Accountable Executive

Q6.  Who is the Accountable Executive of a government air service?

The accountable executive (AE) is the agent for cultural change. Cultural change, by definition, starts at the top of the organization. For example, Transport Canada operates a government air service, Aircraft Services Directorate, for which the Deputy Minister of Transport Canada is the Accountable Executive.

The responsibilities of the AE are defined in the regulations and have everything to do with effective control of resources. In most cases, despite having a large budget, this will not be the chief operating officer (COO) but someone higher in the company/organization who provides the COO with their operating budget.

On a practical note, neither Transport Canada’s Deputy Minister, nor any other AE of a large certificate holder will have the time to go beyond a leadership and system oversight role to an operational role. The AE is not held personally liable nor is the intention to have the AE get directly involved in the operation, but to lead cultural change, know the operational risks and accept responsibility for their management and be the face on the certificate from a safety perspective.

The title of the person is not as important as whether or not all the questions posed in Appendix B of Implementation Procedures Guide for Air Operators and Approved Maintenance Organizations (TP 14343) entitled “Accountable Executive Selection Question List” can all be answered as yes.

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