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 receiving adequate oversight. The Department of Transportation Office of Inspector General's (DOT/IG) audit report, titled Aviation Safety Under International Code Share Agreements, reached a similar conclusion. The DOT/IG report noted that the FAA's assessment under the IASA program "is quite different from a judgment about the safety practices of an individual carrier." The report further noted that the "FAA is itself a civil aviation authority that meets international standards, but that is materially different from a conclusion that all U.S. carriers therefore follow sound safety practices."

The Safety Board concludes that the FAA's IASA program (which evaluates a foreign CAA's ability to provide adequate oversight for its air carriers) is not adequate to determine whether foreign air carriers operating into the United States are maintaining an adequate level of safety. The Board notes that the DOT/IG's audit report recommended that U.S. carriers perform safety assessments of foreign carriers as a condition of approval to enter into code share agreements and that the FAA should consider the results of those assessments when performing IASA reviews. Further, the Safety Board believes that the FAA should consider the accident and incident history of foreign air carriers as a factor when evaluating the adequacy of a foreign CAA's oversight and whether a reassessment may be warranted.

2.9.3.1 Independent Accident Investigation Authority

The entity responsible for investigating aviation accidents and incidents in Korea is an office within the KCAB known as the Aviation Safety Division. Thus, Korea has no independent accident investigation authority. Experience has shown that an accident investigation authority that is not independent of the regulatory authority may not be as objective as necessary to identify and recommend changes. A proper accident investigation requires a review of the practices and procedures of the responsible regulatory agency and their possible role in the accident. Because the results of such an assessment may necessitate conclusions and recommendations that are critical of, or adverse to, the regulatory agency or its officials, many countries have concluded that no accident investigation entity could fully perform such a function unless it was separate and independent from the regulatory agency.

Annex 13 to the Convention on International Civil Aviation (paragraph 5.4) states that "the accident investigation authority shall have independence in the conduct of the investigation and have unrestricted authority over its conduct." On November 21, 1994, the Council of the European Union (EU) adopted a directive that specifies that EU Member States shall ensure, by November 21, 1996, that aviation accident and serious incident investigations are conducted or supervised by a permanent body or entity that is functionally independent of the national aviation authorities responsible for regulation and oversight of the aviation system. All EU members have complied with, or are in the process of complying with, the intent of this directive. The Safety Board concludes that an independent accident investigation authority, charged with making objective conclusions and recommendations, is a benefit to transportation safety.