Flying In Japan

[BoomerPete]

An interesting thread on PPRuNe regarding the legal aspects of aviation incidents/accidents occuring in Japan and the desire of prosecutors to view an mistake or error as a criminal matter.

Those who expressed an interest in expat flying in Japan a while back might want to check this one out.

http://www.pprune.org/forums/showthread.php?threadid=89352

[Guest rollingrock]

Could those same charges occur in canada or the usa??????

[Guest Phugoid]

It is possible; however, the regulators may have something to say about it.

[BoomerPete]

RR ...

Very highly unlikely in my opinion. I'm no lawyer, but I think the bar for criminal charges in North America would be set at acts that are considered to be grossly negligent, not merely mistaken or erroneous in nature.

The two JAL incidents referred to are clearly ones where the pilots made errors while attempting to use their best judgement to rectify unusual situations and I cannot imagine them being prosecuted for that in Canada.

These incidents do help to illustrate the potential problem of flying in Asia, though. Over here the general mentality is that errors must be punished regardless of the reason for the error, the intention of the individual who committed it, or the nature of the consequences of the error. Of course if the error is large enough and reflects poorly on enough people then it will be ignored entirely if at all possible. If not then the most convenient scapegoat (read pilot) will be expected to absorb the blame.

Sounds a bit cynical, but is very much the way things work in this part of the aviation world. Having said that, one of the legacies of having too many past incidents/accidents is that my outfit is working on changing this mentality and there has been some noticeable improvement in the time I've been over here.

Still, try not to pick Asia if you have to have something exciting happen. You're not likely to get a sympathetic hearing afterwards.

[Guest CabinDweller]

Finally found what I was looking for:

(just some general info...for anyone that cares)

” Tip #3:

Submit a NASA ASRS report immediately after any incident or mistake.

If you have inadvertently violated the FAR's and created an unsafe condition by mistake, or you think that someone else believes you committed a violation, file a NASA Aviation Safety Reporting System (ASRS) form so that you will have sanction immunity. The FAA can still bring an FAA Enforcement Action against you, and an entry will be made in your airman records if the FAA is successful...but you will not have to suffer the sanction (such as certificate suspension, revocation or fine). In some circumstances, avoiding the sanction can save your job.

By law, the NASA ASRS office must treat your ASRS report in strictest confidence. It is not made available to the FAA or anyone outside NASA without having first been "de-identified" so that it cannot be traced back to you or your aircraft. The purpose of the program is to identify safety problems in the air traffic system so that improvements can be made. You may make a contribution to safety by submitting this form. The law that established the ASRS program provided for confidentiality and sanction immunity in order to provide an incentive for airmen to report unsafe conditions and incidents fully and without reservation. Be sure you take advantage of it….

Conclusion

Most aviators are very safety conscious, but all of us make mistakes from time to time. The question is: what penalty should we pay if no one is hurt by our mistake. You have legal options to protect yourself...employ them early on, together with a strong dose of common sense, and you'll protect your reputation as well as your career.“ - Phillip J. Kolczynski

Clearly FAA based advice, like the website itself.

However, many of you do fly into the US.

The link below is a through introduction into Aviation Law.

Although US laws, there is eye-opening advice that I would humbly classify as generic, probably with many similarities to FARs.

Each article has something worthwhile and is an easy read written in every day language, with the author’s credentials absolute. To most of us, there are many more appealing things to do than sit around reading law articles. And I’m not suggesting anyone has an interest in spending the next three days (much less three minutes) on the website going through the various scenarios but, like the site, the spirit of the individual writings is; forewarned is forearmed. Probably best to start chronologically (at the bottom) as the articles can grow on one another. As well, a few recent changes will be freshest in the mind. A quick “cut and paste” of the text from each article into word for those boring DHs should do the trick. If next to a pax just make sure they can’t see the screen.

In fact, no matter what ones interest in aviation this site has something for you. Be sure to navigate around. Although commercial, this is one of the most complete, user-oriented websites on any subject that I’ve ever seen. Well worth checking out if you haven’t already.

DL

http://www.avweb.com/news/avlaw/list.html

[Guest CabinDweller]

Finally found what I was looking for:

(just some general info...for anyone that cares)

” Tip #3:

Submit a NASA ASRS report immediately after any incident or mistake.

