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ETHIOPIAN CIVIL AVIATION

AUTHORITY

AVIATION SAFETY POLICY

Addis Ababa

June 2014

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Ethiopian Civil Aviation Authority

Aviation Safety Policy

Addis Ababa June 2014

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Ethiopian Civil Aviation Safety Policy

1 Introduction

One of the duties of the Ethiopian State is to create an environment in which

the aviation sector can perform its activities at the highest possible safety

level. The Aviation Safety policy is incorporated in the Ethiopian Aviation Policy.

The Ethiopian Civil Aviation Authority (ECAA) is responsible, on behalf of the Ethiopian

State, for developing and maintaining the State Safety Program (SSP) in accordance

with the requirements of International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO).

The State Safety Program applies to the ECAA, the Ethiopian Accidents and Incidents

Investigation Unit as well.

The State Safety Program is based to a large extent on the system of risk management.

The purpose of risk management is to prevent accidents, personal injury and material

damage. An effective risk management policy ensures that potential causes of safety

problems can be swiftly detected and resolved through the optimization of regulatory

and supervisory actions.

In addition, the ECAA has begun implementing one of the main elements

of the State Safety Program: the implementation of the Safety Management Systems

(SMS) at the Ethiopian service providers.

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2 General provisions

a. Definitions

– State Safety Program (SSP): an integrated set of regulations and

Activities established by the Ethiopian State aimed at managing civil aviation

safety;

– Occurrences: any accidents and incidents arising in the Ethiopian Civil Aviation

sector;

– Safety: the state in which risks associated with aviation activities are reduced and

controlled to an acceptable level;

– Safety Management System (SMS): a systematic approach to managing safety

including the necessary organizational structures, accountabilities,

policies and procedures;

– Safety Performance: the safety achievement of the Ethiopian State or of the service

provider as defined by its safety performance targets and safety

performance indicators;

– Safety Performance Indicator: a data-based safety parameter used for monitoring

and assessing performance;

– Safe Performance Target: the planned or intended objective for safety

performance indicator(s) over a given period;

– Service Providers: air traffic control and air navigation services (ATC/ANS), airport

operators, aircraft operators, approved training organizations, Approved Training

organizations for flight synthetic training devices, production organizations,

Approved maintenance organizations and maintenance training organizations.

– Safety Risk: the predicted likelihood and severity of the consequences or

outcomes of a hazard.

b. Purpose of this document

– Inciting the Ethiopian aviation sector and the relevant ECAA employees to develop

and maintain a culture of safety in civil aviation;

– Providing the SSP with internal management structures that ensure its

Implementation; identifying risks and potential dangers; and drafting and

amending the Ethiopian Safety Plan. These structures have been

established through a series of processes and procedures.

2.1 Objective of the SSP

The SSP is developed to improve aviation safety by promoting close cooperation between the Ethiopian Civil Aviation and the Aviation Service Providers.

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3. Strategies

a. ECAA Safety Culture

As safety is of primary importance at the ECAA, the latter will

never yield to economic, commercial and political pressure. The ECAA is committed

to integrating a safety culture into all its activities in order to ensure that aviation safety

is managed as effectively as possible.

b. Regulatory and Supervisory Activities

The ECAA is dedicated to improving cooperation with the Aviation Service Providers in

order to identify key safety issues and optimize its regulatory and supervisory

activities.

The ECAA undertakes to modify and optimize its regulatory and supervisory activities

following the introduction of SMS at the Ethiopian service providers.

The ECAA undertakes to perform safety assessments on foreign airlines in order to

ensure a standardized safety level within the context of Ethiopian regulations.

c. Ethiopian Safety Plan

The implementation of the SSP has resulted in the drafting of a Ethiopian Safety Plan.

