The Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) has recently unveiled its Annual Safety Review for 2023, highlighting a marked improvement in aviation safety over the past two years. This report provides a comprehensive analysis of safety performance within Indian airspace, demonstrating significant progress in various safety metrics. Key findings from the Annual Safety Review-2023 include a noteworthy 25 percent reduction in the number of Risk Bearing Airprox incidents per million flights. Airprox, or “air proximity” incidents, occur when aircraft come dangerously close to each other, posing a risk to flight safety. The reduction in these incidents indicates enhanced measures in air traffic management and operational safety.
Additionally, there has been an impressive 92 percent decrease in the number of Ground Proximity Warning System (GPWS) and Enhanced GPWS (EGPWS) warnings per 10,000 departures. GPWS and EGPWS are critical safety systems designed to alert pilots to potential controlled flight into terrain (CFIT) situations. The significant reduction in warnings suggests improved safety procedures and pilot awareness, lowering the risk of CFIT incidents. The report also notes a 23 percent decrease in the frequency of unstabilized approaches—where an aircraft continues its approach despite not meeting the required stabilization criteria—per 10,000 approaches. This reduction is important as unstabilized approaches are a known risk factor for runway excursions and abnormal runway contact. Meeting the target in this area reflects better adherence to approach protocols and greater operational discipline among pilots.
In conjunction with these improvements, DGCA has updated the National Aviation Safety Plan (NASP), aligning it with the International Civil Aviation Organization’s (ICAO) Global Aviation Safety Plan (GASP). This alignment underscores India’s commitment to global safety standards and strategic safety management.
The NASP performance is assessed annually using safety performance indicators (SPIs) and targets, which are then detailed in the Annual Safety Review. This process includes the analysis of aggregated safety data from both the DGCA’s database and external sources such as ICAO’s iSTARS (Safety Trend Analysis and Reporting System). The use of this data-driven approach helps to solidify a safety culture within India’s aviation sector, ensuring that safety practices evolve alongside industry growth and emerging challenges. Overall, the DGCA’s Annual Safety Review-2023 not only demonstrates significant safety advancements but also emphasizes a continuous commitment to improving aviation safety through rigorous data analysis and adherence to international standards.
