Program directory · Transportation Safety Board of Canada
Aviation Occurrence Investigations
- Department
- Transportation Safety Board of Canada
- Program code
- BWA01 (CTAIB)
- Core responsibility
- Independent safety investigations and communication of risks in the transportation system
- In Departmental Plans
- 2018-19 – 2026-27 · New since an earlier plan
What it does
The Aviation Occurrence Investigations program is governed by the Canadian Transportation Accident Investigation and Safety Board Act, the Transportation Safety Board Regulations, and Annex 13 of the Convention on International Civil Aviation. Under this program, the Transportation Safety Board of Canada conducts independent investigations into selected aviation transportation occurrences in, or over Canada, and in certain circumstances internationally, to identify causes and contributing factors. This program includes the publication of investigation reports, the formulation and monitoring of recommendations and other safety communications, as well as the conduct of outreach activities to advocate for changes to operating practices, equipment, infrastructure, and legislation to advance transportation safety. The Aviation Occurrence Investigations program also includes the fulfillment of specific Government of Canada obligations related to transportation safety under conventions of the International Civil Aviation Organization and other international agreements.
Source: the department's Program Inventory, via GC InfoBase.
History and lineage
First appears in GC InfoBase's actual spending by program in 2017-18. The data does not record when a program was created; it may be older than its first appearance here, which is limited by the sources (program spending starts in 2010-11, Departmental Plans in 2018-19).
| Program | Relation | Years with data | Actual spending over those years |
|---|---|---|---|
| Aviation Occurrence Investigations | This program | 2017-18 – 2028-29 | $119M |
No earlier or later program in the same department has a similar name.
Significant changes in scope and budget
Detected from the data: renames between plans, programs it appears to replace, merge with or split into (matched by name), year-over-year changes in spending of at least 25% and $5M, or in employees of at least 20% and 25 FTEs, linked budget measures, and results indicators added or dropped.
| Year | What changed | Source |
|---|---|---|
| 2019-20 | Indicators added: Average time to complete a class 1 safety issue investigation - Aviation; Average time to complete a class 2 complex investigation - Aviation; Average time to complete a class 3 detailed investigation - Aviation; Average time to complete a class 4 limited-scope investigation - Aviation; Average time to complete a class 5 data-gathering investigation - Aviation | Departmental Results Framework (GC InfoBase) |
| 2019-20 | Indicators dropped: Average time for completing investigation reports - Aviation; Percentage of investigations completed within the published target time - Aviation | Departmental Results Framework (GC InfoBase) |
| 2022-23 | Indicators dropped: Average time recommendations have been outstanding - Aviation (active and dormant recommendations); Average time to complete a class 1 safety issue investigation - Aviation; Average time to complete a class 2 complex investigation - Aviation; Average time to complete a class 3 detailed investigation - Aviation; Average time to complete a class 4 limited-scope investigation - Aviation; Average time to complete a class 5 data-gathering investigation - Aviation; Percentage of responses to recommendations assessed as Fully Satisfactory - Aviation (since TSB’s creation); Percentage of safety advisories on which safety actions have been taken - Aviation | Departmental Results Framework (GC InfoBase) |
Success criteria
The program's indicators from its department's Departmental Results Framework: the target set in each year's plan, and the result reported the following year. Source: GC InfoBase.
