ICAO SR 2020 Final Web

SAFETY
Safety Report
2020 Edition
Foreword
A Coordinated, Risk-based Approach

to Improving Global Aviation Safety
The air transport industry plays a major role in global economic activity and development. One of the key
elements to maintaining the vitality of civil aviation is to ensure safe, secure, efficient and environmentally
sustainable operations at the global, regional and national levels.
A specialized agency of the United Nations, the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) was
established in 1944 to promote the safe and orderly development of international civil aviation throughout
the world.
ICAO promulgates Standards and Recommended Practices (SARPs) to facilitate harmonized regulations in
aviation safety, security, efficiency and environmental protection on a global basis. Today, ICAO manages
over 12 000 SARPs across the 19 Annexes and five Procedures for Air Navigation Services (PANS) to the
Convention on International Civil Aviation (Chicago Convention), many of which are constantly evolving in
tandem with latest developments and innovations. ICAO serves as the primary forum for co-operation in
all fields of civil aviation among its 193 Member States.
Improving the safety of the global air transport system is ICAO’s guiding and most fundamental strategic
objective. The Organization works constantly to address and enhance global aviation safety through the
following coordinated activities:
• Policy and Standardization;

• Monitoring of key safety trends and indicators;
• Safety Analysis; and
• Implementing programmes to address safety issues.
The ICAO Global Aviation Safety Plan (GASP) presents the strategy in support of the prioritization and
continuous improvement of aviation safety. The GASP sets the goals and targets and outlines key safety
enhancement initiatives (SEIs) aimed at improving safety at the international, regional and national levels.
This edition of the Safety Report is structured in alignment with the 2020–2022 edition of GASP and
the new edition of the Global Air Navigation Plan (GANP), which provides global strategic guidelines to
drive the evolution of the air navigation system. This report provides a summary of initiatives to improve
aviation safety and provides updates on some safety performance indicators (SPIs), including accidents
that occurred in 2019, and related risk factors. Results of analysis from the 2015–2019 reports are used
as benchmarks for comparison, although it must be noted that numbers presented in this report may not
exactly match earlier editions due to data updates during the intervening period.
ICAO Safety Report | 2020 Edition 2

© 2020, International Civil Aviation Organization
Published in Montréal, Canada
International Civil Aviation Organization
999 Robert-Bourassa Boulevard
Montréal, Quebec, Canada
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www.icao.int
DISCLAIMER
This report makes use of information, including air transport and safety-related data and statistics, which is furnished
to the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) by third parties. All third party content was obtained from
sources believed to be reliable and was accurately reproduced in the report at the time of printing. However, ICAO
specifically does not make any warranties or representations as to the accuracy, completeness, or timeliness of
such information and accepts no liability or responsibility arising from reliance upon or use of the same. The views
expressed in this report do not necessarily reflect individual or collective opinions or official positions of ICAO
Member States.
Note: The ICAO regional aviation safety group (RASG) regions are used in the report and are listed in Appendix 1. This
document focuses primarily on scheduled commercial flights. The scheduled commercial flights data was based on
the Official Airline Guide (OAG) combined with internal ICAO preliminary estimates.

Contents
Contents
Foreword...........................................................................................................................................2
Executive Summary...........................................................................................................................5
2020–2022 edition of the ICAO Global Aviation Safety Plan (GASP).......................................................9
Effective Implementation of State Safety Oversight System................................................................12
Implementation Support for Safety Management................................................................................ 16
ICAO Technical Assistance Activities..................................................................................................22
Safety Recommendations addressed to ICAO....................................................................................23
Accident Statistics and Analysis – Scheduled Commercial Air Transport..............................................24
Overall Safety Performance Indicator – Global Accident Rate...........................................................24
Accident and Fatality Trend............................................................................................................25
Accidents Overview by Occurrence Category..................................................................................26
High-risk Categories of Occurrence................................................................................................27
Regional Accident Statistics...........................................................................................................29
Accidents by RASG Region.............................................................................................................30
GSIE Harmonized Accident Rate.....................................................................................................31
Safety Enhancement Initiatives..........................................................................................................35
Regional cooperation and GASOS...................................................................................................35
The future of aviation Communications, Navigation, Surveillance and Frequency Spectrum................37
Cabin Safety.................................................................................................................................39
Runway Safety – 2019 Success Story............................................................................................ 41
A competency-based approach to dangerous goods training and assessment...................................43
ANC Talks.....................................................................................................................................44
COVID-19 pandemic – The ICAO Council Aviation Recovery Task Force..............................................45
COVID-19 pandemic – CAPSCA and the Public Health Corridor.........................................................49
COVID-19 pandemic – Update on operational safety activities..........................................................51
COVID-19 pandemic – Safety Risk Management...............................................................................53
COVID-19 pandemic – Strategies for UAS.......................................................................................54
COVID-19 pandemic – Aerodrome Operations and Infrastructure......................................................56
Appendix 1......................................................................................................................................57
Regional Aviation Safety Group (RASG) Regions..............................................................................57
Appendix 2......................................................................................................................................59
List of Scheduled Commercial Accidents in 2019............................................................................59
CICTT Occurrence Categories........................................................................................................63

Executive Summary
Executive Summary
Yearly accident statistics indicate an increase in both the total number of accidents as well as the global
accident rate in 2019. From 2018 to 2019, there was a 16 per cent increase in the total number of
accidents, as reported by States. The global accident rate of 2.9 accidents per million departures also
increased by 12 per cent from the 2018 rate of 2.6 accidents per million departures. The accidents used
for these statistics were reviewed and validated by the ICAO Safety Indicators Study Group (SISG), and
involved scheduled commercial operations of aircraft with a certified maximum take-off weight (MTOW) of
over 5 700 kg as defined in ICAO Annex 13 — Aircraft Accident and Incident Investigation.
114
98
92 88
75
2.8 2.6 2.9

2.1 2.4
2015 2016 2017 2018 2019
Number of Accidents Accident rate
Chart 1. | Accident records: 2015–2019 scheduled commercial operations
514
474
239
182
6 7 50 5 11 6
2015 2016 2017 2018 2019
Fatalities Fatal accidents
Chart 2. | Fatal accident records: 2015–2019 scheduled commercial operations

Executive Summary
In 2019, scheduled commercial air transport accidents resulted in 239 fatalities representing a significant
decrease from 514 in 2018. The number of fatal accidents also decreased from 11 in 2018 to six in 2019.
Figure 1 shows the number of fatal accidents by ICAO RASG region.
RASG-EUR : 3
RASG-MID : 0
RASG-PA : 1
RASG-APAC: 0
RASG-AFI : 2
Figure 1. | Number of fatal accidents by RASG region
1000
Fatalities
100
Accidents
Fatal Accidents
10 Accident Rate
1
2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019
Chart 3. | Historical safety trends for scheduled commercial operations

Executive Summary
The 40th Session of the ICAO Assembly was convened in Montréal from 24 September to 4 October 2019,
during which it agreed on resolution A40-1: ICAO global planning for safety and air navigation, endorsing
the 2020–2022 edition of Global Aviation Safety Plan (GASP, Doc 10004). The Assembly also agreed to
the following safety-related resolutions:
• A40-2: Protection of accident and incident investigation records;
• A40-3: Protection of safety data and safety information collected for maintaining or improving safety
and of flight recorder recordings in normal operations;
• A40-5: Regional implementation support mechanisms; and
• A40-6: Regional cooperation and assistance to resolve safety deficiencies, establishing priorities and
setting measurable targets.
The third High-level Safety Conference (HLSC 2021), which has been tentatively scheduled a year ahead
of the 41st Session of the ICAO Assembly, will provide a forum for technical discussions to formulate a
set of high-level recommendations and decisions on main safety issues as well as selected air navigation
matters. These recommendations will be taken into consideration for the preparation of the Business Plan
and Budget to be presented to the 41st Assembly.
The 2020–2022 edition of the GASP presents a series of goals, targets and indicators to support its
vision, which is to achieve and maintain the aspirational safety goal of zero fatalities in commercial oper-
ations by 2030 and beyond, and its mission, which is to continue to enhance aviation safety performance
internationally by providing a collaborative framework for States, regions and industry.
The purpose of the GASP is to continuously reduce fatalities and the risk of fatalities. To do so, it presents
five high-risk categories of occurrence (HRCs) all States need to address, namely: controlled flight into
terrain (CFIT), loss of control in-flight (LOC-I), runway excursion (RE), runway incursion (RI) and mid-air
collision (MAC). Through the GASP, ICAO provides safety enhancement initiatives (SEIs) to continuously
reduce operational safety risks and implement regional and industry safety risk management activities
to address the HRCs.
ICAO is committed to improving aviation safety and fostering cooperation and communication among
stakeholders. ICAO works closely with established regional entities, such as regional aviation safety
groups (RASGs), regional safety oversight organizations (RSOOs), cooperative development of opera-
tional safety and continuing airworthiness programmes (COSCAPs) and regional accident and incident
investigation organizations (RAIOs), to identify hazards and mitigate regional operational safety risks.
The ICAO Universal Safety Oversight Audit Programme (USOAP) Continuous Monitoring Approach (CMA)
determines States’ capabilities for safety oversight by assessing and monitoring the effective implemen-
tation (EI) of the critical elements (CEs) of a safety oversight system. The global average EI increased
from 67.43 per cent in 2018 to 68.83 percent in 2019, with 46 per cent of States having achieved the
2022 target of 75 per cent EI, as established in the 2020–2022 edition of the GASP. In 2019, ten ICAO
Member States had a total of six Significant Safety Concerns (SSCs) in the areas of Personnel Licensing,
Aircraft Operations and Air Navigation Services. As of December 2019, three State safety programme
implementation assessments (SSPIAs) were conducted for three States.

Executive Summary
Toward the end of 2019, the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic began gaining momentum and
created a situation that would be very disruptive for the aviation industry. ICAO responded with the timely
development of guidance material, practical checklists and tools to support States in the implementation
of contingency arrangements to reduce the risks of the spread of COVID-19 and to restart the aviation
system from the crisis.
In response to existing and emerging trends, ICAO is working in partnership with the international aviation
community to achieve future safety improvements, with an emphasis on improving safety performance
through standardization, monitoring and implementation. The 2020 edition of the Safety Report, as
usual, provides a high-level summary of ICAO’s achievements to enhance aviation safety in 2019 and
updates key safety performance indicators with reference to the 2015–2019 time period. In addition,
it includes some initiatives to support States for managing safety risks during the COVID-19 pandemic.

GASP
2020–2022 edition of the ICAO

Global Aviation Safety Plan (GASP)
The Global Aviation Safety Plan (GASP, Doc 10004) sets forth ICAO’s safety strategy, which supports
the prioritization and continuous improvement of aviation safety. Its purpose is to continuously reduce
fatalities, and the risk of fatalities, by guiding the development of a harmonized safety strategy and the
implementation of regional and national aviation safety plans.
GASP Goals and Targets

Aspirational Safety Goal
The GASP’s aspirational safety goal is to achieve and maintain zero fatalities in commercial operations by
2030 and beyond. This goal is deemed “aspirational” as it represents an ambition of achieving an even
safer aviation system. The year 2030 has been selected as the period for reaching this goal as the traffic
volume is forecasted to double by then. It is also the target year for the United Nations (UN) 2030 Agenda
for Sustainable Development and the GASP has been aligned with the timelines of this Agenda.
GASP Goals
A series of goals support the aspirational safety goal. These goals also contribute to the achievement
of several UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). The 2020–2022 edition of the GASP contains six
goals as shown in Figure 2.
Figure 2. | GASP goals

GASP
GASP Targets
Each GASP goal contains one or more targets with specific desired outcomes from actions taken by
States, regions and industry to achieve the goal within a set timeframe, as shown in Figure 3.
Figure 3. | GASP targets
High-risk Categories of Occurrence (HRCs)
The high-risk categories of occurrence (HRCs) need to be addressed to mitigate the risk of fatalities. The types
of occurrences deemed global HRCs (previously referred to as “global safety priorities”) were selected
based on actual fatalities, high fatality risk per accident, or the number of accidents and incidents.
The following HRCs, in no particular order, have been identified for the 2020–2022 edition of the GASP:
• Controlled flight into terrain (CFIT)

• Loss of control in-flight (LOC-I)
• Mid-air collision (MAC)
• Runway excursion (RE)
• Runway incursion (RI)

GASP
Global Aviation Safety Roadmap
The GASP also includes the global aviation safety roadmap, which serves as an action plan that
addresses organizational challenges (ORG roadmap) and operational safety risks (OPS roadmap) to assist
the aviation community in achieving its goals through a structured, common frame of reference for all
relevant stakeholders. The ORG roadmap, as shown in Figure 4, is made up of two components, which
focuses on the State safety oversight system and the State safety programme (SSP). The OPS roadmap
focuses on the continuous reduction of operational safety risks, and regional and industry safety risk
management activities to address the HRCs.
Figure 4. | GASP ORG roadmap
More information on the GASP is available at www.icao.int/gasp.

