Occurrence reporting | Civil Aviation Authority

UK Mandatory Occurrence Reporting

Mandatory occurrence reporting has been a part of the fabric of UK aviation operations from 1976, to support the continued learning from aviation occurrences. Occurrence reporting in the UK is mandated by UK Regulation 376/2014 which requires the reporting of safety related occurrences involving UK airspace users.

The purpose of occurrence reporting is to improve aviation safety by ensuring that relevant safety information relating to civil aviation is reported, collected, stored, protected, exchanged, disseminated, and analysed. It is not to attribute blame or liability.

All airspace users are required to report MORs to the UK CAA, with the exception being annex one aircraft; where reporting is voluntary (although strongly encouraged by the UK CAA). Occurrence Reports are treated confidentially to maintain full and free reporting from the aviation community and to protect the identity of the individual.

Guidance Material

This paper aims to explain the intended purpose of Regulation 376/2014 provisions and its implementing regulations, in accordance with the spirit of the agreement found between colegislators. It proposes, where relevant, possible means of compliance and examples of good practice, to contribute to a consistent implementation of Regulation 376/2014 and its implementing rules across the EU.

Access the Guidance Material.

UK policy

For Annex 1 aircraft, occurrence reporting remains voluntary, although this may be reviewed in the future.

Occurrence information can only be used to maintain or improve aviation safety. This means that we can't release occurrence information to the general public or to the media, including in response to Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) requests.

If you need occurrence information for aviation safety you need to:

Subscribe to CAA Publications category 'Safety Critical', then
Submit form SRG1604

For anything more detailed, please complete form SRG1605.

Confidentiality

Occurrence Reports are treated confidentially to maintain full and free reporting from the aviation community and to protect the identity of the individual in accordance with EU legislation.

What should I report?

In a nutshell any occurrence that you feel could have an impact on aviation safety should be reported, this will ensure that we always review and learn from events.

Mandatory Occurrence Reporting in the UK is outlined in UK Regulation 376/2014 with additional guidance presented in implementing regulation 1018/2015.

How can I report?

Reporters should submit MORs to the UK CAA in the following ways:

Aviation Reporting Portal

The aviation reporting portal can be found at: https://aviationreporting.eu/

From here reporters can submit occurrence reports to the UK CAA (and EASA member states) using our online reporting forms or offline pdf forms.
The reporting portal is designed to allow reports to be submitted from individuals and organisations, with separate forms developed to support reporters’ requirements.

The use of an ECCAIRS compatible file might be easier if you or your organisation are submitting a high volume of occurrence reports.

For individual reporters and organisations who are not able to create an ECCAIRS compatible file, the reporting portal is best reporting option.

Further details about how reports can be submitted using the reporting portal can be found in CAP1496.

Voluntary Occurrence Reporting

Voluntary Occurrence Reports (VORs) should be reported in the same format as MORs, all reports are triaged and prioritised individually, processed, and analysed together.

Voluntary reports are classed as:
• Occurrences not captured by the mandatory reporting system
• Other safety related information which is perceived by the reporter as an actual or potential hazard to aviation safety

Voluntary reporting moves us from a reactive process towards proactive process, helping us identify safety concerns and allowing safety improvement measures to be implemented before they escalate.

Reporting Software Solution

For larger reporting organisations and those who seek to produce a compliant format report directly from their Reporting System, advice on how to produce and submit occurrence reports can be found here.

Using an ECCAIRS complaint file (E5x) format

For organisations that have an internal reporting system it may be possible for you to submit MORs using in an ECCAIRS compliant format (also referred to as an E5x file).

An E5x file uses an xml/xsd specification to send occurrence report data based on the attributes and values contained within the Reduced Interface Taxonomy (RIT). More details about this specification can be found on the aviation reporting portal

Before a reporter can submit using an E5x file approval must first be granted by the UK CAA. This process is in place to ensure the structure and contents of E5x files is compatible with the UK CAA occurrence reporting database.

If your reporting solution is not able to create an E5x format then the aviation reporting portal is the best option for you. For more information about E5x reporting, please contact safety.intelligence@caa.co.uk

The Value of Occurrence Reporting

Occurrence reporting is a core data source used by the UK CAA to inform our decision and policy making activities. As a proportionate, informed and just regulator we make frequent use of occurrence data to identify safety trends, hazards, risks and issues that have the potential to impact on the safety of the UK aviation system.

We also support numerous academic and safety related studies through the provision of analysis and de-identified datasets.

If you have a requirement for occurrence report analysis or listing, these can be requested using our SRG1604 and SRG1605 forms. These requests allow for the release of occurrence reporting data to support safety improvement activities.

SRG1604: Application for monthly MOR listings
SRG1605: SRG1605: Application for MOR Data Release for the maintenance or improvement of aviation safety

Occurrence Reporting in Numbers

During an average year the UK CAA received around 30,000 occurrence reports, in 2020 this number reduced to around 18,000 due to the global coronavirus (SARS-COV2) pandemic which triggered a reduction in aviation operations globally. More details about occurrence reporting; and the actions taken by the UK CAA to enhance aviation safety in the UK can be found in our annual safety review, published annually.