AO-2010-011 Report into flying training safety in New Zealand

New Zealand's flying training sector

The New Zealand flying training sector is diverse, with pilot training opportunities ranging from recreational qualifications to advanced professional qualifications such as the air transport pilot licence. The sector has grown significantly in the past decade, from approximately 98 000 total training hours in 2000 to approximately 133 000 hours in 2011 (although this total has fluctuated widely year on year). In 2011, 12% of these hours were for helicopter training, with the remainder being for fixed-wing aeroplane training (Civil Aviation Authority [CAA], n.d. [unpublished data]).

There is a wide spectrum of flight training organisations catering to both domestic and international students, ranging from large commercial operators providing airline-structured ab-initio cadetships through to individual flying schools and aero clubs. The larger training organisations tend to be concentrated in certain geographical areas, such as around Auckland, Hamilton, Manawatu and Christchurch. The number of flying training establishments declined from 273 in 2000 to 174 in 2011 (CAA, n.d. [unpublished data]).

Private sector providers deliver theory and practical flight training for the initial issue of flight crew licences and ratings. Aviation Services Limited (ASL) provides theory testing under a delegation from the Director of Civil Aviation, and approved flight examiners conduct flight tests.

The Commission's inquiry into flying training safety in New Zealand

In July 2010 the Transport Accident Investigation Commission (the Commission) became concerned that systemic or widespread matters might be affecting flying training safety in New Zealand. This concern arose after a number of fatal and near-fatal occurrences in New Zealand involving flying training, including a near mid-air collision overhead New Plymouth Aerodrome on 10 May 2010 and a mid-air collision near Feilding on 26 July 2010.

After making initial inquiries into these 2 occurrences, the Commission reviewed previous occurrences involving flying training and analysed occurrence data held by the CAA. As a result of this preliminary work, the Commission opened an inquiry under section 8(2)(a) of the Transport Accident Investigation Commission Act 1990 to ascertain whether or not there were common factors or trends that may have contributed to the causes of these previous occurrences.
The first part of the Commission's inquiry involved it looking at whether flying training safety performance in New Zealand had improved or deteriorated. Occurrence data and research from the CAA and other overseas jurisdictions were analysed to help examine this area of interest.

The next part of its inquiry involved the Commission looking at specific issues relating to flying training safety in New Zealand, which were identified from written and oral submissions and from the Commission's own enquiries. In examining each of these issues, the Commission's primary objective was to determine whether these issues were affecting, or could potentially affect, flying training safety in New Zealand in any way. If yes, then to what extent?

This report sets out the findings of the Commission's research into each of these issues. It draws on data and research from the CAA and overseas agencies. It also draws on information from written and oral submissions that the Commission received as part of its public consultation.

The Commission’s research findings are set out in Section 7. One key finding is that based on a preliminary analysis of occurrence data, it is not possible to conclude statistically whether flying training in New Zealand is less or more safe now than it used to be.

A recurring theme underpinning many of the findings is the lack of data and research examining factors that might have contributed to occurrences in flying training operations in New Zealand and overseas, and the limitations of the CAA's safety occurrence reporting system, which made it difficult for the Commission to analyse flight training accident causal factors and safety trends accurately. The CAA is aware of these limitations and has advised that it is "considering a range of actions associated with its underlying safety information and data systems that should enable easier submission and recording of safety information" (CAA, n.d.2 [unpublished data]).

The Commission's recommendations are set out in Section 8. In summary, it is recommended that the Director of Civil Aviation:

(a) review the CAA's data systems and processes, particularly regarding flying training data, including the information collected and the way this information is collected, categorised, recorded in the CAA's occurrence database and analysed to ensure that meaningful and complete data on flying training in New Zealand is available;

(b) undertake and publish further quantitative research and causal analysis of flying training-related accidents and incidents held in the CAA's occurrence database to assess fully and identify any potential systemic safety issues, trends and risks, so that appropriate safety strategies can be adopted to improve safety performance within the New Zealand flying training system;

(c) take all appropriate steps to ensure that information about flight instructor demographics (e.g. qualifications, experience levels, age) and flight instructor performance and competency levels is regularly collected, categorised and recorded in a way that will enable it to be analysed meaningfully;

(d) complete, as a matter of priority, the tasks that the CAA is required to do to progress the proposed amendments to CA Rule Part 141 (Aviation Training Organisations Certification) and to CA Rule Part 61 (Pilot Licences and Ratings).