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universally accepted standards that cover all technical and operational aspects of international civil aviation, such as safety, personnel licensing, operation of aircraft, aerodromes, air traffic services, accident investigation and the environment. Therefore, is because of this mayor responsibility that investigation reports may contain safety recommendations where ICAO documents or activities may be involved. To cope with this double responsibility ICAO has incorporated a specific section dedicated to accidents investigating and prevention, known as AIC (Accident Investigation and prevention section) within the organizational structure of ANB (Air Navigation Bureau). Additionally ICAO also organize periodical High Level Safety Conferences, whose goals are bring together the Directors General of Civil Aviation, or equivalent senior executives and stakeholders, to build consensus, obtain commitments and formulate recommendations deemed necessary for the effective and efficient progress of key safety activities by ICAO. This paper also revises some of the most significant safety recommendations addressed to IACO during the last years, detailing how the IACO organization has dealt with them and the safety improvements that have resulted from this process. From the point of view of the pure technical implications of safety recommendations, three aspects will be covered in the proposed contribution: design, maintenance and operations. From the point of view of the design, there is a great amount of safety recommendations which are related with changes into the physical design of an aircraft or part, or what is more general, changes affecting the airworthiness aspects. These airworthiness aspects deal with the type certification process, the type design, and type certification basis. The last aforementioned aspect will be specially covered showing different relevant changes in the airworthiness requirements due to a safety recommendation issued during or after the investigation of an accident. Also there are safety recommendations that have a cross-effect over the areas of maintenance and operations. These areas share several common characteristics that make them to need a special effort from the community in order to ensure that the recommendation is implemented in order to prevent future accidents. These characteristics are: the activity of operations & maintenance is a daily operation (never stops); the implementation of a recommendation in these areas is not immediate and it is no easily measurable. In many cases the Final Report issued by the accident investigation authorities may contain some safety recommendations in the areas of operations and/or maintenance. Those alerts are received with enthusiasm and led to news alerts, service bulletins and sometimes advisory circulars due to legal and practical reasons. Besides they help to normalize the situation after an air accident, because it provokes alarm and a natural shock, and obviously the daily operation, dont cover all eventualities. However once the investigation has finished, it is possible that some recommendations have not been already implemented and therefore their effects can be diluted unless they lead to real measures (SB/ADs/NPRM etc...). Due to these reasons, a greater traceability is required for all safety recommendations but specially in these areas. References
1 International Civil Aviation Organization, ICAO. Convention on International Civil Aviation, Doc. 7300/9. Ninth Edition, 2006. 2 International Civil Aviation Organization, ICAO. International Standards and Recommended Practices. Annex 13 to the Convention on International Civil Aviation. Aircraft Accident and Incident Investigation. Tenth Edition, 2010. 3 European Union. Council Directive 94/56/EC of 21November 1994 establishing the fundamental principles governing the investigation of civil aviation accidents and incidents. Official Journal L 319, 12/12/94 P. 0014-0019. 4 European Union. Regulation (EU) N 996/2010 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 20 October 2010 on the investigation and prevention of accidents and incidents in civil aviation and repealing Directive 94/56/EC. Official Journal L 295, 12/11/2010 P. 0035-0050. 5 International Civil Aviation Organization, ICAO. Manual of Aircraft Accident Investigations, Doc. 6920. 1970. 6 International Civil Aviation Organization, ICAO. Manual of Aircraft Accident and Incident Investigation, Doc. 9756. 2000. 7 International Civil Aviation Organization, ICAO. Training Guidelines for Aircraft Accident Investigators, Circ. 298. 2003. 8 Frostell, C. Current and Future Activities in Accident Investigation and Prevention in ICAO, Advances in Aviation Safety Conference & Exposition, SAE International, Warrendale, PA, April 1998, Paper 981226. DOI:10.4271/981226.