Reporting for safer skies
At a glance:
- The UK Civil Aviation Authority has released its latest Safety Files podcast covering Mandatory Occurrence Reporting (MOR), which are now in their 50th year.
- Jon Round from the Civil Aviation Authority and Phil Sleight from the Air Accidents Investigation Branch join this latest podcast.
- They discuss how a tragic accident at Heathrow airport in 1972 led to the creation of the MOR system.
- 50,000 reports are now made annually, a crucial part of helping to keep the skies safe.
- General aviation and drone pilots are encouraged to make more reports, while the system could expand to include ground handlers.
The Civil Aviation Authority has released a podcast celebrating 50 years of Mandatory Occurrence Reporting (MOR) and the vital role they play in improving aviation safety.
The MOR system requires safety-related incidents involving UK airspace users to be reported to the CAA. The aim is not to attribute blame or liability but to support continued learning to make flying safer.
In the podcast, Jon Round, Head of Airspace, ATM and Aerodromes at the UK CAA, and Phil Sleight, Deputy Chief Inspector at the Air Accidents Investigation Branch (AAIB), discuss how a strong reporting culture, combined with a “just culture” approach, has enabled the aviation industry to learn from events, identify trends, and continuously enhance safety standards.
The episode also explores how these principles will remain essential as aviation evolves through new technologies and emerging challenges.
Jon Round said MORs were “at the heart of safety culture" and a “crucial bedrock” for aviation.
He said: “My background was as a pilot for many years, and certainly over those years, I've filled in many MORs. And now as a regulator, I can see the value of it.
“Safety is not neat and tidy. We're always learning. We’ve made this industry remarkably safe in large part due to the MOR and the reporting culture - and that safety culture, the just culture, has made aviation what it is today.”
The MOR system was launched in the wake of a crash at Heathrow airport in 1972, when an aircraft stalled and crashed shortly after take-off. All 118 people on board were killed.
The subsequent public inquiry recommended the introduction of a system that enabled lessons to be learned from such tragedies.
Mr Round said: “Sometimes it's with a slightly heavy heart that you fill in a report. But the truth is you're doing the right thing because you're helping everybody else. That, in itself, is a powerful act.
“It's come from a very tragic event, but aviation keeps learning to try and avoid any such event in the future.
“It's a fragile and precious thing that we're holding onto here that I think we must fight for collectively.”
Phil Sleight recalled a MOR report in 2017 relating to an off-shore incident involving a Sikorsky helicopter that resulted in an AAIB investigation. “Had there been no MOR, we may not have even been made aware of it,” he said.
“When we're doing our investigations at the AAIB, we're not looking to apportion blame or liability. What we're doing is looking forward. We're going, ‘OK, this event has happened, what is it we can learn from that to prevent the next one?’”
The podcast can be heard here: https://podfollow.com/caa-safety-files