Air Navigation (Voluntary Reporting) Rules 2020

to provide a voluntary and confidential reporting scheme of aviation safety matters;

to identify deficiencies and problems arising out of such reports; and

to give information to only the Authority about an identified aviation safety matter to facilitate —

action and awareness about aviation safety; and

improvements in aviation safety.

providing the means by which reports of aviation safety matters may be made expeditiously to the designated person;

assessing and accepting reports of aviation safety matters;

dealing with reports in accordance with these Rules, including forwarding or destroying reports;

reviewing information contained in reports, and identifying issues and factors mentioned in, or arising from, reports that relate to aviation safety matters;

setting up and maintaining one or more databases for recording information contained in reports (each called a Tell Sarah database);

communicating issues and factors mentioned in sub‑paragraph (d) to the Authority;

protecting the following in the designated person’s possession or under the designated person’s control:

reports made under these Rules;

any protected information relating to those reports;

any Tell Sarah database,by making reasonable security arrangements to prevent unauthorised access, collection, use, disclosure, copying, modification, disposal or similar risks to those reports and protected information.

aircraft flight during the departure, en route, approach or landing phase;

aircraft cabin operations;

any occurrence in which 2 or more aircraft come into such close proximity that a threat to the safety of the aircraft exists or may exist, in airspace;

aircraft weight and balance;

aircraft flight performance;

aircraft ground operations;

aircraft movement at an airport;

aircraft fuelling operations;

airport conditions or services;

cargo handling;

air traffic management;

air traffic control operations;

air traffic control equipment and navigation aids;

communications between a flight crew and air traffic control;

aircraft maintenance;

record keeping in connection with aircraft operations or maintenance or air navigation services;

passenger handling operations;

aeronautical meteorology;

aeronautical information services;

design, production or repair of aircraft or aircraft components.

in the appropriate form;

completed in the English language and in accordance with such directions as may be specified in the appropriate form; and

given to the designated person in a manner described in paragraph (3).

by sending by email to the electronic address specified by the designated person for the reporting of aviation safety matters;

by using the electronic system provided by the designated person for the reporting of aviation safety matters.

the name of the reporter making the report;

a description of the aviation safety matter;

at least one of the following:

the reporter’s postal address;

the reporter’s email address;

the reporter’s telephone number.

must decide whether to accept or refuse the report;

if accepting the report, must —

assign a unique identifier to the report;

give to the reporter a receipt that sets out the date of the acceptance of the report; and

within 30 days after accepting the report, destroy the report;

must not make or keep a copy of the report in any manner or form;

must decide what information in the report is to be included in a Tell Sarah database, and include that information in that database in accordance with paragraphs (2) and (3); and

must decide whether to disclose any information from an accepted report in accordance with the Act and these Rules, and act accordingly.

the removal of the personal information from the report would adversely affect the quality of the information to be included in that database; and

the designated person believes that it is necessary to keep in contact with the reporter who made the report, or a person or organisation mentioned in the report, and the personal information is necessary for that purpose.

destroy the report unless sub‑paragraph (b) applies; or

if the report contains any reportable safety matter that the person should have notified under section 29(1) of the Act, forward the report to the Authority to whom the reportable safety matter should have been notified under that section.

must not return the report, or any part of it, to the reporter or any other person; and

must not destroy the report, or any part of it,until a period of 2 years starting the date the report was made has expired.

must not return the report, or any part of it, to the reporter or any other person; (b)must not destroy the information, or any part of it; and

must without delay act according to paragraph (2).

the disclosure is for a purpose of the Tell Sarah scheme in rule 3(2), and either —

all personal information from the report to be disclosed has been removed; or

the information to be disclosed is in an anonymised form or as statistics which do not identify any person; or

section 48(2) of the Act applies.

information obtained or generated by a designated person in the course of considering such a report; and

records of the analysis of information contained in such a report (including opinions expressed by a person in that analysis).