ICAO and the world’s aviation safety

State obligations
As a signatory state of the Chicago Convention, Namibia (and other member states) is obligated to provide for the safe and efficient operations of aircraft within its airspace. In ICAO Doc 9734 you can read:

“A State’s responsibility under the Convention and its Annexes includes:
–        the licensing of operational personnel;
–        certification of aircraft, air operators, and aerodromes;
–        the control and supervision of licensed personnel, certified products, and approved organizations;
–        the provision of air navigation services (inclusive of meteorological services, aeronautical telecommunications, search and rescue services, charts and the distribution of information); and
–        aircraft accident and incident investigation.

Ensuring that this responsibility is carried out in the most effective manner is fundamental to the health of aircraft operations across borders and throughout the world.”

ICAO Safety oversight
Aviation safety is at the core of ICAO’s fundamental Objectives. To be able to oversee the worlds aviation safety ICAO has created USOAP (Universal Safety Oversight Audit Programme). The ultimate goal of USOAP is promoting global aviation safety through regular audits of safety oversight systems in Namibia and all other ICAO Member States.

The focus is on Namibia’s (and other states) capability in providing safety oversight by assessing whether the State has effectively and consistently implemented the critical elements of a safety oversight system and determining the State’s level of implementation of ICAO’s safety-related Standards and Recommended Practices (SARPs) and associated procedures and guidance material.

The Critical Elements of a States safety oversight system
When ICAO assess Namibia’s (and other states) ability to live up to its obligations the assessment is structured into looking at the eight critical elements:

• CE-1. Primary aviation legislation.
• CE-2. Specific operating regulations.
• CE-3. State civil aviation system and safety oversight functions.
• CE-4. Technical personnel qualification and training.
• CE-5. Technical guidance, tools and the provision of safety-critical information.
• CE-6. Licensing, certification, authorization and approval obligations.
• CE-7. Surveillance obligations.
• CE-8. Resolution of safety concerns.

In coming posts we will look more into these Critical Elements.