Effective Implementation
Effective Implementation of
State Safety Oversight System
Each ICAO Member State should establish and implement an effective safety oversight system, in order
to address all areas of aviation activities. The Universal Safety Oversight Audit Programme (USOAP)
Continuous Monitoring Approach (CMA) measures the effective implementation (EI) of a State’s safety
oversight system.
To standardize the conduct of audits under USOAP CMA, ICAO established protocol questions (PQs)
based on safety-related ICAO Standards and Recommended Practices (SARPs) established in the Annexes
to the Chicago Convention, Procedures for Air Navigation Services (PANS) and ICAO guidance material.
Each PQ contributes to assessing the EI of one of the eight critical elements (CEs) in one of the eight
audit areas. The eight CEs are:
• primary aviation legislation (CE-1);

• specific operation regulations (CE-2);
• State system and functions (CE-3);
• qualified technical personnel (CE-4);
• technical guidance, tools, provisions of safety-critical information (CE-5);
• licensing, certification, authorization and/or approval obligations (CE-6);
• surveillance obligations (CE-7); and
• resolution of safety issues (CE-8).
Figure 5. | Critical elements of a State’s safety oversight system

Effective
Safety Implementation
Implementation
The eight audit areas identified in the USOAP are:
1) primary aviation legislation and civil aviation regulations (LEG);

2) civil aviation organization (ORG);
3) personnel licensing and training (PEL);
4) aircraft operations (OPS);
5) airworthiness of aircraft (AIR);
6) aircraft accident and incident investigation (AIG);
7) air navigation services (ANS); and
8) aerodromes and ground aids (AGA).
The use of standardized PQs ensures transparency, quality, consistency, reliability and fairness in the
conduct and implementation of USOAP CMA activities.
Figure 6 shows that as of 15 March 2020, the average EI for audited States was 68.83 per cent. It was
67.43 per cent for the same period in 2019. 46 per cent of the States have an EI of above 75 per cent – all
States are expected to achieve this (Target 2.1) by 2022. Figure 7 shows a map of all the ICAO Member
States having an overall EI above the target. Six of ICAO’s 193 Member States had not yet received a
USOAP audit.
Overall EI States above 75% EI
Global Average
68.8% 46%
0% 25% 50% 75% 100% 0% 25% 50% 75% 100%
USOAP Audit Results

100%
Effective Implementation (%)
80% GASP Target
60% Global average
40%
20%
0%
Figure 6. | Global USOAP audit results

Figure 7. | Overall Effective Implementation (EI)
States, listed in alphabetical order, with an EI above 75 per cent (as of 15 March 2020)
Argentina Croatia Honduras Netherlands Slovenia

Armenia Cuba Iceland New Zealand South Africa
Australia Cyprus Indonesia Nicaragua Spain
Austria Czechia Iran (Islamic North Macedonia Sri Lanka
Bahrain Democratic Republic of) Norway Sudan
Bangladesh People’s Republic Ireland Pakistan Sweden
of Korea Israel
Belgium Peru Switzerland
Denmark Italy
Belize Poland Togo
Dominican Jamaica
Bolivia Republic Portugal Trinidad and
(Plurinational Japan Qatar Tobago
State of) Ecuador
Jordan Republic Turkey
Bosnia and Egypt
Kenya of Korea United Arab
Herzegovina El Salvador Emirates
Kuwait Romania
Brazil Fiji United Kingdom
Latvia Rwanda
Cabo Verde Finland United States
Madagascar San Marino
Canada France Uruguay
Mauritania Saudi Arabia
Chile Georgia Venezuela
Mexico Serbia
China Germany (Bolivarian
Mongolia Singapore Republic of)
Colombia Ghana
Montenegro Slovakia
Costa Rica Guatemala

Examining the results by CE, Chart 4 shows that only CE-1 and CE-2 have achieved the target of 75 per cent.
No audit areas, however, with the exception of AIR, have achieved the target of 75 per cent EI as indicated
in Chart 5. More information about USOAP CMA results can be found in the latest USOAP report, which is
published every three years, on the ICAO website https://www.icao.int/safety/CMAForum/Documents/
USOAP_REPORT_2016-2018.pdf.
77.9
75.6
71.2 70.1 71.3
59.7 60.2
54.7
CE-1 CE-2 CE-3 CE-4 CE-5 CE-6 CE-7 CE-8
Chart 4. | Global audit results (average EI percentage by CEs)
80.4
74.9 74.9
71.8 71.6
67.3
62.6
57.3
LEG ORG PEL OPS AIR AIG ANS AGA
Chart 5. | Global audit results (average EI percentage by audit area)

Implementation Support
for Safety Management
Safety Management
Implementation website
The Safety Management Implementation (SMI)
website (www.icao.int/SMI) was developed to
complement the fourth edition of the Safety
Management Manual (Doc 9859), which contains
guidance to support Amendment 1 to Annex 19
– Safety Management. The website serves as a
repository for the sharing of practical examples and tools among the aviation community in support of
effective safety management implementation, including those related to safety oversight systems in
support of the No Country Left Behind (NCLB) initiative.
Figure 8. | SMI website statistics
As of 15 March 2020, there are 65 practical examples posted on the website. In 2019, more than 11 700
visitors from 177 Member States and all ICAO Regions visited the website. Practical examples and tools
are being collected and developed on a continuous basis through coordination with relevant expert groups
and once validated by the Safety Management Panel are posted on the SMI website. The goal is to have
practical examples and tools demonstrating each policy, procedure, activity or process mentioned in the
fourth edition of Doc 9859 by 2021.

Safety Management Tools
SSP Gap Analysis
The second High-level Safety Conference held in Montréal, from 2 to 5 February 2015 (HLSC 2015)
recommended that States use the self-reporting SSP Gap Analysis tool, available on the ICAO integrated
Safety Trends Analysis and Reporting System (iSTARS). The application was updated in 2019 to reflect
Amendment 1 to Annex 19 and the fourth edition of Doc 9859. It now comprises 62 questions, which
cover all the requirements of an SSP and provides project owners the opportunity to develop an imple-
mentation plan to address the gaps identified.
As of 15 March 2020, 135 Member States had created an SSP gap analysis project on iSTARS, with four
States indicating completion of their SSP implementation plan at level 4. Detailed information can be
found in Chart 6.
135
91
63 59
44
28
0 4
Level 1 Level 2 Level 3 Level 4
Completed In Progress
Chart 6. | SSP implementation progress – gap analysis
State Safety Programme (SSP) Implementation
ICAO measures SSP implementation in levels as follows:

• Level 1: States having started a GAP analysis
• Level 2: States having reviewed all the GAP analysis questions
• Level 3: States having defined an implementation plan to address the gaps
• Level 4: States having closed all actions and fully implemented their SSPs

SSP Foundation Protocol Questions (PQs)
Of the 943 USOAP Protocol Questions (PQs), 299 of these are used to assess the foundation of an
effective State safety programme (SSP). They are referred to as “SSP foundation PQs” and are grouped
into subject areas. States should include the resolution of these PQs as part of their SSP implementation
plan. The concept of “SSP foundation” replaces the 60 per cent EI score, previously used in the GASP, as
a threshold to be achieved before starting SSP implementation. Rather than serving as a prerequisite, the
intent is to include these PQs as part of the SSP implementation plan to ensure the SSP will be effective
and sustainable. States are expected to reach 100 per cent for this indicator, eliminating the need to
achieve a prerequisite before even starting their SSP implementation. The full list of SSP foundation PQs
can be found on the SSP Foundation tool, available on iSTARS since 2017. As of 15 March 2020, the
global average EI of SSP Foundation PQs is 73.71 per cent, as shown in Figure 9.
SSP Foundation PQs Status
Figure 9. | SSP Foundation PQ status 2019

SSP Implementation Assessments (SSPIAs) under the USOAP CMA

ICAO has rolled out SSP implementation assessments (SSPIAs), a qualitative (non-quantitative) assess-
ment of a State’s progress in implementing an SSP, under the USOAP CMA using SSP-related PQs that
have been updated to reflect Amendment 1 to Annex 19, which became applicable in November 2019,
the fourth edition of Doc 9859 as well as the lessons learned from voluntary and confidential SSP imple-
mentation assessments conducted previously.
Those PQs are not linked to critical elements (CEs), but to applicable SSP components. They are broken
down into eight areas:
• SSP general aspects (GEN);

• safety data analysis general aspects (SDA);
• personnel licensing and training (PEL);
• aircraft operations (OPS);
• airworthiness of aircraft, authorized maintenance organization aspects only (AIR);
• air navigation services, air traffic service aspects only (ANS);
• aerodromes and ground aids (AGA); and
• aircraft accident and incident investigation (AIG)
The relationship between USOAP CMA PQs, USOAP SSP Foundation PQs and USOAP SSP-related PQs are
shown in the Figure 10 below.
Figure 10. | Relationship between SSP Foundation PQs and SSP-related PQs
As part of Phase 1, from 2018 through 2020, ICAO is conducting voluntary and non-confidential SSPIAs.
As of December 2019, three SSPIAs were completed under Phase 1 for Finland, Spain and the United
Arab Emirates. The SSPIA final reports, which contain a summary of achievements in SSP implementa-
tion, is available to all ICAO Member States on the USOAP CMA Online Framework (OLF).

In 2020, ICAO will start developing guidance to support the determination of maturity level for each
SSP-related PQ. Phase 2 of the SSPIAs conducted in 2021 and onwards, will use this guidance to support
the determination of maturity levels. This will measure a State’s progress in SSP implementation, quan-
titatively. The assessment tool, including SSP-related PQs and guidance will be published on the OLF at
least six months in advance of the first SSPIA scheduled to be conducted under Phase 2.
Safety Information Monitoring System

Secure Access
The ICAO Safety Information Monitoring System (SIMS) is a web-based safety Output Filter
data and information system comprised of applications that generate indica-
tors to support ICAO Member States in their safety management efforts. SIMS Application
promotes cooperation amongst States and industry to collect and analyse avail-
able information pertinent to the monitoring of safety performance.
Analysis
Reports
Metrics
SIMS resides on the ICAO secure portal and currently has more than 400 users
from 70 ICAO Member States. The evolution of SIMS continues as ICAO Member Data Store
States are encouraged to join this project. Currently available applications on
SIMS include: Horizontal Flight Efficiency (Airspace Monitoring); Vertical Flight
Data Schema
Efficiency (Approach Monitoring); Runway Safety Event Monitoring; Foreign
Ramp Inspections data sharing; and Occurrences Monitoring. Each application has indicators allowing
States to monitor the safety performance of their State. The Foreign Ramp Inspections data sharing
application, allows safety information sharing within the RASG regions.
ICAO Member States can use the SIMS platform to

transform their data into meaningful information,
as a cost-effective way to gain direct insight into
their stored data without having to develop complex
in-house information technology systems. It includes
and encourages participation of service providers,
who as per Annex 19, are expected to establish a
safety management system (SMS). ICAO has collab-
orated with third-party data providers in support of
automatic dependent surveillance broadcast (ADS-B)
data for its applications. The use of ADS-B data is
one of the primary data sources for SIMS indicators,
in addition to data provided via a secured system by
States. ICAO has developed a SIMS legal framework
that addresses, among others, data privacy and
safety data protection elements.
For more information about SIMS, visit www.icao.int/safety/sims or send an email to sims@icao.int to
initiate your participation.