Historical: targets against results
Accident rate - Aviation (over 10-year period)
Expected result: Aviation transportation system is safer
| Report year | Target | Due | Result | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2018-19 | Continue downward trend in accident rate | 2019 | There has been a significant downward trend in the accident rate for Canadian-registered aircraft over the past 10 years. The aviation accident rate in 2018 was 3.5 accidents per 100,000 hours flown, below the 10-year average of 5.2. | Met |
| 2019-20 | Continue downward trend in accident rate | 2020 | There has been a significant downward trend in the accident rate for Canadian-registered aircraft over the past 10 years. The aviation accident rate in 2019 was 3.7 accidents per 100,000 hours flown, below the 10-year average of 4.9. | Met |
| 2020-21 | Continue downward trend in accident rate | 2021 | There has been a downward trend in the accident rate for Canadian-registered aircraft over the past 10 years. The aviation accident rate in 2020 was 5.8 accidents per 100,000 hours flown, above the 10-year average of 4.7. During 2020-21 there was a significant decrease in commercial aviation, due to the pandemic, which accounts for a very large portion of the total movements each year (the denominator). The accident total is (the numerator) largely made up of smaller, often privately registered, aircraft. The accident total did not increase numerically in 2020-21, however the movement numbers did decrease substant… | Not met |
| 2021-22 | Continue downward trend in accident rate | 2022 | There has been a significant downward trend in the accident rate for Canadian-registered aircraft over the past 10 years. The aviation accident rate in 2021 was 4.8 accidents per 100,000 hours flown, above the 10-year average of 4.6. The decrease in accidents, particularly in general aviation, was not proportional to the overall drop in hours flown. This was mainly driven by the reduction in commercial activity due to the pandemic. | Not met |
| 2022-23 | Continue downward trend in accident rate | 2023 | The aviation accident rate in 2022 was 2.6 accidents per 100,000 aircraft movements, below the 10- year average of 3.4. | Met |
| 2023-24 | Continue downward trend in accident rate | 2024 | The aviation accident rate for 2023-24 stands at 2.99, which is 8% lower than the ten-year average of 3.24. Note: These rates are calculated per 100,000 aircraft movements in Canada, as flight hour data for 2023-24 is not available. | Met |
| 2024-25 | Continue downward trend in accident rate | 2025 | The aviation accident rate in 2024 was 3.0 accidents per 100,000 aircraft movements, below the 10-year average of 3.2. These rates are calculated per 100,000 aircraft movements in Canada, as flight hour data is not available. | Met |
Number of fatal accidents - Aviation (over 10-year period)
Expected result: Aviation transportation system is safer
| Report year | Target | Due | Result | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2018-19 | Reduction in number of fatal accidents | 2019 | The number of fatal accidents was 23, below the 10-year average of 32 and fatalities in 2018 totaled 38, lower than the 10-year average of 55. | Met |
| 2019-20 | Reduction in number of fatal accidents | 2020 | The number of fatal accidents was 33, higher than the 10-year average of 30 and fatalities in 2019 totalled 70, higher than the 10-year average of 52. There was a significant number of fatal accidents in 2019; however, these were mostly in the general aviation sector. | Not met |
| 2020-21 | Reduction in number of fatal accidents | 2021 | The number of fatal accidents was 12, lower than the 10-year average of 30, and fatalities in 2020 totalled 16, lower than the 10-year average of 52. | Met |
| 2021-22 | Reduction in number of fatal accidents | 2022 | The number of fatal accidents was 22, lower than the 10-year average of 28, and fatalities in 2021 totaled 32, lower than the 10-year average of 47. | Met |
| 2022-23 | Reduction in number of fatal accidents | 2023 | The number of fatal accidents in 2022 was 24, below the 10-year average of 26, and the number of fatalities totaled 34, below the 10-year average of 43. | Met |
| 2023-24 | Reduction in number of fatal accidents | 2024 | In 2023-24, 19 fatal aviation accidents were reported to the TSB, representing a 23% decrease compared to the ten-year average of 24.6. | Met |
| 2024-25 | Reduction in number of fatal accidents | 2025 | In 2024, the number of fatal accidents was 27, above the 10-year average of 23, and fatalities in 2024 totaled 46, above the 10-year average of 37. Out of 46 fatalities, 24 were linked to aircraft that were privately operated (mostly in recreational operations) and 22 involved commercial operations (but none in airliners). | Not met |
Average time recommendations have been outstanding - Aviation (active and dormant recommendations)
Expected result: Regulators and the transportation industry respond to identified safety deficiencies
Bars: result reported. Dashed line: target.
| Report year | Target | Due | Result | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2019-20 | ≤ 12 | 2020 | 10.5 | Met |
| 2020-21 | ≤ 10.5 | 2021 | 11 Efforts continue to be made in collaboration with Transport Canada to review and take appropriate actions to close some older recommendations that have been outstanding for an extensive period of time. Many of these outstanding recommendations are dormant and over 10 years old. The ongoing challenges presented by these older recommendations is that they may be too prescriptive or impracticable to… | Not met |
| 2021-22 | ≤ 15 | 2022 | 12.1 | Met |
Average time to complete a class 1 safety issue investigation - Aviation
Expected result: Aviation occurrence investigations are efficient
Bars: result reported. Dashed line: target.
