Report an incident affecting airport or aerodrome safety

This page tells you how to report an incident that affects (or could affect) airport or aerodrome safety.

If a serious accident or incident has happened, report it as soon as possible to the Transportation Safety Board (TSB) for investigation.

For how to report aircraft-related incidents — including structural or mechanical problems — see Report a problem with aircraft airworthiness.

On this page

When are you required to report?

If you are a pilot, crew member, or air traffic controller, you must report serious aviation incidents to the Transportation Safety Board. This is a requirement under the Transportation Safety Board Regulations. Serious incidents include:

  • death or injury
  • missing aircraft
  • major structural problems with aircraft
  • collision

Transport Canada receives the incident reports from the Transportation Safety Board and enters the information into the department’s Civil Aviation Daily Occurrence Reporting System (CADORS).

There is also a requirement for an Air Traffic Services (ATS) Operations Certificate Holder to report occurrences to Transport Canada under Canadian Aviation Regulation 807.01.

Air operators that have a Safety Management System are also required to report incidents through their internal process and take corrective measures. Safety Management Systems are subject to regular oversight by Transport Canada.

Report an incident affecting airport or aerodrome safety

Aviation Operations Centre (AVOPS)

AVOPS is Transport Canada’s centre for civil aviation emergency preparedness activities and incident reporting.

If you are reporting an emergency (If there is imminent and immediate threat to aviation and public safety), please call our 24/7 emergency numbers (toll free):

Voice: 1-877-992-6853

Civil Aviation Daily Occurrence Reporting System (CADORS)

Transport Canada’s Civil Aviation Daily Occurrence Reporting System (CADORS) tracks any airport or aerodrome incident that could affect aviation safety. Reporting incidents to CADORS helps us identify and address hazards.
You may report incidents using CADORS in one of two ways:

  1. For high-profile, critical incidents, as defined in Annex A of the Aerodrome Safety Circular 97-002, immediately call AVOPS:

    Telephone: 1-877-992-6853

  2. For all other incidents, as defined in see Annex B of the Aerodrome Safety Circular 97-002:

See the Aerodrome Safety Circular 97-002 for more information about when to report using CADORS.

Did you know that you can view all incidents reported to Transport Canada through CADORS? To search for national or regional reports, or to subscribe for daily updates, visit the CADORS Main Menu.

Complaints about low-flying aircraft and noise

For complaints about low-flying aircraft and noise, contact the relevant airport authority: