Serious concerns about conflicts of interest have emerged involving inspectors of the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) and the helicopter operator Copterline.
The newspaper Turun Sanomat reported on Friday that all four helicopter inspectors employed by CAA also work as Copterline pilots.
At present only one CAA official monitors the activities of the company; the head of the unit of helicopter supervision, and the only one not to have connections with Copterline.
CAA deputy director Eero Kausalainen admitted to Turun Sanomat that the present situation is problematic.
“It would naturally be best if the inspectors would fly for other companies, but it is not possible at this time.”
Kausalainen insists that the head of the helicopter unit is capable of monitoring the activities of Copterline without help.
The dual role of the inspectors is not an unusual state of affairs in Finnish aviation; by law, inspectors are required to be licenced pilots, and competition over qualified helicopter pilots is intense in Finland.
The issue has come up after a report by Estonian investigators on a fatal crash of a Copterline helicopter three years ago was released earlier in the week. The report criticised the “safety culture” that prevailed at Copterline.