Safety Management Capacity Building

In 2019, ICAO organized seven Safety Management Capacity Building Workshops (SMCBWs) to support
States in developing the capacity needed to effectively implement a State safety programme (SSP). The
five-day workshops included 12 interactive sessions, including hands-on exercises, allowing aviation pro-
fessionals become familiar with the recent ICAO safety management-related provisions and assist them
to overcome safety management challenges faced by their States.
In total, over two hundred participants from 130 States attended the SMCBWs, as shown in Figure 11 below.
Figure 11. | Safety Management Capacity Building Workshops - 2019
Furthermore, an updated version of the ICAO Safety Management Online Course was launched early in
2019 and was recommended as a prerequisite for the SMCBWs.
In collaboration with ICAO’s Global Aviation Training Office, and based on the competency-based training
methodology described in the Training Development Guide (Doc 9941), a new ICAO SSP classroom
course was developed and its validation delivery was successfully completed in January 2020. This
course aims to build the participants’ competencies (knowledge, skills and attitudes) to perform their
tasks. Feedback obtained from the SMCBWs were used to design a mature course that meets the needs
of the aviation community.
To support the selection of the appropriate course, based on the roles related to the implementation
and operation of the SSP, an ICAO SSP course matrix has been developed. More information about ICAO
Safety Management training can be found at https://www.icao.int/training/Pages/Safety-Management-
Training-Programme-(SMTP).aspx.

Technical Assistance
ICAO Technical Assistance Activities

In line with the No Country Left Behind (NCLB) initiative, ICAO continued to provide States with technical
assistance programmes in various forms, including technical assistance projects utilizing the Safety Fund
(SAFE) to help States strengthen their safety oversight capacity.
In 2019, four projects were successfully completed, two were initiated, four are on-going and two are in
the planning stages. Among the completed projects, Uruguay demonstrated a big success by improving
its overall effective implementation (EI) of their safety oversight system by 21 per cent. By the same
token, the Sierra Leone project, implemented
by a third party, was successfully concluded.
Supported by a strong commitment by the
State, a very positive improvement is expected,
which will be verified through the Universal
Safety Oversight Audit Programme (USOAP)
Continuous Monitoring Approach (CMA) activity
planned in 2021. Two new projects launched in
2019 for the Eastern Caribbean Civil Aviation
Authority (ECCAA) and Barbados are well
underway, positive outcomes are anticipated
once the projects are completed. In total,
33 projects have been completed since the
Fund’s establishment. Details about the SAFE Coordinating Global Assistance for
is available at www.icao.int/SAFE. Aviation’s High-priority Safety Targets
Financial support or in-kind resources are If your State or donor organization wishes to
essential to driving continued progress on assist ICAO and the aviation community to
SAFE-funded technical assistance projects have global aviation safety targets – especially in
least developed nations. ICAO coordinates
address serious safety deficiencies in
States in need, please visit the SAFE
become effective vehicles for the enhancement assistance to States for safety project and
programme implementation, supported by
website today or contact ICAO via the details
provided below. No matter how large or how
a global Safety Fund (SAFE) that manages small your intended contribution, it’s never
of State safety oversight systems, including voluntary contributions from donors. too late to make safety your priority.
the timely resolution of Significant Safety

Concerns (SSCs) in some States, as has been
verified by USOAP CMA activities. SAFETY
www.icao.int/safety/scan/Pages/Safety-Fund-SAFE.aspx safefund@icao.int

Safety Recommendations
Safety Recommendations
addressed to ICAO
Annex 13 — Aircraft Accident and Incident Investigation requires States to investigate accidents and
incidents for the prevention of such occurrences.
One of the outputs of the safety investigation process is a set of Safety Recommendations (SR), which
may be addressed to States (for example, the State of Design of an aircraft) or to ICAO if the investigators
have suggestions for changes to ICAO documents. ICAO will inform the originating body, within 90 days
of receipt of the Safety Recommendation, the actions taken by ICAO, the actions intended to be taken by
ICAO or reasons why no action will be taken by ICAO. Some of the Safety Recommendations addressed
to ICAO are forwarded to relevant expert groups, which may lead to amendments and/or developments of
ICAO documents.
In 2019, ICAO received four Safety Recommendations from four States. These recommendations may be
accessed at https://www.icao.int/safety/airnavigation/AIG/Pages/Safety-Recommendations-addressed-
to-ICAO.aspx. Chart 7 below depicts the number of safety recommendations addressed to ICAO in the
past five years.
17
15
10
2015 2016 2017 2018 2019
Chart 7. | Safety Recommendations received by ICAO (2015–2019)

Accident Statistics and Analysis
Accident Statistics and Analysis –

Scheduled Commercial Air Transport
The safety performance of the GASP is measured by a series of metrics as defined by the GASP indica-
tors. Goal 1 of the GASP is to achieve a continuous reduction of operational safety risks. This reduction
is achieved by a series of actions targeting the high-risk categories of occurrence (HRCs). The target
associated with this goal (Target 1.1) is the decrease of the global accident rate for commercial sched-
uled operations. Several indicators are linked to this target including number of accidents, fatal accidents
and fatalities by State, region or globally, as well as accident rates (i.e. number of occurrences per million
departures). GASP indicators also include the percentage of occurrences related to the HRCs.
Overall Safety Performance Indicator – Global Accident Rate

ICAO’s global accident rate provides an overall indicator of safety performance for air transport operation.
The accident rate is based on scheduled commercial operations involving fixed-wing aircraft with a
maximum take-off weight (MTOW) above 5 700 kg. Aircraft accidents are reviewed and validated by the
ICAO Safety Indicators Study Group (SISG) using definitions provided in Annex 13.
Data on departures is collated by ICAO’s Air Transport Bureau and comprises scheduled commercial
operations that involve the transportation of passengers, cargo and mail for remuneration. Estimates
are made where data has not been provided by States, and as new data is provided to ICAO, it will be
incorporated into the database. It is worth noting that this may cause small changes to the calculated
rates from year to year.
Chart 8 below shows the global accident rate trend (per million departures) over the previous five years,
with 2019 having an accident rate of 2.9 accidents per million departures, an increase of 12 per cent
from the previous year.
Scheduled commercial accidents in 2019 are listed in Appendix 2.
2.9
2.8
2.6
2.4
2.1
2015 2016 2017 2018 2019
Chart 8. | Global accident rates (accidents per million departures)

Accident and Fatality Trend
The number of worldwide accidents and fatal accidents on scheduled commercial flights during the
2015–2019 period are shown in Chart 9.
114
98
92 88
75
7 11
6 5 6
2015 2016 2017 2018 2019
Accidents Fatal Accidents
Chart 9. | Accident trend
Between the years 2015 to 2019, the trend of the annual number of accidents has increased. The lowest
count recorded was 75 accidents in 2016 and the highest was 114 in 2019. However, the number of fatal
accidents per year significantly decreased from 11 in 2018 to 6 in 2019. Chart 10 shows the number of
fatalities associated with the above-mentioned fatal accidents decreased more than half from 514 in 2018
to 239 in 2019.
514
474
239
182
50
2015 2016 2017 2018 2019
Fatalities
Chart 10. | Fatalities trend (2015–2019)

Accidents Overview by Occurrence Category
ICAO Member States are required to report accidents and serious incidents in accordance with Annex 13
through the ICAO Accident/Incident Data Reporting (ADREP) system. The SISG validates and categorizes
the accidents for commercial operations, including scheduled and non-scheduled, involving aircraft with
MTOW over 5 700 kg using the Commercial Aviation Safety Team (CAST)/ICAO Common Taxonomy Team
(CICTT) taxonomy for occurrence categories.
Chart 11 shows an accidents overview for scheduled commercial operations by CICTT occurrence cate-
gories. The occurrence category of turbulence encounter (TURB) accounted for the most accidents that
caused serious injuries to aircrews or passengers in 2019. All the fatal accidents involved the following
categories: loss of control in-flight (LOC-I); runway excursion (RE); icing (ICE); and system/component fail-
ure or malfunction (non-powerplant) (SCF-NP) as indicated in Chart 12. The occurrence category of SCF-
NP includes the accident of an Ethiopian Airlines Boeing 737-8 (MAX) aircraft on 10 March 2019. A similar
accident occurred with a Lion Air Boeing 737-8 (MAX) aircraft on 29 October 2018. The United States
National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) participated in the investigation of both above-mentioned
accidents and on 19 September 2019, issued the Safety Recommendation Report “Assumptions Used in
the Safety Assessment Process and the Effects of Multiple Alerts and Indications on Pilot Performance”.
These two accidents resulted in the grounding of the global fleet to the present time.
Detailed information about the CICTT occurrence category can be found in Appendix 2.
26
17
14
13
11
10
3 6
2 2 2
4 1 1 1 1
AMAN ARC BIRD CABIN F-NI GCOL ICE LOC-I RAMP RE SCF-NP SCF-PP TURB USOS WILD WSTRW
Chart 11. | Accidents overview by occurrence category
157
44
12
26
ICE LOC-I RE SCF-NP
Chart 12. | Total fatalities by occurrence category

High-risk Categories of Occurrence
Based on actual fatalities, high fatality risk per accident or the number of accidents and incidents, as well
as results from the analysis of safety data collected from proactive and reactive sources of information
from ICAO and other non-governmental organizations, ICAO has identified five high-risk categories of
occurrence (HRCs) as global safety priorities in the 2020–2022 edition of the GASP:
a) controlled flight into terrain (CFIT);

b) loss of control in-flight (LOC-I);
c) mid-air collision (MAC);
d) runway excursion (RE); and
e) runway incursion (RI).
ICAO uses these HRCs as a baseline in its safety analysis to achieve a continuous reduction of operational
safety risks (Goal 1) and its linked targets and indicators, as presented in the GASP.
Chart 13 below shows that in 2019, the five HRCs for scheduled commercial air transport operations
represented 29 per cent of all fatalities, 67 per cent of fatal accidents, 16 per cent of the total number
of accidents and 24 per cent of the accidents that destroyed or caused substantial damage to aircraft.
Fatalities 29% 71%
Fatal
Accidents 67% 33%
Accidents 16% 84%
Accidents with Aircraft

Substantially Damaged 24% 76%
HRCs Others
Chart 13. | HRC accident distribution

A breakdown of the five HRCs in 2019 and the respective distribution of fatalities, fatal accidents and
accidents are shown in Chart 14 below. Accidents related to runway excursion (RE) accounted for
14.9 per cent of all accidents in 2019, and included half of all fatal accidents with 44 fatalities. There
was one fatal accident related to loss of control in-flight (LOC-I) that represented 16.7 per cent of fatal
accidents with 26 fatalities. There were no accidents related to controlled flight into terrain (CFIT), mid-air
collision (MAC) and runway incursion (RI) in 2019. In addition, there were 80 HRCs of serious incidents
reported by ICAO Member States as required by Annex 13 in 2019.
0%
MAC 0%
0%
0%
RI 0%
0%
18.4%
RE 50.0%
14.9%
0%
CFIT 0%
0%
10.9%
LOC-I 16.7%
0.9%
Fatalities Fatal Accidents Accidents
Chart 14. | High-risk category accident overview