If you have inadvertently violated the FAR's and created an unsafe condition by mistake, or you think that someone else believes you committed a violation, file a NASA Aviation Safety Reporting System (ASRS) form so that you will have sanction immunity. The FAA can still bring an FAA Enforcement Action against you, and an entry will be made in your airman records if the FAA is successful...but you will not have to suffer the sanction (such as certificate suspension, revocation or fine). In some circumstances, avoiding the sanction can save your job.

By law, the NASA ASRS office must treat your ASRS report in strictest confidence. It is not made available to the FAA or anyone outside NASA without having first been "de-identified" so that it cannot be traced back to you or your aircraft. The purpose of the program is to identify safety problems in the air traffic system so that improvements can be made. You may make a contribution to safety by submitting this form. The law that established the ASRS program provided for confidentiality and sanction immunity in order to provide an incentive for airmen to report unsafe conditions and incidents fully and without reservation. Be sure you take advantage of it….

Conclusion

Most aviators are very safety conscious, but all of us make mistakes from time to time. The question is: what penalty should we pay if no one is hurt by our mistake. You have legal options to protect yourself...employ them early on, together with a strong dose of common sense, and you'll protect your reputation as well as your career.“ - Phillip J. Kolczynski

Clearly FAA based advice, like the website itself.

However, many of you do fly into the US.

The link below is a through introduction into Aviation Law.

Although US laws, there is eye-opening advice that I would humbly classify as generic, probably with many similarities to FARs.

Each article has something worthwhile and is an easy read written in every day language, with the author’s credentials absolute. To most of us, there are many more appealing things to do than sit around reading law articles. And I’m not suggesting anyone has an interest in spending the next three days (much less three minutes) on the website going through the various scenarios but, like the site, the spirit of the individual writings is; forewarned is forearmed. Probably best to start chronologically (at the bottom) as the articles can grow on one another. As well, a few recent changes will be freshest in the mind. A quick “cut and paste” of the text from each article into word for those boring DHs should do the trick. If next to a pax just make sure they can’t see the screen.

In fact, no matter what ones interest in aviation this site has something for you. Be sure to navigate around. Although commercial, this is one of the most complete, user-oriented websites on any subject that I’ve ever seen. Well worth checking out if you haven’t already.

DL

http://www.avweb.com/news/avlaw/list.html

[Guest CabinDweller]

One recent Canadian development was posted here but I can’t find the link.

Wasn’t it that a judge in Quebec ruled to release the CVRs to family members of deceased pax for their civil case? Precedent setting stuff here!

I know Don H posted that FOQA data is destroyed and that which is kept is "de-identified". And there’s no doubt the dots won’t (if at all) be easy to connect. But that doesn’t mean someone won’t be ordered to try. Also makes one wonder about the feasibility of other safety enhancing items such as I posted in response to SR111 Action Required:

” Vital information regarding the cockpit environment, non-verbal crew communications, crew workload, instrument display selections and status have not been available on traditional data and voice recorders….since these video images (such as the external views of the undercarriage area, wings and engines, or internal views of cargo and cabin areas) have the potential to influence critical operational decisions, the images presented to the flight crew should be stored in crash-protected memory to facilitate safety investigations… The Board believes that image recording in the cockpit will substantially benefit safety investigations. It will provide investigators with a reliable and objective means of expeditiously determining what happened. This will assist safety investigators in focusing on why events took the course they did, what risks exist in the system, and how best to eliminate those risks in the future…. Regulatory authorities develop harmonized requirements to fit aircraft with image recording systems that would include imaging within the cockpit.

A03-08

The Board is acutely aware of the concerns expressed by industry associations that sensitive recordings will be inappropriately released to the public or used for purposes other than safety investigation. While Canada treats these recordings as privileged, all nations do not. If image recordings are to be universally accepted, worldwide protections need to be put in place for all cockpit voice and image recordings. These protections would allow investigation authorities to use the recordings for safety purposes while preventing them from being aired for other purposes. Therefore, the Board recommends that

Regulatory authorities harmonize international rules and processes for the protection of cockpit voice and image recordings used for safety investigations.

A03-09