The transport ministry has worked out a draft framework for revising the Aviation Law to require airline operators to report minor problems such as engine component trouble, according to ministry officials.
The revision -- planned to be implemented in the fall -- is aimed at establishing measures to prevent accidents by collecting information on various problems and analyzing their causes, officials at the Land, Infrastructure and Transport Ministry said.
Under the current law, airplane captains are only required to report accidents and serious incidents such as overshooting the runway.
The ministry also plans to require airlines to report mechanical glitches and when an aircraft fails to fly at the altitude assigned by air traffic controllers, according to the draft.
Airlines would be required under the revised law to compile internal rules on safety management, including a manual on reporting blunders to the ministry and within the company.
The ministry plans to limit companies that can work on aircraft maintenance to those certified by the transport minister, amid increasing outsourcing of maintenance work overseas, they said.
Last year, Japanese airlines experienced a series of problems, with a Japan Airlines plane trying to leave an airport without obtaining permission and an All Nippon Airways plane flying 1,600 meters higher than instructed.
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