Brussels, 14/04/2015 (Agence Europe) - On Tuesday, 14 April 2015, the European Commission received and published the report by the European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) on mid-air near-misses between European civil aircraft and military aircraft of third countries. The report was commissioned by the European institution in late 2014, after several collisions of this kind were narrowly avoided in the north of the continent, involving Russian military aircraft (see EUROPE 11214).
The report makes several recommendations to the member states of the International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO), which is itself called upon to update article 3 of its founding convention and its circular 330 on aviation cooperation between the civilian and military sectors. It recommends that the member states work more closely together by means of transparent and, if possible, harmonised procedures. Lastly, the EASA urges the member states to notify it of all similar incidents. In conclusion, it reiterates the importance of using radar to detect possible collisions in advance. (Jean Comte)