On June 17, the Civil Aviation Authority of Macau (AACM) and the Investigation Bureau for Civil Aviation of France (BEA) met in Macau to discuss mutual cooperation relating to aircraft accident and incident investigation.

The two parties signed a Declaration of Intent in which Macau and France will cooperate in aircraft accident and incident investigation, investigation training and sharing of information and expertise.

According to the cooperation agreement, both parties will exchange views on the latest development of international standards, and share experiences on the making of laws and rules administered in each party that govern aircraft accident and incident investigation.

With the agreement, parties are expected to facilitate exchanges of personnel for training and development, including investigation training courses, hands-on experience and observer status at major investigation accident sites, as well as offer assistance and the use of air safety investigation facilities and equipment to the other party as it deems appropriate and as resources permit.

In the meeting, both parties reaffirmed that the sole objective of the investigation of an aircraft accident or incident should aim at the prevention of accidents and incidents and not the apportionment of blame.

Facing the inadequate experience areas of effective management of aircraft accident and incident investigation, as well as the rapid development of the industry and the remarkable increase of aircraft number and aircraft type in the near future, AACM said it wants to establish cooperation with other regions and countries so that assistance can be drawn from these places to Macau, including the provision of technical support and the use of investigation facilities in case of an accident or incident in our community, as well as provision of training to the Macau investigators to strengthen their knowledge in the respective field.

In addition to the cooperation with BEA, AACM has held a meeting with the Civil Aviation Administration of China (CAAC) in Beijing in April this year to discuss similar cooperation agreements between Macau and the mainland.