| Report year | Target | Due | Result | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2019-20 | ≤ 730 | 2020 | 1,696 This was a comprehensive, five-year study of safety issues in the air-taxi sector. | Not met |
| 2020-21 | ≤ 730 | 2021 | — There were no Class 1 investigations completed this year. | No result reported |
| 2021-22 | ≤ 730 | 2022 | 1,219 One Class 1 safety study was released in FY 2021-2022. It was a highly complex safety study into occurrences in Quebec and Nunavut on runways undergoing construction that are reduced in width. Significant effort was placed on the research, collection, review and analysis of data from various internal and external sources. Delays due to COVID were also encountered during these phases. The report i… | Not met |
Average time to complete a class 2 complex investigation - Aviation
Expected result: Aviation occurrence investigations are efficient
Bars: result reported. Dashed line: target.
| Report year | Target | Due | Result | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2019-20 | ≤ 600 | 2020 | 686 One Class 2 Air transportation safety investigation (A17O0264) was completed in 2019-20. The target timeline was slightly exceeded for the following reasons: the Investigator-in-Charge was replaced due to unforeseen circumstances; the safety issue class 1 investigation was released in the same timeframe; despite having vacant positions, the Toronto office was also responsible for several investig… | Not met |
| 2020-21 | ≤ 600 | 2021 | 704 The TSB completed 2 complex Class 2 investigations during this reporting period: A18Q0030 - Runway overrun of at Havre St-Pierre Airport in Quebec, and A19P0112 – Controlled flight into terrain at Addenbroke Island, BC. Notwithstanding, during this reporting period, the TSB simultaneously worked on four other high profile Class 2 occurrences, including: A17C0146 (Collision with terrain at Fond-du… | Not met |
| 2021-22 | ≤ 600 | 2022 | 1,007 Three Class 2 investigations were released in FY 2021-2022. Of those, one was within the 10% variance in timelines. The two other investigations were highly complex investigations into a runway overrun of a Boeing 747 aircraft at the Halifax/Stanfield International Airport, Nova Scotia, and a loss of control and collision with terrain of an ATR-42 aircraft in Fond-du-Lac, Saskatchewan. For both i… | Not met |
Average time to complete a class 3 detailed investigation - Aviation
Expected result: Aviation occurrence investigations are efficient
Bars: result reported. Dashed line: target.
| Report year | Target | Due | Result | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2019-20 | ≤ 450 | 2020 | 428 | Met |
| 2020-21 | ≤ 450 | 2021 | 488 During this reporting period, the TSB completed 17 Class 3 investigations. This is a significant increase compared to reporting period 2019-20 where 7 Class 3 investigations were completed. The TSB continues its focus on improving timeliness of investigation reports without compromising on quality; however, the number of high profile occurrences in 2019-20 impacted the timeframe targets. | Not met |
| 2021-22 | ≤ 450 | 2022 | 491 The difference is 41, which is a variance of 9%. | Not met |
Average time to complete a class 4 limited-scope investigation - Aviation
Expected result: Aviation occurrence investigations are efficient
Bars: result reported. Dashed line: target.
| Report year | Target | Due | Result | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2019-20 | ≤ 200 | 2020 | 212 The TSB Policy on Occurrence Classification was revised in October 2019. Among other amendments, the target duration for Class 4 investigations was changed from 200 days to 220 days. Under the new amendment, this indicator would be considered met. | Not met |
| 2020-21 | ≤ 220 | 2021 | 198 | Met |
| 2021-22 | ≤ 220 | 2022 | 203 | Met |
Average time to complete a class 5 data-gathering investigation - Aviation
Expected result: Aviation occurrence investigations are efficient
Bars: result reported. Dashed line: target.
| Report year | Target | Due | Result | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2019-20 | ≤ 60 | 2020 | 39 | Met |
| 2020-21 | ≤ 60 | 2021 | 70 These results were skewed by one Class 5 occurrence, which was entered and closed in a week, however the event was a missing archive event, that occurred in 1957. As a result, the average for this indicator increased significantly. Without this outlier data point, the average would have been 22 days. | Not met |
| 2021-22 | ≤ 60 | 2022 | 16 | Met |
Percentage of responses to recommendations assessed as Fully Satisfactory - Aviation (since TSB’s creation)
Expected result: Regulators and the transportation industry respond to identified safety deficiencies
Bars: result reported. Dashed line: target.
| Report year | Target | Due | Result | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2018-19 | ≥ 73% | 2019 | 77% | Met |
| 2019-20 | ≥ 74% | 2020 | 77% | Met |
| 2020-21 | ≥ 78% | 2021 | 78% | Met |
| 2021-22 | ≥ 77% | 2022 | 78% | Met |
Percentage of safety advisories on which safety actions have been taken - Aviation
Expected result: Regulators and the transportation industry respond to identified safety deficiencies
Bars: result reported. Dashed line: target.
