On receipt of a safety-related report, the CHIRP Secretariat acknowledges it to the reporter, allocates it a unique reference identification and the information is reviewed with the objectives of determining any contributing factors and identifying potential corrective actions or resolutions that might be appropriate.

As far as is possible, the report is then discussed and validated with the reporter either by email, letter or telephone call.

After ensuring that the report contains all the relevant information, and only if the reporter consents, the concern is then represented to the appropriate agency and the reporter is subsequently advised of any action taken in response to their report.  Only disidentified information is used in discussions with third-party organisations, thus assuring the confidentiality of the reporter in any contact with an external organisation. 

Subject to the reporter’s agreement, at the end of the process the disidentified report, associated agency comments and summarising CHIRP comments are published in the relevant CHIRP ‘FEEDBACK’ newsletter in order to disseminate any lessons learnt or Human Factors matters of interest for the wider community. 

There are currently 5 Aviation FEEDBACK newsletter types and each contains reports and current topics of particular relevance to those sectors.

• Air Transport (ATFB) – ATFB is distributed four times a year by email to all commercially-licensed pilots, air traffic controllers and engineering personnel.
• Cabin Crew (CCFB) – Because there is no centralised record of Cabin Crew email contact details, CCFB is predominantly distributed in hard-copy and electronically through the major airlines, with some additional electronic distribution to those who have provided CHIRP with their email details.
• General Aviation (GAFB) – GAFB is also primarily distributed by email four times a year, with some hardcopies being sent to training organisations, flying clubs and air traffic control units.  
• Drone/UAS (DUASFB) – DUASFB is distributed electronically to those on the UK drone register. 
• Ground Handling & Security (GHSFB) – GHSFB is an occasional publication that is distributed in hardcopy through the associated organisations.

Following publication in FEEDBACK (or when the CHIRP investigation process is concluded if not), the report is then closed and all personal details of the reporter are removed from the CHIRP reporting system so that future confidentiality is maintained; only the disidentified information and the unique reference identification are retained on the CHIRP database.  Thus, after the deletion of personal details, CHIRP is unable subsequently to contact the reporter.  However, the reporter may, if they wish, contact the CHIRP office about their report by quoting the reference identification. 

The retained disidentified information is subsequently aggregated for analysis of key topics and trends, and associated anonymised intelligence is processed on a regular basis for submission to the CAA (SARG) Safety Investigations and Data Department. 

In addition to maintaining contact with relevant agencies through the Advisory Board nominees, CHIRP maintains regular contact with the principal agencies in the Commercial and General Aviation environments through visits and presentations.  CHIRP is also represented on a number of UK aviation safety bodies, including the UK Flight Safety Committee (UK FSC) and General Aviation Safety Council (GASCo), and maintains a close liaison with other UK and international aviation Human Factors and safety groups.