Directive No. 32
Revision 1

Responses to High Profile Aviation Occurrences

Policy Objective:

To provide a consistent and standard approach throughout the National Civil Aviation Program in responding to high profile occurrences.

Background:

In the event of an occurrence involving a Canadian aviation document holder, Civil Aviation must determine, on behalf of the Minister, as quickly as possible the steps to take to maintain the safety of the civil aviation system.

In addition, the occurrence response environment can be volatile and influenced by the degree of departmental, media and public interest in an incident or occurrence. It is therefore essential that the departmental response to a high-profile occurrence be appropriate in order to maintain public confidence in the National Civil Air Transportation System.

The departmental response is a team effort by Regional and HQ technical experts, communications specialists and managers. The judgment and experience of those involved is relied upon to ensure the most effective response.

Communication and coordination are critical to decision making in the early stages of occurrence response. Managers must respond in a consistent and coordinated fashion.

Policy Statement:

Civil Aviation is committed to responding to high profile occurrences in a consistent and coordinated manner.

To meet this commitment, it is Civil Aviation policy that:

• Those directly involved in high profile occurrences use the attached High Profile Aviation Occurrence Checklist (Appendix A) to assist in decision-making; and
• Teleconferences are convened for a coordinated approach.

Application:

This Directive applies to all Civil Aviation Regions and Branches.

Definitions:

Aviation events that are considered high profile are described in Appendix B — High Profile Aviation Occurrences.

Approach:

The High Profile Aviation Occurrence Response Checklist and the Process Map for Activations and Teleconferences, in Appendix A, are tools to assist in decision-making. The checklist outlines the notification protocols and responsibilities for Transport Canada Situation Centre (TCSC)/Crisis Management Team (CMT) activation, Regional TCSC activation and national teleconferences.

Upon receiving notification of a potentially high profile occurrence, the Director, System Safety, in consultation with the Director General, Civil Aviation, will assess the impact of the occurrence and the potential media interest and decide whether a teleconference or activation of the TCSC is warranted.

As warranted, the Director, System Safety shall convene a teleconference at the earlier of:

• A convenient time during the current work day; or
• When the notification is made after normal working hours, early the next morning; or
• On a weekend or holiday period, at the earliest mutually agreeable time in the case of major occurrence.

The following shall participate in the teleconference:

• Director General, Civil Aviation;
• Relevant Regional Director, Civil Aviation;
• Director, System Safety;
• Director, Strategic Issues and Communications;
• Manager, Safety Evaluation and Standards;
• Senior Communications Advisor, Operations, Communications Group;
• Regional Manager, System Safety;
• Relevant functional Director; and
• Other participants as identified by the Director General, Civil Aviation/Director, System Safety/Regional Director, Civil Aviation.

The participants shall develop a coordinated response by assigning and determining:

• Responsibility for coordinating the overall response;
• Responsibility for drafting Briefing Notes;
• Responsibility for drafting Question Period Notes;
• Identification of a departmental spokesperson;
• Mandatory follow-up action;
• Enforcement action required; and
• Acceptance of voluntary surrender of operating certificates.

Roles and Responsibilities:

The roles and responsibilities are outlined in Appendix A.

Further information:

Judy Rutherford
Director, System Safety
Telephone: (613) 990-1280
Facsimile: (613) 991-4280
E-mail: rutherj@tc.gc.ca

Franz Reinhardt
Acting Director General
Civil Aviation

Effective date: February 19, 2004
Expiry date: This directive will be reviewed annually.