Regional Accident Statistics
To further analyse the state of aviation safety, the accident data for scheduled commercial air transport
operations is categorized according to RASG region, by State of Occurrence. Tables 1 and 2 below
provide details on the state of aviation safety in different RASG regions for 2019 in the context of global
outcomes. The States included in each RASG region used in this report can be found in Appendix 1.
It is worth noting these statistics are based on ADREP data reported by the State of Occurrence in 2019.
Partly due to the small number of departures, some regions experience a large fluctuation in the accident
rate from year to year. For this reason, these numbers should be considered in relation to the total
number of accidents to gain an overall perspective.
Estimated Number of Accident Rate

RASG Region Departures Accidents Fatal Accidents Fatalities
(per million departures)
AFI 1,130,861 9 8.0 2 183

APAC 12,663,222 17 1.3 Nil Nil
EUR 9,826,990 29 3.0 3 55
MID 1,311,340 2 1.5 Nil Nil
PA 13,856,870 54 4.0 1 1
International waters n/a 3 n/a Nil Nil
WORLD 38,789,283 114 2.9 6 239
Table 1. | Departures, accidents and fatalities by RASG region based on State of Occurrence
Share of Share of Share of

RASG Region Traffic (%) Accidents (%) Fatalities (%) AFI
AFI 2.9 7.9 76.6 APAC
APAC 32.6 14.9 Nil
EUR
EUR 25.3 25.4 23.0
MID
MID 3.4 1.8 Nil
PA 35.7 47.4 0.4 PA
Table 2. | Share of traffic, accidents and fatalities by RASG region based on State of Occurrence

Accidents by RASG Region
Chart 15 below shows the percentage of accidents and related fatalities for each ICAO RASG region
based on State of Occurrence for scheduled commercial operations in 2019. States included in each
RASG region are listed in Appendix 1.
90%
80%
70%
60%
50%
40%
30%
20%
10%
0%
AFI APAC EUR MID PA International
Waters
Fatalities Fatal Accidents Accidents Accidents with Aircraft

Substantially Damaged
Chart 15. | Accident overview by RASG region
In 2019, the Asia and Pacific (APAC) and Middle East (MID) Regions did not experience fatal accidents,
and one fatal accident with only one fatality occurred in the Pan American (PA) Region. Three accidents
occurred over international waters in 2019.

GSIE Harmonized Accident Rate
In the spirit of promoting aviation safety, the United States, the European Commission, International Air
Transport Association (IATA) and ICAO signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on a Global Safety
Information Exchange (GSIE) on 28 September 2010 during the 37th Session of the ICAO Assembly. The
objective of the GSIE is to identify information that can be exchanged between the parties to enhance risk
reduction activities in the area of aviation safety.
The GSIE developed a harmonized accident rate at the beginning of 2011. This was accomplished through
close cooperation between ICAO and IATA to align accident definitions, criteria and analysis methods used
to calculate the harmonized accident rate, which is considered a key safety indicator for commercial
aviation operations worldwide. The joint analysis includes accidents following the ICAO Annex 13 criteria
for all typical commercial airline operations for scheduled and non-scheduled flights. These accidents
were reviewed and validated by the ICAO Safety Indicators Study Group (SISG).
Starting in 2013, ICAO and IATA have increasingly harmonized the accident analysis process and have
developed a common list of accident categories to facilitate the sharing and integration of safety data
between the two organizations.
Harmonized Analysis of Accident
A total of 135 accidents were considered as part of the harmonized accident criteria in 2019. These
comprise scheduled and non-scheduled commercial operations, including ferry flights for aircraft with an
MTOW above 5 700 kg. The GSIE harmonized accident rate for the period from 2015 to 2019 is shown in
Chart 16 below. Since 2013, the accident rate has been broken down by operational safety component,
accidents involving damage to aircraft with little or no injury to persons, and accidents with serious or
fatal injuries to persons.
2019
2018
2017
2016
2015
0.00 0.50 1.00 1.50 2.00 2.50 3.00 3.50
Accidents per Million Sectors
Injuries to Persons Damage to aircrafts
Chart 16. | GSIE harmonized accident rate (accidents per million sectors)

Definitions and Methods
In order to build upon the harmonized accident rate presented in the last five safety reports, ICAO and
IATA worked closely to develop a common taxonomy that would allow for a seamless integration of acci-
dent data between the two organizations. A detailed explanation of the harmonized accident categories
and how they relate to the Commercial Aviation Safety Team (CAST)/ICAO Common Taxonomy Team
(CICTT) occurrence categories can be found in Table 3.
Accidents by Category
Differences between the approaches of the ICAO (CICTT Occurrence Categories) and IATA (Flight-crew
centric Threat and Error Management Model) classification systems required the harmonization of the
accident criteria to be used. The breakdown of accidents by harmonized category is shown below.
Full details of categories can be found in Table 3.
Number of Accidents by Category
45 Accident Categories
CFIT Controlled Flight into Terrain
GS Ground Safety
LOC-I Loss of Control in-Flight
32 MED Injuries to and/or Incapacitation of Persons
27 OD Operational Damage
RS Runway Safety
OTH Other
UNK Unknown
16
8
1 5 1
CFIT GS LOC-I MED OD RS OTH UNK
Note: IATA ACTG classified only four accidents as LOC-I, the fifth one could not be assigned an End state
due to insufficient data. ICAO SISG categorized two accidents in the LOC-I arena as one being ICE and the
other one as SCF-NP. IATA ACTG did not categorize any CFIT accidents in 2019. The one CFIT accident that
was assigned by ICAO SISG, IATA ACTG categorized it as Other End State.

Accidents by Region of Occurrence
A harmonized regional analysis is provided by the ICAO RASG regions based on the State of Occurrence.
The number of accidents and harmonized accident rate by region are shown in the charts below.
Number of Accidents Accident Rate

per Region of Operator per Region of Operator
7.4
67
4.0
32
2.7
19
3 3 1.3 1.5
11
AFI APAC EUR MID PA International AFI APAC EUR MID PA

Waters
Future Development
Both ICAO and IATA continue to work closely together and, through their respective expert groups,
provide greater alignment in their analysis methods and metrics for the future. This ongoing work will be
shared with GSIE participants, States, international organizations and safety stakeholders in the interest
of promoting common, harmonized safety reporting at the global level.

Category Description
Includes all instances where the aircraft was flown into terrain in a controlled manner,
Controlled Flight into Terrain
regardless of the crew’s situational awareness. Does not include undershoots,
(CFIT)
overshoots or obstacles on takeoff and landing which are included in Runway Safety.
Loss of Control In-flight (LOC-I) Loss of control in-flight that is not recovered.
Includes runway excursions and incursions, undershoot/overshoot, tail strike

Runway Safety (RS)
and hard landing events.
Ground Safety (GS) Includes ramp safety, ground collisions, all ground servicing, pre-flight, engine start/
departure and arrival events. Taxi and towing events are also included.
Damage sustained by the aircraft while operating under its own power. This includes
Operational Damage (OD)
in-flight damage, foreign object debris (FOD) and all system or component failures.
All injuries or incapacitations sustained by anyone coming into direct contact with
any part of the aircraft structure. Includes turbulence-related injuries, injuries to
Injuries to and/or Incapacitation
ground staff coming into contact with the structure, engines or control surfaces
of Persons (MED)
aircraft and on-board injuries or incapacitations and fatalities not related to unlawful
external interference.
Other (OTH) Any event that does not fit into the categories listed above.
Any event whereby the exact cause cannot be reasonably determined through
Unknown (UNK) information or inference, or when there are insufficient facts to make a conclusive
decision regarding classification.
Category CICTT Occurrence Categories IATA Classification End States
Controlled Flight into Terrain

CFIT, CTOL CFIT
(CFIT)
Loss of Control In-flight (LOC-I) LOC-I LOC-I
Runway Excursion, Runway Collision,

Runway Safety (RS) RE, RI, ARC, USOS Tailstrike, Hard Landing, Undershoot,
Gear-up Landing / Gear Collapse
Ground Safety (GS) G-COL, RAMP, LOC-G Ground Damage
Operational Damage (OD) SCF-NP, SCF-PP In-flight Damage
Injuries to and/or Incapacitation

CABIN, MED, TURB None (excluded from IATA Safety Report)
of Persons (MED)
Other (OTH) All other CICTT Occurrence Categories All other IATA End States
Unknown (UNK) UNK Insufficient Data
Table 3. | GSIE harmonized accident categories

Safety Enhancement Initiatives

ICAO continues to develop and implement safety initiatives to support States to meet the goals and
targets set in the GASP and improve global aviation safety. This includes guidance to support States for
managing safety during the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic.
Regional cooperation and GASOS

Aviation safety has improved globally through the regional collaboration of organizations such as regional
safety oversight organizations (RSOOs), regional accident and incident investigation organizations
(RAIOs) and cooperative development of operational safety and continuing airworthiness programmes
(COSCAPs). Despite the continuous development of regional collaboration, many of these organizations
still face some specific challenges.
To support these regional efforts, ICAO established the RSOO Cooperative Platform (RSOO CP) in 2017 to
facilitate the sharing of experiences and best practices between RSOOs and their interfacing with ICAO.
Further, ICAO established a programme known as the Global Aviation Safety Oversight System (GASOS)
that presents a standardized set of criteria upon which regional organizations can be assessed and
measure their improvement against.
During its 217th Session, the ICAO Council approved GASOS and subsequently the Assembly, at its 40th
Session, adopted Resolution A40-6 — Regional cooperation and assistance to resolve safety deficiencies,
establishing priorities and setting measurable targets. This resolution approved the implementation and
further development of GASOS to help strengthen, assess and support RSOOs, RAIOs and COSCAPs with
the goal of assisting Member States in improving safety oversight, accident and incident investigation,
and safety management functions.
Since the 40th Assembly, ICAO has made significant strides in advancing GASOS and ensuring that
any legal and liability issues are being properly mitigated, including the creation of a template of a
Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) that addresses any outlying liability risks associated with the
implementation of GASOS, as it is currently constituted.
In addition to the MoU, ICAO developed the necessary processes and procedures to successfully launch
the GASOS programme, including the Global Aviation Safety Oversight System Manual (to be published
as Doc 10143) and a quality management system (QMS), which comprises a quality management manu-
al along with the necessary documented processes, procedures and guidance for the proper operation
of GASOS.
Furthermore, three GASOS pilot assessments undertaken within the last two years have already proven
to be beneficial. ICAO conducted pilot assessments on three RSOOs in the areas of: generic aspects
(GEN); aircraft operations (OPS); airworthiness of aircraft (AIR); aerodromes and ground aids (AGA); and
air navigation services (ANS). These assessments were based on a robust set of objective criteria, which
consists of a total of 1 093 assessment questions.

To further support regional cooperation, the RSOO CP has been working to strengthen and promote
RSOOs in order for them to better support their States. To further advance these efforts, the RSOO CP
in September 2019 adopted a three-year work programme focused on exchanging information, providing
guidance, coordinating assistance and building partnerships. These initiatives will continue to strengthen
the capacities of RSOOs and actively contribute to ICAO’s global and regional programmes and activities.
The RSOO CP and GASOS, working in parallel, equip ICAO with the necessary tools to better identify where
deficiencies may occur within these organizations. The two programmes allow ICAO and its partners,
where possible, to focus resources through the Aviation Safety Implementation Assistance Partnership
(ASIAP) by coordinating and cooperating on technical assistance activities in order to improve identified
deficiencies, thus strengthening regional cooperation and improving aviation safety around the world in
an efficient and effective manner. Information on GASOS can be found at https://www.icao.int/safety/
GASOS/Pages/default.aspx.

