CAA Safety files

Reporting for safer skies

In this special episode, we celebrate 50 years of Mandatory Occurrence Reporting (MOR) and reflect on the vital role it has played in improving aviation safety. Jon Roun

Lithium batteries - unpacking the risks

Lithium batteries are used to power a wide range of devices that passengers bring aboard but if they are not handled safely and transported correctly, they can pose serio

Laser attack

Laser attacks on aircraft remain a serious safety risk for all pilots and flight crew, but for air ambulance services these incidents can also delay vital medical treatme

Powered flights over gliding sites

A glider pilot has just launched into the air in Southwest England and released from the winch when they see a Cessna flying below them.   They take immediate action to a

The risk of incorrect altimeter settings

In May 2022, an Airbus A320 approaching Paris Charles de Gaulle airport was given an incorrect altimeter pressure setting, which caused the barometric altimeters on board

Runway incursions - Part 2 of 2

How do airports manage the risk of runway incursions? We talk to Heathrow Airport’s Head of Airside Operations Trevor Waldock about causal factors that can lead to an i

Runway incursions – Part 1 of 2

An aircraft has landed at a busy UK airport and taxied away from the runway. A tower controller asks the flight crew to hold position and the pilot reads the instructio

Take off decisions - go or no go?

The pilot of a light aircraft is accelerating down a runway in southern England when the plane starts moving to the left. Trying to avoid a runway excursion, he rotates t

The importance of occurrence reporting

Reporting occurrences has never been more important and in this special edition we speak to the CAA's Head of flight Operations Glen Bradley and Aerospace Modernisation L

Missing over the English Channel

On 2 April 2022 a light aircraft flying from England to France disappeared from radar over the English Channel. Tragically both of the pilots on board and the aircraft