The Transportation Safety Board of Canada’s (TSB) 12th annual Watchlist highlights eight key safety issues that it said “require government and industry attention that are the result of hundreds of investigations.” Watchlist 2022 again contains two specific aviation concerns: runway incursions and runway overruns. The list also includes three areas encompassing all transportation modes: fatigue, safety management, and regulatory oversight.
“Despite millions of successful movements on Canadian runways each year, airplanes sometimes go past the end of a runway surface during landings or rejected takeoffs,” the TSB said. “While some action has been taken since this issue was added to the Watchlist in 2010, the number of runway overruns in Canada has remained constant since 2005.”
Although there has not been a recent collision as a result of a runway incursion in Canada, “The rate of runway incursions has doubled in the past 12 years, and this issue is a global concern,” it said. “The potential consequences of such a collision could be catastrophic.”
“Some of these issues have been on the Watchlist for far too long, reflecting decades-old safety deficiencies,” noted TSB chair Kathy Fox. “While some steps have been taken to address these, more simply needs to be done.”