The future of aviation Communications, Navigation,

Surveillance and Frequency Spectrum
Existing aeronautical communications, navigation and surveillance (CNS) systems are dated, proven and
possess exceptional long active lifespans – beyond fifty years, in comparison with any other industry.
However, considering the current state of the art of radio system, the aeronautical CNS systems are
not particularly frequency spectrum efficient. Hence, ICAO and the aviation industry need to develop an
action plan to progress as well.
Frequency spectrum is a finite and limited resource, managed by the International Telecommunication
Union (ITU) through its four yearly World Radiocommunication Conference (WRC) process. Availability
of the necessary protected radio frequency spectrum is a critical prerequisite for the safe and efficient
implementation of CNS/air traffic management (ATM) systems. However, as demand for radio spectrum
from non-aviation users keeps growing, aviation faces an ever-increasing competition for the limited
available spectrum, in particular from mobile and broadband wireless access services.
The 13th Air Navigation Conference (AN-Conf/13), held in Montréal from 9 to 19 October 2018, approved
Recommendation 2.2/1 c), which instructed ICAO to “launch a study, built on a multidisciplinary view of
the C, N and S elements and frequency spectrum, to evolve the required CNS and frequency spectrum
access strategy and systems roadmap in the short, medium and long term, in a performance-based and
service-oriented manner, to ensure that CNS systems remain efficient users of the spectrum resource”.
ICAO has now initiated this work under the Integrated Communication Navigation Surveillance and
Spectrum (ICNSS) and Annex 10 — Aeronautical Telecommunications streamline project.
Unless aviation can continue to prove that the aeronautical CNS systems are spectrum efficient, aviation
will be forced to share the protected aeronautical frequency allocations with non-aeronautical users,
with resulting reduction in quality of service due to interference or may even lose access altogether to
certain frequency bands, critical to the current provision of CNS. Ultimately, this could result in an overall
reduction in the safety and efficiency of the aeronautical system as a whole. A better way forward is to

facilitate a continuing and timely evolution of the aeronautical CNS systems. This will be necessary for
two interrelated reasons, the first, to make more efficient use of the spectrum as per the ITU directive and
the second, to make way for growth in air traffic from traditional airspace users as well as the explosive
growth expected from new entrants such as the drone industry. The ICNSS project was conceived to deal
with these issues.
The ICNSS project will have two streams, the ICNSS Roadmap and the CNS Standards. The roadmap
stream will develop the CNSS roadmap on flexible and continuing technical evolution. The standards
stream will define performance standards versus technical specifications, which will contain means of
compliance. Alongside these streams, candidate frameworks for governance, prioritization and business
cases will be developed.
It is envisaged that the future avionics providing for aeronautical safety CNS and their supporting
ground systems will be built on integrated CNS system elements, facilitating efficient use of the valuable
frequency spectrum resource. Utilizing the state of the art technologies, such as software defined radios,
the avionics and their ground counterparts will have the capability to evolve as technology advances, with
minimum costs to States, air space users and aerospace industry.

Cabin Safety
Cabin safety contributes to the prevention of accidents and incidents, the protection of the aircraft’s
occupants through proactive safety management including hazard identification and safety risk manage-
ment, and the increase of survivability in the event of an emergency situation. The main role of cabin
crew focuses on the evacuation of an aircraft in the event of an accident. This role contributes to the
aspirational safety goal of zero fatalities set forth in the Global Aviation Safety Plan (GASP, Doc 10004) by
ensuring passenger safety. In addition, cabin crew members also play an important proactive role in man-
aging safety, which can contribute to the prevention of accidents. This role includes, but is not limited to:
a) preventing incidents from escalating in the cabin, such as smoke or fire;
b) informing the flight crew of abnormal situations observed in the cabin or relating to the aircraft, such
as pressurization problems, engine anomalies and contamination of critical surfaces; and
c) preventing unlawful interference and managing passenger events that can compromise safety and
security of the flight, such as hijackings.

The ICAO Cabin Safety Group (ICSG) is an international, joint industry-regulatory group composed of
cabin safety experts from civil aviation authorities, airlines, aircraft manufacturers and non-governmental
organizations. The ICSG serves as the expert group, providing advice to ICAO on cabin safety-related
matters and assisting in the development or revision of requirements, guidance material and implementation
support to enhance cabin safety on a global scale. Since the creation of ICAO’s dedicated cabin safety
initiative in 2012, ICAO has developed several guidance materials, including:
• Doc 10002, Cabin Crew Safety Training Manual;
• Doc 9481, Emergency Response Guidelines for Incidents Involving Dangerous Goods (updated to
include cabin crew procedures for dealing with Lithium battery fires);
• Cir 340, Guidelines for the Expanded Use of Portable Electronic Devices;
• Doc 10049, Manual on the Approval and Use of Child Restraint Systems (second edition published);
• Cir 344, Guidelines on Education, Training and Reporting Practices Related to Fume Events (which
includes cabin crew-related procedures and training);
• Doc 10062, Manual on the Investigation of Cabin Safety Aspects in Accidents and Incidents (which
focuses on survival factors in investigations);
• Doc 10072, Manual on the Establishment of Minimum Cabin Crew Requirements;
• Doc 10086, Manual on Information and Instructions for Passenger Safety (including brace positions);
• Doc 10111, Manual on the Implementation and Use of Cabin

Electronic Flight Bags;
• Cir 352, UN OHCHR-ICAO Guidelines for Training Cabin Crew on

Identifying and Responding to Trafficking in Persons, developed
in conjunction with the United Nations (UN) Office of the High
Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR); and
• Cir 356, Guidelines on Digital Learning for Cabin Crew Training

(including use of virtual reality).
Further information about ICAO’s cabin safety initiatives can be found

at www.icao.int/cabinsafety.

Runway Safety – 2019 Success Story
Runway safety (RS) continues to remain aviation’s biggest safety challenge, representing more than
half of accidents reported to ICAO for commercial operations, including scheduled and non-scheduled,
involving aircraft with a certified MTOW over 5 700 kg in 2019 as shown in Chart 17.
47% 57% 79% 28%
72%
53%
43%
21%
Accidents Fatal accidents Fatalities Accidents with aircraft

substantially damaged
RS Events Others
Chart 17. | Runway safety-related accidents overview 2019
Note: Events related to runway safety include the following CICTT occurrence categories: abnormal runway
contact, bird strike, runway excursion, runway incursion, loss of control on ground, ground collision,
ground handling, collision with obstacles, aerodrome and undershoot/overshoot.
Since 2011 the ICAO-led Runway Safety Programme (RSP) has been
collaborating on initiatives to reduce runway safety-related accidents
and incidents worldwide. A key initiative is the Global Runway Safety
Action Plan (GRSAP), which provides recommended actions for all
runway safety stakeholders aimed at reducing the risks related to
runway safety, in particular runway excursions and runway incursions.
ICAO and its RSP partners also continue to support the establishment
of effective airport Runway Safety Teams (RSTs) as a way to improve
runway safety through Runway Safety Go-Team missions. The
Runway Safety Go-Teams are comprised of ICAO and RSP partner
organization experts, which perform multi-disciplinary technical
assistance visits to requesting international airports to assist in
establishing and improving the effectiveness of the airport RST. In
2019 there were eight Go-Team missions completed at airports in
Azerbaijan, Belarus, Botswana, Cameroon, Lebanon, Morocco and Ukraine. In total there have been
40 ICAO Runway Safety Go-Team missions conducted since the launch of this initiative in 2014.

The Global Reporting Format (GRF) for runway surface conditions is another important runway safety-
related initiative. ICAO continues to support States and stakeholders with their preparations for the
4 November 2021 applicability date. In March 2019 a global symposium was hosted in Montréal, with
350 delegates from 48 Member States and seven international organizations attending. This has been
followed-up by a series of focused regional seminars, with eight hosted during 2019. In parallel, training
courses for airport, airline and air traffic control (ATC) staff were under development through ICAO’s
Trainair Plus programme, in cooperation with Airports Council International (ACI), International Air
Transport Association (IATA) and Civil Air Navigation Services Organisation (CANSO), respectively. The
course for airport operations staff was delivered in 2019, and those for flight crew and ATC staff would
be ready in 2020.

A competency-based approach to
dangerous goods training and assessment
The Council approved amendments to the Technical Instructions for
the Safe Transport of Dangerous Goods by Air (Doc 9284), which
will be incorporated in the 2021–2022 Edition of the Technical In-
structions. The amended provisions support a competency-based
approach to dangerous goods training and assessment based on the
principles provided in the Procedures for Air Navigation Services —
Training (PANS-TRG, Doc 9868). They have been several years in the
making and take into account feedback from States, international or-
ganizations and industry that was provided throughout the process.
While the objective of ensuring personnel are trained to perform their
dangerous goods functions commensurate with their responsibilities
has not changed, the new provisions remove some of the prescrip-
tive requirements of dangerous goods training, which may not always
target specific training needs. The new provisions focus on the intent
of dangerous goods training, which is to ensure personnel are com-
petent to perform any function for which they are responsible prior to
performing them.
New guidance material has been developed to support a competency-based approach to dangerous
goods training and assessment. Since ICAO regions and Member States have differing regulatory,
operational, technical and organizational environments, it does not prescribe a “one-size-fits-all” training
programme. Instead, it provides generic tools to develop dangerous goods training programmes that can
be adapted for specific needs. It is based on the more detailed material provided in the PANS-TRG.

ANC Talks
In January 2020, the newly elected President of the Air Navigation Commission (ANC), Mr. Nabil Naoumi,
launched “ANC Talks”, an open forum where the ANC and aviation stakeholders discuss challenges and
opportunities encountered in the aviation sector. This initiative allows for discussions on implementation
issues, and the talks are structured in such a way that communication is improved and work with aviation
stakeholders is promoted, ultimately enhancing the relationship between ICAO, the aviation industry and
other aviation stakeholders.
The outcome of ANC Talks is made available to the general public. An article summarizing discussions is
published after each meeting on the ICAO Uniting Aviation Blog (https://www.unitingaviation.com). The
President of the ANC also holds separate interview meetings with invited stakeholders, available on the
ICAO TV (https://www.icao.tv).
Below is the list of articles published in the ICAO Uniting Aviation Blog and the associated date of publica-
tion. Interview videos can be accessed through the same link:
Published Articles on the ICAO Uniting Aviation Blog Date of publication
ANC Talks: ICAO’s Air Navigation Commission 5 February 2020

ANC Talks: Issues that Affect Airports 19 February 2020
ANC Talks: The Airbus 220 Aircraft 24 March 2020
ANC Talks: SITA brings cybersecurity to the discussions 29 April 2020
ANC Talks: Competency-based Training and Assessments in Aviation 12 May 2020
ANC Talks: Loon and Airbus Zephyr take Aviation to New Heights 21 May 2020
ANC Talks with EASA: As Innovation Grows, so does Aviation 27 May 2020
ANC Talks with EUROCONTROL: European Aviation, COVID-19 and the Recovery 12 June 2020
ANC Talks: A new digital era of aviation and the path forward for airspace
19 June 2020
and traffic management
ANC Talks: How does business aviation contribute to economic
29 June 2020
and societal development?

Safety Enhancement Initiatives - COVID-19
COVID-19 pandemic – The ICAO Council Aviation Recovery Task Force
From the onset of the COVID-19 crisis, the aviation system has faced ever-growing challenges. Following
the ICAO Council Declaration on the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) adopted on 9 March 2020, the
ICAO Council Aviation Recovery Task Force (CART) was established. The CART, which is composed of
representatives from States, and international, regional and industry organizations, and supported by
the ICAO Secretariat, was tasked to identify and recommend strategic priorities and policies to address
these challenges and to provide global guidance for a safe, secure and sustainable restart and recovery
of the aviation system.
The CART has since published the CART Report (https://www.icao.int/covid/cart/Pages/CART-Report--

-Executive-Summary.aspx) and the Take-off: Guidance for Air Travel through the COVID-19 Public Health
Crisis (https://www.icao.int/covid/cart/Pages/CART-Take-off.aspx) to support Member States and the
aviation industry.
CART Report
A safe, secure and sustainable restart and recovery of the global aviation sector is best supported by an
internationally harmonized approach based on the following 10 principles outlined in the CART Report:
1. Protect people: harmonized but flexible measures. States and industry need to work
together to put in place harmonized or mutually accepted risk-based measures to protect
passengers, crew and other staff throughout the travel experience.
2. Work as one aviation team and show solidarity. The respective plans of ICAO, States,
international and regional organizations, and the industry should complement and support
each other. While national and regional needs may require different approaches, States should
harmonize responses to the extent possible, in line with ICAO’s Standards, plans and policies.
3. Ensure essential connectivity. States and industry should maintain essential connectivity and
global supply chains, especially to remote regions, isolated islands and other vulnerable States.
4. Actively manage safety-, security- and health-related risks. States and industry should
use data-driven systemic approaches to manage the operational safety-, security-, and health
related risks in the restart and recovery phases, and adapt their measures accordingly.
5. Make aviation public health measures work with aviation safety and security systems.
Health measures must be carefully assessed to avoid negatively impacting aviation safety
and/or security.
6. Strengthen public confidence. States and industry need to work together, harmonizing
practical measures and communicating clearly to ensure passengers are willing to travel again.

