) and (5)). It is understood that the competent authority may require so on a case by case basis or by adopting a general measure requiring organisations to transfer to it analysis and follow-up related information of all reportable occurrences. In the same way as for initial notification, it is understood that organisations shall discuss with their competent authority to determine when an actual or potential aviation safety risk is considered identified out of the analysis. This should ensure an alignment between the analysis and follow-up information that the organisation intends to transfer and the one that the competent authority expects to receive. It should also ensure harmonisation among all organisations reporting to the same competent authority. Through the Network of Aviation Safety Analysts, a common approach will be promoted to ensure a standardised approach exists across the Member States. It is understood that the reporting of the follow-ups or final results of the analysis pertaining to single occurrences should be done in the same format than the initial report. The mean to report the analysis and follow-up pertaining to a group of occurrences should be agreed with the competent authority of the organisation. These requirements are aligned with organisations safety management processes where not only occurrences are followed in a closed-loop process but also safety issues (group of occurrences). iii. Transfer of information on the reporter or other persons mentioned in the report The Regulation prohibits competent authorities to record personal details (e.g. name of the reporter or anyone else mentioned in the report, addresses of natural persons) in their database (Article 16(1), (2) and (3) and Recital 35). To support this requirement, organisations are encouraged to refrain from including names and personal details when transferring occurrences reports to the competent authority. iv. Transfer of information subject to export control When reporting information under Regulation 376/2014 an organisation may provide to its competent authority information subject to export control regulations. In this case, the organisation should declare this fact in the report (dedicated field in the Reduced Interface Taxonomy — RIT) to inform its competent authority. Whereas the authority is required to transfer all safety related information to the ECR, it is understood that this does not cover information subject to export control.