AIANZ asked for comment by NZ Herald for coverage of Civil Aviation Authority issues this week
Michael Morrah, senior investigative reporter for the NZ Herald, has this week published several stories about the CAA that have focused largely on workplace culture in the organisation.
The AIANZ was interviewed by Michael Morrah for the story, with our key messages focused on the need for the regulator to be working with and alongside the industry to address issues.
We said the CAA had moved to a more punitive approach which did not align with Just Culture. The Association also said there needed to be vast improvement from CAA regarding turnaround times for certification and operation specifications.
It is not our role to comment on specific workplace issues or individuals, but we do expect CAA to deal with any such matters in fair, empathetic and transparent manner.
The following statement from the AIANZ summarises our position.
“AIANZ has always promoted the need for Just Culture, which is the cornerstone for fostering proactive, continuous improvement of aviation safety. CAA needs to take active steps to restore industry confidence by encouraging non-punitive reporting and offering assurance to individuals and operators in the aviation system that it is safe to report errors, lapses or mistakes without fear of unjust punishment.
Aviation industry professionals are inherently trained to operate safely, and this is augmented by a robust framework of regulations and compliance requirements. The central tenet of Just Culture is that human error is inevitable, and the response to errors should be to prioritize improvement by preventing retribution as cases of wilful violation or deliberate negligence are extremely rare. Aviation safety is likely to be severely compromised if voluntary reporting is suppressed by fear of prosecution”.
The three stories can be read and viewed in NZ Premium here:
Pilots call for ministerial investigation into alleged CAA dysfunction – 20 August 2024
Minister considers intervention after ‘toxic’ workplace claims at CAA – 20 August 2024
Simon Wallace
Chief Executive, AIANZ