Transportation Safety Board of Canada releases 2017-18 Annual Report

GATINEAU, QC, Aug. 22, 2018 /CNW/ - Today, the Transportation Safety Board of Canada (TSB) published its latest Annual Report to Parliament, highlighting some of the annual statistics on reported occurrences in the aviation, marine, rail and pipeline modes of transportation and discussing the TSB's investigative caseload, safety communications and outcomes in 2017–18. Some highlights include:

• In 2017–18, the TSB launched 54 investigations and issued 66 investigation reports, which represents a 50% increase in the number of investigations concluded compared to 2016–17.
• The average time to complete an investigation was 503 days, compared to 569 days in 2016–17 and the five-year average of 527 days. This reduction in average time reflects the TSB's efforts at streamlining and modernizing its tools and processes.
• During the previous fiscal year, the TSB issued 58 safety communications, including 8 recommendations, 1 safety concern, 21 safety advisories and 28 safety information letters.
• The TSB also processed 139 confidential reports submitted through its SECURITAS program, including 70 in Aviation, 25 in Marine and 44 in Rail. At the end of the year, 123 SECURITAS files had been closed and 16 remained open for further follow-up.
• Throughout the year, TSB investigators, managers and Board members carried out 69 outreach activities across the country, in all four modes, to share safety messages and lessons learned from investigations.
• TSB senior officials appeared six times before several parliamentary committees on matters related to advancing transportation safety in Canada.

In 2017–18, the TSB made concerted efforts to reach out to Transport Canada, the regulator, to assist the Board in reviewing progress made on recommendations that had been outstanding for more than 10 years. Although progress is still slow on recommendations related to the TSB Watchlist, the Board was able to close 28 recommendations across the Air, Marine and Rail sectors, 26 of them as fully satisfactory. Since 1990, the Board has made 594 recommendations, almost 80% of which have led to positive change.

"It really has been a busy year," said TSB Chair Kathy Fox, "but none of these accomplishments would be possible without the substantial efforts of our staff. Their knowledge, expertise, and dedication are what makes the difference when it comes to advancing safety for all of us, from coast to coast to coast."

The Annual Report 2017–18, which is available on the TSB website, includes the list of all investigation reports released during the year with examples of the safety actions taken.

The TSB is an independent agency that investigates marine, pipeline, railway and aviation transportation occurrences. Its sole aim is the advancement of transportation safety. It is not the function of the Board to assign fault or determine civil or criminal liability.

The TSB is online at www.tsb.gc.ca. Keep up to date through RSS, Twitter (@TSBCanada), YouTube, Flickr and our blog.

SOURCE Transportation Safety Board of Canada

Transportation Safety Board of Canada, Media Relations, 819-994-8053, [e-mail]