SACAA Annual Report 2022_23

PART B I Performance Information

o) Remotely Piloted Aircraft Systems (Drone) Statistics In the period under review, the AIID recorded a total of 29 unauthorised drone activities. This is in comparison to the 24 RPA activity events recorded in 2021/22, which indicates an increase of 21%. The Safety Information office has recorded sightings of unauthorised RPA activities on critical flight paths

and near-collisions with aircraft. The threat of unauthorised RPA activities is growing. To reduce the threat in general aviation, committees such as GASS and the RPAS Inter-Departmental Work Groups are developing draft frameworks for safety awareness. A safety recommendation for mitigating RPA operations is being prepared by the Safety Information office in response to the increased number of RPA operations.

12 10

8 6 4 2 0

Quarter 1

Quarter 2

Quarter 3

Quarter 4

2020/21 2021/22 2022/23

0 7

1 5 4

6 9 6

6 3 9

10

Graph 15: Remotely Piloted Aircraft Statistics Between 2020/21, 2021/22 and 2022/23 Financial Years

p) Safety Recommendations To assist in preventing accidents and incidents, the AIID issues safety recommendations, based on concluded investigations. Additionally, the recommendations include trends derived from the Confidential Aviation Hazard Reporting System (CAHRS) and the Centralised Safety & Security Reporting (CSSR) body, as well as safety studies. To reduce accidents worldwide, well-established tools

such as regulatory improvements and oversights are used, therefore, most safety recommendations are issued to the state of operator such as the SACAA. The SACAA, AIID and the industry need to collaborate effectively to achieve this objective. A total of 77% of the safety recommendations issued by AIID have been addressed and closed.

82 I Annual Report 2022/23 I Performance Information