7. Distinguish restart from recovery. Restarting the industry and supporting its recovery are
distinct phases which may require different approaches and temporary measures to mitigate
evolving risks.
8. Support financial relief strategies to help the aviation industry. States and financial
institutions, consistent with their mandates, should consider the need to provide direct and/
or indirect support in various proportionate and transparent ways. In doing so, they should
safeguard fair competition and not distort markets or undermine diversity or access.
9. Ensure sustainability. Aviation is the business of connections, and a driver of economic and
social recovery. States and industry should strive to ensure the economic and environmental
sustainability of the aviation sector.
10. Learn lessons to improve resilience. As the world recovers, the lessons learned have to
be used to make the aviation system stronger.
The CART Report also outlines the measures compatible with safety and security requirements to be
taken and the recommendations to follow up at the international, national and local level.
These measures are grouped into four categories:
a) Aviation safety-related measures. States may temporarily depart from ICAO Standards
but must do so in a manner that does not compromise safety and security, and which is duly
reported to ICAO. These departures should not be retained beyond the crisis.
b) Aviation public health-related measures. States should establish public health procedures
aligned with the guidance included in the Take-off: Guidance for Air Travel through the
COVID-19 Public Health Crisis. The necessity of these measures should be regularly reviewed.
The measures which are no longer relevant should be discontinued when the need for their
application has ceased to exist.
c) Security- and facilitation-related measures. States should enhance cross-sectoral
coordination by establishing a national air transport facilitation committee or equivalent,
and systematically use the passenger health locator form as a reference. It is States’
responsibility to maintain security across all operations.
d) Economic and financial measures. These should be inclusive, targeted, proportionate,
transparent, temporary and consistent with ICAO’s policies, while striking an appropriate
balance of interests without prejudice to fair competition.

The CART Report contains the following 11 recommendations:
Recommendation 1: During the global COVID-19 outbreak, Member States should continue updating
COVID-19 Contingency Related Differences (CCRDs) in the Electronic Filing of Differences (EFOD) subsystem.
Recommendation 2: Member States should avoid retaining any COVID-19 related alleviation measures
as soon as normal operations are resumed. Differences that remain after the contingency if any should
be filed in the EFOD system.
Recommendation 3: Member States should expedite the development of guidance for safety manage-
ment of new operations or operation change during this crisis.
Recommendation 4: Global and regional harmonization of procedures is essential to strengthen public

and passenger confidence in air travel. To that end, Member States should establish aviation public health
procedures aligned with the guidance in the Take-off: Guidance for Air Travel through the COVID-19 Public
Health Crisis.
Recommendation 5: In order to support the fastest possible return to normal aviation operations,
Member States should regularly review the necessity of continuing the application of risk mitigation
measures as the risk of COVID-19 transmission diminishes; and measures which are no longer needed
should be discontinued.
Recommendation 6: Member States that have not done so should immediately establish a National
Air Transport Facilitation Committee (or equivalent) as required by Annex 9 to increase national level
cross-sectoral coordination.
Recommendation 7: Member States should systematically use a Passenger Health Locator Form to
ensure identification and traceability of passengers to help limit the spread of the disease and resurgence
of the pandemic.
Recommendation 8: While temporarily adapting their security-related measures, using the guidance
provided, Member States should strengthen their oversight system to ensure these measures are consis-
tently applied with the objective of protecting aviation against acts of unlawful interference.
Recommendation 9: Member States should take measures to ensure that relevant personnel are
provided training to identify and manage unruly passenger situations related to non-respect of essential
aviation public health and safety measures.
Recommendation 10: Member States should consider appropriate extraordinary emergency measures
to support financial viability and to maintain an adequate level of safe, secure and efficient operations,
which should be inclusive, targeted, proportionate, transparent, temporary and consistent with ICAO’s
policies, while striking an appropriate balance among the respective interests without prejudice to fair
competition and compromising safety, security and environmental performance.
Recommendation 11: Member States should facilitate information-sharing and exchange on their
actions and best practices by contributing to an ICAO database of measures.

The CART recommendations and guidelines are continuously reviewed and updated based on the latest
medical and operational advice, and are intended to harmonize and not replace the COVID-19 recovery
roadmaps currently established by States, regions or industry groups.
Take-off: Guidance for Air Travel through the COVID-19 Public Health Crisis
The CART Take-off guidance includes a section on public health risk mitigation measures, in addition to four
operational modules relating to airport guidelines, aircraft guidelines, crew guidelines and cargo guidelines.
This document provides a framework for addressing the impact of the current COVID-19 pandemic on
the global aviation transportation system. The appendix to this document includes mitigations needed to
reduce public health risks to air passengers and aviation workers while strengthening confidence among
the travelling public, the global supply chain and governments. This will assist in accelerating demand for
essential and non-essential air travel impacted by COVID-19.
With help and guidance from the civil aviation stakeholder community, ICAO recommends a phased
approach to enable the safe return to high-volume domestic and international air travel for passengers
and cargo. The approach introduces a core set of measures to form a baseline aviation health safety
protocol to protect air passengers and aviation workers from COVID-19. These measures will enable the
growth of global aviation as it recovers from the current pandemic.
More information about the CART can be found at https://www.icao.int/covid/cart/Pages/default.aspx.


COVID-19 pandemic – CAPSCA and the Public Health Corridor
The ICAO Collaborative Arrangement for the Prevention and Management of Public Health Events in
Civil Aviation (CAPSCA) programme, established in 2006 in response to the severe acute respiratory
syndrome (SARS) crisis, is a voluntary multi-sectoral platform combining resources and expertise from
both aviation and public health sectors to support the preparedness for, and management of, public
health events affecting civil aviation. The CAPSCA network links ICAO, the World Health Organization
(WHO) and other United Nations (UN) entities, international aviation organizations, civil aviation authorities
and public health organizations at global, regional and national levels.
CAPSCA recommends the implementation of a “Public Health Corridor” (PHC) concept to ensure continued
flight operations with minimal restrictions, whilst preventing the spread of infection of COVID-19 through
air travel and protecting the health and safety of crew and passengers. The PHC has been developed
using a risk-based approach, taking into account safety management principles. The key elements of
this strategy are the use of “clean” crew, “clean” aircraft, “clean” airport facilities, “clean” cargo and
transporting “clean” passengers. “Clean” in this context refers to implementing measures to ensure as
far as possible a “COVID-19 free” status.
Given the absence of a vaccine and definitive treatment, and the limitations on testing and resources,
the risk of contracting COVID-19 when travelling by air cannot be completely eliminated, however, the
risk to crew and passengers can be mitigated significantly by implementing various layers of measures.
CAPSCA guidance material and supporting activities will be adjusted periodically based on new scientific
developments to ensure that the implemented measures mitigate risk as far as possible.
CAPSCA and the PHC are mechanisms for implementing the ICAO Council Aviation Recovery Task
Force (CART) guidance material relating to general public health measures as well as the specific
recommendations specified in the airport, aircraft, crew and cargo modules. Assistance is provided at
global, regional and national levels to support States and industry for the restart and recovery of the
aviation system.
CAPSCA activities in response to the COVID-19 pandemic include:
• Developing guidance material, including Electronic Bulletins supporting the CART and contributing
to WHO guidance material development.
• Sharing guidance material, including ICAO guidance material and information, WHO and other
public health guidance material and publication of CAPSCA members’ best-practices papers and
other associated guidance material on the CAPSCA website.
• Tools development and review, including online surveys, forms to ensure uniform implementation
of guidance material, review of the CAPSCA assistance visit checklist, data-driven applications and
analysis of information shared by Member States.
• Capacity-building and training, including the current CAPSCA on-line training package to develop
capacity to conduct CAPSCA assessment visits, training through regional CAPSCA meetings which is
currently being conducted on-line and through webinars and supporting WHO regional training activities.
• Providing subject matter advice on an ad-hoc basis upon request to support States in their
activities and the implementation of guidelines.

• CAPSCA assistance visits assessing preparedness and response plans, conducting a gap analysis,
assess implementation of the International Health Regulations and ICAO health-related SARPs,
providing recommendations for improvement.
• Developing templates and procedures to facilitate the implementation of the PHC.
The PHC expands on CAPSCA activities and focuses on implementation activities, including:
• implementation of guidance material through the i-Package on the PHC;

• implementation of new tools such as online tools and smartphone applications;
• enhancing capacity-building and training, including the PHC online course and PHC webinars; and
• assessment of and information-sharing regarding implementation of CAPSCA and CART guidance in
collaboration with public and private stakeholders to facilitate harmonized implementation and mutual
recognition of implemented measures.
More information about CAPSCA can be found at https://www.icao.int/safety/aviation-medicine/Pages/

CAPSCA.aspx.

COVID-19 pandemic – Update on operational safety activities
Meeting the obligations of the Convention
The initial priority of States’ response to the COVID-19 pandemic has included ensuring that international
operations, albeit in limited capacity, can continue unhindered. Due to restrictions with access to training
and medical facilities, States are offering operators alleviations from medical and training requirements
that have resulted in the need to record temporary differences. A method to allow States to file temporary
differences to Standards and Recommended Practices (SARPs), as well as the provision of clear informa-
tion on what differences they are prepared to accept from other States, has become essential to allow
operations to continue.
The relevant articles of the Convention are:
Article 38 – Departures from international standards and procedures, which requires States to
notify ICAO of any differences to the SARPs that arise;
Article 39 – Endorsement of certificates and licenses, which states that any aircraft or person
that does not satisfy in full applicable Standards or conditions shall have endorsed on or
attached to relevant certificate or license a complete enumeration of the details or particulars
in respect of which the aircraft or person does not satisfy such requirements or conditions; and
Article 40 – Validity of endorsed certificates and licenses, which provides that no aircraft or
personnel having certificates or licenses so endorsed shall participate in international navigation,
except with the permission of the State or States whose territory is entered.
ICAO carried out a thorough review of all Annexes and identified a set of SARPs that included explicit
references to renewal periods or recency requirements. To support States in filing and accessing the
required information, the COVID-19 Contingency Related Differences (CCRD) (available at www.icao.int/
safety/COVID-19OPS/Pages/ccrd.aspx), a sub system of the Electronic Filing of Differences (EFOD)
system, has been developed to allow States to file temporary differences to SARPs and to publish the
differences they are prepared to accept from other States. The system ensures continued operations
in compliance with Articles 38, 39 and 40 of the Convention. On 3 April 2020, ICAO issued State letter
AN 11/55-20/50 informing States of the establishment of the CCRD and requested that information be
provided to facilitate continuance of international air transport while respecting the requirements of the
Convention. To date, a total of 181 States have provided information in the CCRD, an unprecedented
number of responses; this has supported the continued operations of aircraft.
Additional SARPs have since been subsequently identified and included in the CCRD tool. Although these
SARPs do not explicitly have limitations contained in the text, they have been considered to be of sufficient
importance for States to review and document their differences. An example of such is the requirement
in Annex 6 — Operation of Aircraft for the continued validity of the approval for approved maintenance
organizations. This does not specify the means to demonstrate continued validity; many States, however,
require a biannual on-site inspection, which has not been possible to comply with.

