Cabinet approval has been granted to prepare a draft bill to formally investigate airline crashes and related incidents occurring within Sri Lanka’s territory, Cabinet Spokesman and Minister Nalinda Jayatissa said today.
Under the Civil Aviation Authority of Sri Lanka Act No. 34 of 2002, the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) holds the responsibility for investigating such incidents. In line with this, Cabinet had earlier approved a proposal in 2016 to establish an Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau in the country.
Minister Jayatissa said that the Legal Draftsman’s Department has since prepared a draft bill for this purpose. However, a survival supervisory audit conducted in 2010 by the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) highlighted the lack of an independent mechanism for investigating aircraft accidents in Sri Lanka.
In response, relevant stakeholders have now recommended the inclusion of additional provisions in the draft bill to address these concerns and strengthen the country’s aviation safety oversight framework.
Daily Mirror
