Criminalization Takes Center Stage

A panel of aviation safety specialists has reached a general agreement that the confidentiality of many kinds of aviation data is vital if that information is to be used to discover and correct problems in the world aviation system. The panel discussion on the trend toward subjecting accidents to criminal investigation and judicial proceedings highlighted the recently concluded 20th annual Flight Safety Foundation (FSF) European Aviation Safety Seminar and meeting of the European Regions Airline Association in Bucharest, Romania. "The balance has tilted away from confidentiality," said a panelist. "I hope we can do something positive to correct it." Panelists acknowledged, however, that accident and incident data cannot be a closed system totally walled off from the public and the law. The panel noted that while in the past prosecutors or attorneys might seek to blame pilots or controllers in the aftermath of an accident, they now tend to look to the responsibility of a company's management and its safety diligence. As one speaker put it: "The police now feel that the main scene of the crime is the head office."