MORs rise by nearly 40% as GPS jamming increases

More than 47,000 Mandatory Occurrence Reports – better known as ‘MORs’ – were received by the CAA in 2023. That’s a 39% increase since the year before (2022) and a staggering 126% increase since 2015.

An MOR is a safety-related event and can range from a birdstrike or airspace infringement up to accidents which involve injuries or fatalities, or aircraft damage.

The figures have just been released by the CAA in its 2023 Safety Review which says the increase in MORs is largely due to GPS jamming.

“In 2023, GPS jamming MORs accounted for approximately 21% of all MORs,” said the CAA review. “This marks a significant increase compared to previous years. GPS jamming currently affects large areas surrounding conflict zones and sensitive geopolitical areas.”

The Annual Safety Review 2023 is a summary of serious incidents and accidents that have been reported to the CAA. It covers all areas of aviation:

• Aerodrome safety
• Air traffic control
• Airline operations
• Airline safety
• Airside work
• General Aviation
• Ground handling
• Maintenance and engineering
• Corporate information

How General Aviation fared

The review said the UK GA sector covers around 17,000 aircraft (mainly with a maximum take-off mass below 5,700kg), including specialist activities such as pilot training, balloon operations, gliding, ex-military aircraft operations, parachuting and air displays.

“Overall, while the risk associated with GA is greater than commercial aviation, the safety level of GA in the UK is still acceptable given the nature of activity undertaken,” concludes the CAA.

The 2023 numbers include:

• Owners and/or operators of close to 11,000 UK GA aircraft (of which around 60% were aeroplanes) reported approximately 700,000 hours of flying in 2023. This activity remains below pre-pandemic levels, with flying hours below 2019 levels.
• In 2023 the CAA received over 2,000 GA related occurrence reports, of which around 7.5% were classified as reportable accidents or serious incidents (high severity occurrences).
• There were 170 reportable accidents and serious incidents involving GA aircraft in 2023, of which 82% resulted in no injuries (this is similar to the previous five-year average).
• However, 11 reportable accidents that occurred during this time caused 12 people to sustain fatal injuries.
• There were also eight reportable accidents which resulted in serious injuries to nine people.
• Reportable accidents and serious incidents in 2023 largely involved GA aeroplanes and were mostly attributed to an obstacle (tree, hedge, fence, etc) as a result of hard/heavy landings or long/fast landings.
• In 2023 the injury related accident rate was mainly driven by gliders with two accidents in August.

Aerodrome incidents down

According to the review, in 2023 there were 21 MORs reported to the CAA classed as a reportable accident or serious incident relating to aerodromes, 15 were reportable accidents and six were serious incidents. Some of the top reasons for report of accidents and serious incidents in 2023 were runway excursion, ground collision and loss of control – ground.

The number of reportable accidents related to aerodromes has remained consistent between 15 and 19 per year during the data period 2018-2023. The number of serious incidents related to aerodromes in 2023 was lower than in recent years at six.

There were no reportable accidents resulting in serious injury reported to the CAA in 2023 related to aerodromes. The last MOR relating to a reportable accident at an aerodrome resulting in serious injury occurred in 2021.

There were no MORs relating to reportable accidents resulting in fatality between 2018 and 2023 at UK certified or licensed aerodromes.

More and more drones

The use of drones and model aircraft continues to grow as new technologies and capabilities are introduced.

As of 30 June 2024, there are 601,980 active registered drone flyers and operators (a 17.1% increase on 2023) which consists of:

• 236,709 Active Operators of which 7,569 are Organisations and 229,140 are Individuals
• 365,271 Active Flyers: of which 7,441 are under 13 and 357,830 are aged 13+

There were 80 accidents / serious incidents involving RPAS (drones) reported to the CAA during 2023. This is a decrease from 2022 where 84 reportable accidents/serious incidents were reported.

In 2023, 70% (56) of reportable accidents and serious incident MORs were reported as loss of control incidents. This was the most frequently reported MOR category in 2023. System or component failure was the second most frequently reported event in 2023 (21.3% of 2023’s MORs) and the five years prior (27.2%)

Download the 2023 CAA Safety Review here

What should be reported as an MOR?

Although the Safety Review is a surprisingly succinct document (for the CAA), the definition of an MOR is not exactly crystal clear: “Reporting safety-related events which are reported to the CAA which relate to incidents considered as reportable.”

However, the CAA website is more forthcoming: “Any occurrence that you feel could have an impact on aviation safety should be reported. This will ensure that we always review and learn from events.”

The authority goes on to provide what it calls a “plain and simple list” – the MORS Code (geddit?) – here.

Even better, there’s a whole Safety Sense leaflet on Occurrence Reporting, revised late last year. Download that free here.