Developing guidance
To support civil aviation authorities (CAAs) in the decision-making process for the issuance of alleviations,
ICAO has developed a number of “Quick Reference Guides” (QRG) describing State and industry best
practices on a variety of subjects. These guides have been designed to be published quickly and updated
as often as required, depending on the circumstances. Maximum use has been made of ICAO expert
groups (panels, task forces, study groups, etc.), although the time-sensitive nature of the work requires
that the usual process of review, comment and publication have been expedited.
Guidance has also been developed on conducting risk assessments to support the State alleviations,
including the publication of the first edition of the ICAO Handbook for CAAs on the Management of
Aviation Safety Risks related to COVID-19 (Doc 10144). To complement the content of the Handbook,
ICAO is collecting and sharing examples and tools through a dedicated page created under the Safety
Management Implementation (SMI) website (www.icao.int/SMI-COVID19SRM).
Webinars, training and tools
Additional information has been provided to States and industry via a series of webinars, based on the
QRG subject areas, which allow for more detailed explanations of the issues involved and facilitate ques-
tion and answer sessions responding to specific areas of interest to participants.
States and operators also needed to be able to plan for the lifting of COVID-19 related extensions and
exemptions, and anticipate the needs as a result of deferred certificate validity renewals backing up.
In line with safety management principles, ICAO has developed the monitoring and planning tool (MPT)
to support States and organizations in their planning activities related to the aftermath of COVID-19
alleviation measures.
The primary context of the tool is the management of the likely backlog due to reduced activities during
the COVID-19 crisis. The tool also helps States visualize the alleviations granted and establish a dialogue
with operators to better anticipate the demand of services.
Implementation packages
On 17 July 2020, ICAO issued Electronic Bulletin 2020/40 informing States of the availability of imple-
mentation packages (iPacks) to support States in their response, recovery and resilience efforts following
the COIVD-19 outbreak. The iPack contents include standardized guidance material, training, workshops,
tools and subject matter expert support which aim to facilitate and guide the implementation of the
applicable ICAO provisions by State entities. iPacks on aviation safety risk management and aerodromes
restart are two such examples.

COVID-19 pandemic – Safety Risk Management
ICAO has developed the Handbook for CAAs on the Management of Aviation Safety Risks related to
COVID-19 (Doc 10144). The terminology is aligned with ICAO Doc 9859 and can be applied by States at
any level of SSP implementation.
The guidance outlines important aspects for CAAs to consider at different stages of the pandemic. It
discusses the assessment and prioritization of risks based on collection and analysis of data, application
of safety management principles to support risk-based decision-making, and management and monitoring
of CAA approvals in light of the flexibility needed across the aviation system to continue safe operations.
It also introduces concepts such as the plan-do-check-act (PDCA) cycle as shown in Figure 12.
The successful management of the pandemic requires the assessment and management of risks that
extend beyond the boundaries of managing aviation safety risks as defined in Annex 19. To that end,
integrated risk management tools are being considered to support States, taking into account different
risk domains, including safety, security, environment and financial.
Figure 12. | PDCA cycle for managing aviation safety risks during COVID-19
Once the pandemic is over, CAAs should capitalize on their efforts to apply lessons learned during the
COVID-19 pandemic to continue building on their SSP implementation, making further progress towards
addressing contingency planning and improving the effectiveness of their safety management functions.
The Handbook is available at no cost and can be downloaded at www.icao.int/COVID-19-SRM. Webinars
and online training were developed to support the application of this content.

COVID-19 pandemic - Strategies for UAS
The COVID-19 pandemic has presented circumstances to the world that require ongoing diligence and
resources. The global spread commands innovative solutions and among those solutions, unmanned
aircraft systems (UAS) can play a vital role.
A delivery logistics company is using UAS to transport COVID-19 samples in urban areas of Ghana and
Rwanda, and transporting an expanded mix of products to meet health facilities’ critical needs as de-
mand surges. The protocols were formalized identifying the precise movement of each COVID-19 sample.
Allocation of specific UA was made for transporting to and from the health facilities as well as required
procedures for sanitizing the UA and the flight operations environment. Personnel received training on
proper sample packaging, marking and use of proper protective equipment according to WHO recom-
mendations.
Transport Canada is presently evaluating multiple prospective operation types submitted by Canadian UA
operators. The various operation types involve transporting biological samples and medicines to isolated
communities; delivery of essential goods and medicines to indigenous communities; or transporting
supplies to food banks. Canada has asked the fundamental question as to how it can best adapt its
current transportation model to accommodate the many distribution needs efficiently and effectively.
As Transport Canada evaluates its UA transportation options, it does so with the consideration of less
congested skies, which is another result from the current health crisis.
States throughout the world have acquired experience with UAS operations that are similar in nature to
one another. Testing corridors have been established and trial delivery operations have ensued. In some
States, training is underway on different types of UA, health applications and collecting and processing
data. All of these activities from personal protective equipment (PPE) delivery to mapping data that will
help model the spread of a virus are invaluable for the current pandemic and especially effective during
future health events, with refined coordination and preparation.
ICAO brought together experts from several States, United Nations System agencies and non-govern-
mental organizations to assist in producing guidance material for emergency response. ICAO has pub-
lished Humanitarian Aid and Emergency Response guidance for UAS and has developed UAS model
regulations. ICAO is currently working on a cohesive UAS roadmap to assist States with implementation of
these provisions. The need to harmonize UAS regulations amongst Member States for operations across
borders and within regions is a key consideration.
The COVID-19 pandemic is teaching all of us about the degree to which coordination and preparation is
necessary to respond to this and future outbreaks. ICAO’s U-AID webpage provides guidance material to
assist States in preparing for emergency response events insuring a holistic approach. Under supporting
material, government ministries, agencies and local entities with whom coordination is vital are provided
as well as mission planning samples, carriage of dangerous goods information and establishing methods
for societal communications. The link to ICAO’s Humanitarian Guidance and Emergency Response material
can be found at: https://www.icao.int/safety/UA/UAID/.

An important aspect of adequate crisis planning is training. Training in advance of a crisis is paramount.
Knowledge and skill of UA flight operations; how to handle, package, label and record medical samples
for transport; and how to properly collect, process and assess data collected by UA are all areas that
require training in preparation for an emergency response.
The ICAO guidance can be used for the COVID-19 pandemic or any other natural or manmade emergency
situation. The key is to be prepared. Review of the model regulations and guidance material which provide
foundational information for States will assist personnel in the necessary preparation. These materials
will be updated over time, as knowledge and experience expand. For specific questions or concerns on
emergency preparedness by UAS, please contact us at RPAS@icao.int.

COVID-19 pandemic – Aerodrome Operations and Infrastructure
Aerodromes are a unique ecosystem in the aviation industry where interaction takes place among
passengers, with staff and with other authorities in a common space. With the rapid spread of COVID-19,
aerodromes were forced to shut down or operate with reduced capacity. In this context, it is important
for States to be prepared to cope with various challenges during these unprecedented times.
ICAO published, on its COVID-19 website, guidance for States concerning issues pertaining to issuance/
renewal of aerodrome certificates, need for stakeholder engagement before closing aerodromes and a
sample safety checklist for resuming aerodrome operations.
Aerodrome Certification
Aerodrome certification is an effective tool to ensure safe and efficient aerodrome operations. During the
COVID-19 pandemic, States were advised of the options to provide interim aerodrome certificates or extend
the validity of aerodrome certificates, where required for a defined period based on established guidelines.
Aerodrome Closures
Uncoordinated aerodrome closures will affect the aviation industry especially for aircraft in a state of
emergency, operations related to humanitarian aid, medical and relief flights, and alternate aerodromes
for en-route operations. States were advised to coordinate with the public health authorities, aircraft
operators, ANSPs, aerodrome operators, etc., to address the needs and concerns of all the stakeholders,
before initiating any action to close an aerodrome.
Resuming Aerodrome Operations
Resuming aerodrome operations after a full or partial aerodrome closure involves extensive preparatory
checks to ensure safety and efficiency. To this end, States were provided with a sample checklist
to facilitate a quick recovery for aerodromes by checking key elements in areas such as aerodrome
infrastructure, aerodrome operations, certification and compliance, and coordination and collaboration.
More information can be found at https://www.icao.int/safety/COVID-19OPS/Pages/aga.aspx.

Appendix 1
Appendix 1
Regional Aviation Safety Group (RASG) Regions
The assignment of States or areas to specific groupings is for statistical convenience and does not imply
any assumption regarding political or other affiliation of States or territories by ICAO.
RASG-EUR
RASG-MID
RASG-PA
RASG-APAC
RASG-AFI
RASG-AFI (48)
Angola Congo Ghana Mauritius Somalia

Benin Côte d’Ivoire Guinea Mozambique South Africa
Botswana Democratic Republic Guinea-Bissau Namibia South Sudan
Burkina Faso of the Congo Kenya Niger Togo
Burundi Djibouti Lesotho Nigeria Uganda
Cameroon Equatorial Guinea Liberia Rwanda United Republic
Cabo Verde Eritrea Madagascar Sao Tome of Tanzania
Central African Eswatini Malawi and Principe Zambia
Republic Ethiopia Mali Senegal Zimbabwe
Chad Gabon Mauritania Seychelles
Comoros Gambia Sierra Leone

Appendix 1
RASG-APAC (39)
Afghanistan Democratic People’s Malaysia New Zealand Solomon Islands

Australia Republic of Korea Maldives Pakistan Sri Lanka
Bangladesh Fiji Marshall Islands Palau Thailand
Bhutan India Micronesia Papua New Guinea Timor-Leste
Brunei Darussalam Indonesia (Federated States of) Philippines Tonga
Cambodia Japan Mongolia Republic of Korea Tuvalu
China Kiribati Myanmar Samoa Vanuatu
Cook Islands Lao People’s Nauru Singapore Viet Nam
Democratic Republic Nepal
RASG-EUR (56)
Albania Cyprus Israel North Macedonia Sweden

Algeria Czechia Italy Norway Switzerland
Andorra Denmark Kazakhstan Poland Tajikistan
Armenia Estonia Kyrgyzstan Portugal Tunisia
Austria Finland Latvia Republic of Moldova Turkey
Azerbaijan France Lithuania Romania Turkmenistan
Belarus Georgia Luxembourg Russian Federation Ukraine
Belgium Germany Malta San Marino United Kingdom
Bosnia and Greece Monaco Serbia Uzbekistan
Herzegovina Hungary Montenegro Slovakia
Bulgaria Iceland Morocco Slovenia
Croatia Ireland Netherlands Spain
RASG-MID (15)
Bahrain Iran (Islamic Republic of) Lebanon Qatar Syrian Arab Republic
Egypt Jordan Libyan Arab Jamahiriya Saudi Arabia United Arab Emirates
Iraq Kuwait Oman Sudan Yemen
RASG-PA (35)
Antigua and Barbuda Canada El Salvador Nicaragua Suriname

Argentina Chile Grenada Panama Trinidad and Tobago
Bahamas Colombia Guatemala Paraguay United States
Barbados Costa Rica Guyana Peru Uruguay
Belize Cuba Haiti Saint Kitts and Nevis Venezuela (Bolivarian
Bolivia Dominica Honduras Saint Lucia Republic of)
(Plurinational State of) Dominican Republic Jamaica Saint Vincent and
Brazil Ecuador Mexico the Grenadines

Appendix 2
Appendix 2
List of Scheduled Commercial Accidents in 2019
Occurrence
Local Date Model State of Occurrence RASG Region Fatalities Category
2019-01-03 Embraer ERJ190-100 United States PA CABIN
2019-01-08 Airbus A320-200 United States PA RAMP