This plan forms part of the safety policy of the Ethiopian State safety Program and

seeks to eliminate potential sources of safety problems through the optimization

of regulatory and supervisory activities. The Safety Plan, which is valid for a period of five years, is mainly based on the

operational objectives derived from the risk management system. Recommendations

and guidelines of the Accidents and Incidents Investigation Unit are also incorporated

into the Safety Plan. The operational objectives contained in the Safety Plan

are developed in cooperation with the Ethiopian service providers. The Safety Plan is approved by the ECAA Director-General and annually assessed

and published.

d. Means and Human Resources

The allocation of means is based on the operational activities that contribute

to increasing safety levels and, by extension, to the realization of the Ethiopian Safety

Plan. As part of its training programs, the ECAA offers training related to SSP and SMS. This

training helps foster a culture of safety and clarifies the roles played by each of the

parties in implementing the plan.

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e. Internal quality audits

The ECAA internal audits are conducted in accordance with the processes

and procedures contained in the Quality Manual. These compliance audits serve to

establish whether the ECAA Departments respect the regulations and correctly

execute the applicable processes, procedures and guidelines.

The internal audits are performed on the basis of an audit program approved

annually by the ECAA Director-General. The audits, which are based on the PDCA

cycle (‘Plan, Do, Check, Act’), contribute to the continuous improvement of the

operational activities.

4. Organization of the SSP

a. Scope of the risk management

The ECAA is responsible for collecting and managing the aviation occurrences

reported to the ECAA by the service providers. Risk management relates both

to aviation occurrences occurring on Ethiopian territory and those occurring in Ethiopian

airspace. In addition, occurrences occurring on foreign territory and foreign airspace

involving Ethiopian airlines are registered in the risk management system as well.

b. Procedures and processes

The ECAA has a number of processes and procedures in place designed to

effectively implement the SSP. These processes and procedures are approved by the

Director-General and subsequently managed by the relevant ECAA departments.

The processes and procedures of the Accidents and Incidents Investigation Unit are

approved by the Ministry of Transport in order to protect the independence of this unit.

c. Safety Committee

The Safety Committee is comprised of the Director-General, the directors of the

operational departments, the risk manager and the manager of the Accidents and

Incidents Investigation Unit. The Safety Committee, which convenes three times per

year, is responsible for:

– discussing and selecting the aviation risks to be handled with priority;

– taking corrective actions where necessary;

– assessing, approving ,modifying and following up these corrective actions;

– validating and amending the Ethiopian Safety Plan.

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d. Risk manager

The risk manager is responsible for:

– collecting data on, and managing, aviation occurrences;

– participating in bimonthly meetings regarding occurrences that require

immediate action;

– performing the risk analysis (i.e. preparing a list of risks to be handled

with priority);

– drafting the Ethiopian Safety Plan, including annual changes and updates.

e. Operational Departments

The operational departments are responsible for:

– performing regulatory and supervisory activities;

– proposing, implementing and realizing corrective actions in order to

increase aviation safety;

– participating in bimonthly meetings regarding occurrences that require immediate

action;

– investigating these occurrences if necessary.

f. Involvement of external departments

The ECAA agree and sign an Acceptable Level of Safety (ALOS) with the

respected Accidents

and Incidents Investigation Unit in order to ensure smooth cooperation between

these two Entities with regard to common interests in the domains of ANS/

ATC, Search & Rescue and aerodromes.

g. Coordination with international agencies

The ECAA also supports the initiatives of the Regional Aviation Safety

Group at the level of the International Civil Aviation Organization

(ICAO) to implement the Global Aviation Safety Plan (GASP) and the Global

Aviation Safety Roadmap (GASR).

h. Consultation with the Ethiopian aviation sector

The ECAA organizes periodic consultative meetings with representatives of the

Ethiopian aviation sector (e.g. representatives of Ethiopian service providers,

pilots’ associations, aviation clubs, etc.).

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SAFETY MANAGEMENT PROCESS

Action Closed Action Continues

Yes Further work out

No

Process: 1 Occurrence Report From Aviation Industry

Safety Data Collection & Processing

System (SDCPS)

Process :2

Concerning analysis of individual occurrences requiring immediate action monthly CAA Safety meetings

Prioritize Risk

Domains

Process: 3 Yearly Risk Analysis of occurrences and Risk Management

Risk Mitigation

(Action & Project)

Process: 4

Draw up and realize five years plan

ECAA Directorate

Safety Committee

Aviation Industry

EVALUATION

Measuring performance