Airbus

The European Commission has released an action plan to implement the recommendations made by an European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) appointed task-force in July.

Along with the EASA, the commission has decided to implement the recommendations in order to ensure aviation safety and prevent accidents such as on Germanwings flight 9525.

In March, 144 passengers and six crew members were killed when Germanwings-operated flight 9525 crashed 100km north-west of Nice in the French Alps in March.

The crash was deliberately caused by the one of the co-pilots who had previously been treated for suicidal tendencies.

As part of the action plan, the European safety regulators will host an aircrew medical fitness workshop at the end of this year.

EU commissioner for transport Violeta Bulc said: "The safety of European citizens is at the heart of the commission’s transport policy, and today’s action plan is a valuable contribution.

"By providing a clear roadmap for EU action, it will help preventing future accidents or incidents."

"By providing a clear roadmap for EU action, it will help preventing future accidents or incidents."

EASA will use both existing rules and innovative regulatory solutions for its implementation of the recommendations and actions, for the areas of air operations, aircrew, information technology and data protection.

EASA director Patrick Ky said: "The Germanwings tragedy reminded the international aviation community that the medical and psychological conditions of flight crews, if not detected, can lead to a catastrophic outcome.

"This demonstrates that the regulators have the duty to quickly adapt to a variety of challenges.

"EASA’s mission is to make air travel ever safer for European Union citizens in Europe and worldwide. With this action plan we are fully committed to fulfil this mission."

EASA aims to publish operational directives for air operations and aircrew by next year. Further, new rules will be developed such as acceptable means of compliance (AMC) and guidance material (GM) to existing regulations.

Image: Germanwings Flight 9525, Airbus A320 (D-AIPX) taking off from Barcelona Airport. Photo: courtsey of Wikipedia.