Boeing 737-800 &
2019-01-17 Boeing 737-800 Malta EUR GCOL
2019-01-18 Boeing 777-200 South Pacific ocean International water TURB
2019-01-23 de Havilland DHC8-100 Canada PA RE
2019-01-26 ATR 72-600 India APAC ARC
2019-01-28 ATR 72-200 Spain EUR RE
2019-01-28 Boeing 727-200 United States PA ARC
2019-01-29 Boeing 737-800 Germany EUR SCF-NP
2019-02-03 Boeing 787-8 United States PA CABIN
2019-02-05 Boeing 737-800 Costa Rica PA TURB
2019-02-08 Airbus A321-200 Denmark EUR ARC
2019-02-13 Embraer ERJ170 United States PA TURB
2019-02-17 Boeing 737-800 United States PA TURB
2019-02-27 Boeing B777-200 United States PA TURB
2019-02-28 Embraer ERJ 190-200 United Kingdom EUR F-NI, EVAC
2019-03-01 Airbus A320-200 United Kingdom EUR SCF-PP, EVAC
2019-03-02 de Havilland DHC8-400 United Kingdom EUR GCOL
2019-03-03 Beechcraft 1900D Algeria EUR SCF-NP
2019-03-03 Airbus A320-200 Brazil PA USOS
2019-03-04 Embraer EMB145 United States PA USOS
2019-03-07 Boeing 737-300 Bolivia (Plurinational State of) PA SCF-NP
2019-03-08 ATR 42-500 Russian Federation EUR RE
2019-03-10 Boeing 737 MAX 8 Ethiopia AFI 157 SCF-NP, LOC-I

Boeing 737-800 &
2019-03-10 Boeing 757-300 United States PA GCOL
Bombardier CL600 2C10 &
2019-03-10 Bombardier CL600 2D24 United States PA RAMP
2019-03-19 Fokker 28 MK100 Iran (Islamic Republic of) MID SCF-NP, ARC
2019-03-21 ATR 72-200 Sao Tome and Principe PA RAMP
2019-03-23 Airbus A320-200 United Kingdom EUR SCF-NP, RAMP

Appendix 2
List of Scheduled Commercial Accidents in 2019 (continued)
Occurrence
2019-03-27 Boeing 737-700 United States PA BIRD
2019-04-03 Airbus A320-200 United Kingdom EUR RAMP
2019-04-04 Boeing MD88 United States PA GCOL
2019-04-04 de Havilland DHC8-400 Austria EUR ARC, WSTRW
2019-04-08 BAe Jetstream 4100 Dominican Republic PA ARC
2019-04-10 Airbus A321-200 United States PA ARC
2019-04-11 Boeing 737-900 United States PA CABIN
2019-04-22 Airbus A320-200 Thailand APAC TURB
2019-05-02 Boeing 737-800 Japan APAC TURB
2019-05-03 Boeing DC-3 Canada PA SCF-PP

ARC, WSTRW,
2019-05-05 Sukhoi Superjet 100-95B Russian Federation EUR 41 RE, F-PI, EVAC
2019-05-08 de Havilland DHC8-400 Bangladesh APAC ARC, RE
2019-05-10 de Havilland DHC8-300 Canada PA GCOL
2019-05-13 Boeing 737-900 Republic of Korea APAC TURB
2019-05-24 Airbus A320-200 Indonesia APAC RAMP
2019-05-28 Airbus A320-200 United States PA CABIN
2019-06-09 Boeing 737-900 United States PA ARC

SCF-NP,
2019-06-15 ATR 42-300 Brazil PA ARC, EVAC
2019-06-15 Boeing 757-200 United States PA ARC, RE
2019-06-17 Boeing 737-800 United States PA RAMP
2019-06-18 Airbus A330-200 China APAC TURB
2019-06-23 Airbus A320-200 Italy EUR CABIN

RE, SCF-PP,
2019-06-27 Antonov An-24RV Russian Federation EUR 2 F-POST
2019-07-02 Boeing 737-800 India APAC RE
Boeing 737-800&
2019-07-09 Airbus A320-200 Netherlands EUR RAMP
2019-07-10 Airbus A380-800 Indian Ocean International water TURB
2019-07-12 ATR 42-500 Greece EUR RE
2019-07-12 ATR 72-200 Nepal APAC RE
2019-07-17 Bombardier CL 600 2B19 United States PA GCOL
2019-07-19 de Havilland DHC8-400 Canada PA ARC
2019-07-20 ATR 42-500 Pakistan APAC RE

Appendix 2
Occurrence
2019-07-23 Boeing 737-300 Nigeria AFI ARC
2019-07-23 Boeing 757-300 United States PA RAMP
2019-07-24 Boeing 777-300 France EUR RAMP
2019-07-30 Airbus A319-100 Germany EUR RAMP
2019-07-31 Bombardier CL600 2D24 United States PA RAMP
2019-08-02 Airbus A330-200 Atlantic ocean International water TURB
2019-08-02 ATR 72-200 Myanmar APAC ARC

Boeing 787-8 &
2019-08-02 Airbus A340-300 Canada PA GCOL
2019-08-03 Boeing 737-300 Bolivia PA SCF-NP, ADRM

Boeing 737-900ER &
2019-08-06 Airbus A320-200 United States PA GCOL, ADRM
2019-08-08 Airbus A320-200 United States PA TURB, CABIN
2019-08-08 Airbus A321-200 United States PA ARC, WSTRW
2019-08-12 Boeing 787-9 United Kingdom EUR RAMP
2019-08-15 Boeing 787-8 China APAC TURB
2019-08-15 Airbus A321-200 Russian Federation EUR BIRD
2019-08-16 de Havilland DHC 8-200 Kenya AFI WILD
2019-08-21 Airbus A340-600 Turkey EUR TURB
2019-08-26 Boeing MD88 United States PA TURB
2019-08-26 ATR72-200 Iran (Islamic Republic of) MID ARC
2019-08-27 Airbus A330-300 China APAC F-NI
2019-08-27 Airbus A320-200 United States PA TURB
2019-09-06 Airbus A319-100 United States PA TURB
2019-09-07 ATR72-200 Columbia PA ARC
2019-09-09 Airbus A319-100 Germany EUR TURB
2019-10-01 Boeing 777-300 Indonesia APAC TURB
2019-10-11 Fokker F50 Kenya AFI RE
2019-10-12 ATR 42-500 Japan APAC AMAN
2019-10-12 Embraer EMB110 Bahamas PA SCF-NP,

ARC, RE
2019-10-17 Saab 2000 United States PA 1 RE
2019-10-29 De Havilland DHC8-400 United States PA BIRD
2019-11-03 Boeing B787-8 Spain EUR AMAN
2019-11-11 Embraer EMB145 United States PA RE
2019-11-16 Boeing 777-300 & Germany EUR GCOL

Airbus A330-200

Appendix 2
Occurrence
2019-11-21 Boeing 737-800 Ukraine EUR RE
2019-11-23 Boeing 737-800 Germany EUR RAMP, OTHR
2019-11-23 Boeing 737-400 Colombia PA SCF-NP, ARC
2019-11-24 Dornier 228-200 Democratic Republic of Congo AFI 26 LOC-I
2019-11-25 de Havilland DHC8-300 Zambia AFI WSTRW
2019-11-25 Airbus A330-300 Myanmar APAC ARC

Airbus A350-900 &
2019-11-27 Airbus A330-200F Democratic Republic of Congo AFI GCOL
2019-12-10 de Havilland DHC8-400 South Sudan AFI RE
2019-12-14 Bombardier CL600 2D24 United States PA CABIN
2019-12-15 Embraer EMB145 United States PA TURB
2019-12-16 Airbus A330-200 Spain EUR TURB
2019-12-16 Embraer EMB135 United States PA TURB
2019-12-18 Embraer ERJ190 United States PA TURB
2019-12-19 Boeing 737-900 United States PA AMAN
2019-12-21 Boeing 737-700 United States PA BIRD
2019-12-22 Boeing 737-800 United States PA SCF-NP, ARC
2019-12-25 Airbus A320-200 Japan APAC TURB
2019-12-27 Fokker F28 Mk0100 Kazakhstan EUR 12 ICE, LOC-I
2019-12-28 Let L410 Democratic Republic of Congo AFI RE

Appendix 2
CICTT Occurrence Categories

Code Description
ADRM Aerodrome
AMAN Abrupt Maneuver
ARC Abnormal runway contact
BIRD Bird
CABIN Cabin safety events
CFIT Controlled flight into/towards terrain
CTOL Collision with obstacles during takeoff and landing
EVAC Evacuation
F-NI Fire/smoke (non-impact)
F-POST Fire/smoke (post-impact)
GCOL Ground collision
ICE Icing
LOC-I Loss of control in-flight
LOC-G Loss of control-ground
OTHR Other
RAMP Ground handling
RE Runway excursion
SCF-NP System/component failure (non-powerplant)
SCF-PP System/component failure (powerplant)
TURB Turbulence encounter
UNK Unknown or undetermined
USOS Undershoot/overshoot
WILD Wildlife
WSTRW Wind shear or thunderstorm

SAFETY
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Tel.: +1 514-954-8219
Fax: +1 514-954-6077
Email: info@icao.int
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SAFETY

A Coordinated, Risk-based Approach

• Policy and Standardization;

ICAO Safety Report | 2020 Edition 2

ICAO Safety Report | 2020 Edition 3

ICAO Safety Report | 2020 Edition 4

2.8 2.6 2.9

2015 2016 2017 2018 2019

Number of Accidents Accident rate

Chart 1. | Accident records: 2015–2019 scheduled commercial operations

2015 2016 2017 2018 2019

Fatalities Fatal accidents

Chart 2. | Fatal accident records: 2015–2019 scheduled commercial operations

ICAO Safety Report | 2020 Edition 5

Figure 1. | Number of fatal accidents by RASG region

Chart 3. | Historical safety trends for scheduled commercial operations

ICAO Safety Report | 2020 Edition 6

• A40-2: Protection of accident and incident investigation records;

• A40-5: Regional implementation support mechanisms; and

ICAO Safety Report | 2020 Edition 7

ICAO Safety Report | 2020 Edition 8

2020–2022 edition of the ICAO

GASP Goals and Targets

Figure 2. | GASP goals

ICAO Safety Report | 2020 Edition 9

Figure 3. | GASP targets

High-risk Categories of Occurrence (HRCs)

• Controlled flight into terrain (CFIT)

ICAO Safety Report | 2020 Edition 10

Global Aviation Safety Roadmap

Figure 4. | GASP ORG roadmap

More information on the GASP is available at www.icao.int/gasp.

ICAO Safety Report | 2020 Edition 11

• primary aviation legislation (CE-1);

Figure 5. | Critical elements of a State’s safety oversight system

ICAO Safety Report | 2020 Edition 12

The eight audit areas identified in the USOAP are:

1) primary aviation legislation and civil aviation regulations (LEG);

Overall EI States above 75% EI

0% 25% 50% 75% 100% 0% 25% 50% 75% 100%

USOAP Audit Results

80% GASP Target

60% Global average

Figure 6. | Global USOAP audit results

ICAO Safety Report | 2020 Edition 13

Figure 7. | Overall Effective Implementation (EI)

Argentina Croatia Honduras Netherlands Slovenia

ICAO Safety Report | 2020 Edition 14

CE-1 CE-2 CE-3 CE-4 CE-5 CE-6 CE-7 CE-8

Chart 4. | Global audit results (average EI percentage by CEs)

LEG ORG PEL OPS AIR AIG ANS AGA

Chart 5. | Global audit results (average EI percentage by audit area)

ICAO Safety Report | 2020 Edition 15

Figure 8. | SMI website statistics

ICAO Safety Report | 2020 Edition 16

Safety Management Tools

SSP Gap Analysis

Level 1 Level 2 Level 3 Level 4

Chart 6. | SSP implementation progress – gap analysis

State Safety Programme (SSP) Implementation