Aviation authority asks pilots to help correct charts

The Irish Aviation Authority has asked search-and-rescue and other pilots to help correct the aeronautical charts they use. Lighthouses in the wrong locations, missing spot heights and obscured symbols are among the errors in the authority’s latest visual-flight-rules 1:500,000 chart, published last June, it has conceded.

The Air Accident Investigation Unit highlighted errors and anomalies in navigational information and systems in a preliminary report on the loss of all four crew when the Irish Coast Guard’s Rescue 116 helicopter crashed into Blackrock Island, off north Co Mayo, on March 14th.

The aviation authority invited pilots earlier this month to report any errors or make suggestions for future editions of visual-flight-rules charts, which are used most frequently by search-and-rescue, helicopter-transport and recreational pilots. It says it plans to hold a “charting workshop” in January to review submissions and correct errors before the next chart is published, in April.

The Irish Air Line Pilots’ Association has welcomed the move but expressed frustration at the authority’s failure to fully consult it on maps and charts and on other safety-related issues. The association’s president, Capt Evan Cullen, said that even though it is listed as a stakeholder on the IAA website “we have never been invited to a workshop on maps and charts, and other complaints we raised have not been addressed by the IAA.” Pilots would participate in any effort to improve accuracy and safety, he added.

Two of the four Rescue 116 crew, Capt Dara Fitzpatrick  and Capt Mark Duffy, were members of the union. The bodies of their winch team, Paul Ormsby and Ciarán Smith, have still not been found. The IAA told The Irish Times that charting workshops were “held on a regular basis”, as “charting is, and will remain, a continual process and priority” for it, and the January workshop will involve a “wide range of stakeholders”. Asked what procedure was used to ensure accuracy, the IAA said that all maps and charts were produced “in accordance with International Civil Aviation Organisation standards and recommended practices.