A conviction in marine operations – a step back in aviation safety?

Abstract

December 2023, the Norwegian court convicted the Officer On Watch on KNM Helge Ingstad after a collision with the tanker Sola TS. This study investigates how a conviction of an operator in naval industry might influence the just culture in the Norwegian aviation industry. A questionnaire was sent to 180 persons January 5th, 2024. Theories on just -and reporting culture are presented. This study will also include theories on the Safety-I and Safety-II-paradigms to safety.

The 33 participants in this study were asked questions regarding their knowledge of just culture as a characteristic of an industry or an organization. It seems that all participants agree with the Civil Aviation Authority Norway (2024), Eurocontrol (2018, p.5) and Pellegrino (2019, p.46) on the most common keywords used to describe what one calls just culture. Keywords such as improve, learn from mistakes, no-blame, prevention, and safety were used by the participants, correlating with what the authority and earlier research highlights as important factors in a just culture. All though most of the participants had strong negative feelings towards the conviction of the Officer On Watch onboard KNM Helge Ingstad, over 80% of the participants agreed on the importance of reporting safety-related issues in a just culture. Over 75% of the participants observed the Norwegian aviation industry to be just, both as an industry and on an organizational level. It seems accidents like the KNM Helge Ingstad and Sola TS-accident might present an increased feeling of worries by the participants in the Norwegian aviation industry, mentioning consequences regarding willingness to report, a step back in safety, fear of potential consequences and, for some, feeling of unfairness. All though participants stating these concerns, it seems that the general agreement is that the Norwegian aviation industry is just, and most operators are willing to report safety-related issues for the industry to enhance safety, mitigate accidents and remain as safe as possible for the future.