| Report year | Target | Due | Result | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2018-19 | ≥ 50% | 2019 | 75% | Met |
| 2019-20 | ≥ 75% | 2020 | 100% | Met |
| 2020-21 | ≥ 75% | 2021 | 75% | Met |
| 2021-22 | ≥ 75% | 2022 | 100% | Met |
Average time for completing investigation reports - Aviation
Expected result: Aviation occurrence investigations are efficient
Bars: result reported. Dashed line: target.
| Report year | Target | Due | Result | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2018-19 | ≤ 450 | 2019 | 278 | Met |
Percentage of investigations completed within the published target time - Aviation
Expected result: Aviation occurrence investigations are efficient
Bars: result reported. Dashed line: target.
| Report year | Target | Due | Result | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2018-19 | ≥ 75% | 2019 | 87% | Met |
Current: the 2026-27 plan's targets
Accident rate - Aviation (over 10-year period)
Expected result: Aviation transportation system is safer
| Report year | Target | Due | Result | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026-27 | Continue downward trend in accident rate | 2027 | — | Planned |
Number of fatal accidents - Aviation (over 10-year period)
Expected result: Aviation transportation system is safer
| Report year | Target | Due | Result | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026-27 | Reduction in number of fatal accidents | 2027 | — | Planned |
Future goals: targets due after 2026-27
No targets with a later due date.
Spending and employees: planned against actual
Spending
Show the numbers
| Fiscal year | Planned | Actual |
|---|---|---|
| 2017-18 | — | $14M |
| 2018-19 | $13.1M | $13.5M |
| 2019-20 | $14.2M | $17.3M |
| 2020-21 | $14.3M | $15.4M |
| 2021-22 | $16.8M | $14.5M |
| 2022-23 | $15.3M | $13.9M |
| 2023-24 | $14.8M | $14.9M |
| 2024-25 | $16.2M | $15.7M |
| 2025-26 | $15.7M | — |
| 2026-27 | $17.4M | — |
| 2027-28 | $17.3M* | — |
| 2028-29 | $17.3M* | — |
Employees (FTEs)
Show the numbers
| Fiscal year | Planned | Actual |
|---|---|---|
| 2017-18 | 88 | 90 |
| 2018-19 | 91 | 87 |
| 2019-20 | 92 | 100 |
| 2020-21 | 95 | 92 |
| 2021-22 | 98 | 94 |
| 2022-23 | 94 | 85 |
| 2023-24 | 95 | 81 |
| 2024-25 | 98 | 90 |
| 2025-26 | 96 | — |
| 2026-27 | 99 | — |
| 2027-28 | 99* | — |
| 2028-29 | 99* | — |
Planned spending, plan by plan
Each row is one year's Departmental Plan and its forecast for the next three fiscal years; read a column down to see how the forecast for one year changed. The last row is what was actually spent. Click an amount for its source. Biggest changes in federal spending plans
| Plan | 2018-19 | 2019-20 | 2020-21 | 2021-22 | 2022-23 | 2023-24 | 2024-25 | 2025-26 | 2026-27 | 2027-28 | 2028-29 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2018-19 plan | $13,081,028 | $13,081,028 | $13,081,028 | ||||||||
| 2019-20 plan | $14,198,429 | $14,198,429 | $14,198,429 | ||||||||
| 2020-21 plan | $14,339,587 | $14,285,639 | $14,299,289 | ||||||||
| 2021-22 plan | $16,782,172 | $16,824,491 | $16,824,491 | ||||||||
| 2022-23 plan | $15,258,271 | $14,996,039 | $14,996,039 | ||||||||
| 2023-24 plan | $14,840,724 | $14,840,724 | $14,840,724 | ||||||||
| 2024-25 plan | $16,199,129 | $16,045,445 | $16,053,414 | ||||||||
| 2025-26 plan | $15,670,281 | $15,691,068 | $15,691,068 | ||||||||
| 2026-27 plan | $17,435,766 | $17,293,627 | $17,293,627 | ||||||||
| Actual | $13,513,345 | $17,304,806 | $15,363,553 | $14,499,109 | $13,901,632 | $14,901,530 | $15,721,461 |
Actual spending is from Departmental Results Reports and the Public Accounts, as published in GC InfoBase. FTEs are full-time equivalents.
