Accident and incident investigation
Learning objectives
- Explain the aim of a safety investigation and why it is kept separate from any search for blame.
- Identify an event as an accident, a serious incident or an incident, using the definitions of injury, damage and "high probability of an accident", and state the ICAO terms for the States involved.
- State what a pilot must do after an accident or serious incident, and when the investigation authority may decide not to investigate.
- State who must report an occurrence, how soon, and what the reporter is protected from.
The idea
When something goes wrong, two questions follow: "Who is at fault?" and "How do we stop it happening again?" The investigation you study here answers only the second. A separate, independent body collects facts, works out what led to the event, and publishes lessons for everyone. Your part: get people to safety, tell the investigators, leave the scene alone, and report.
Prevention, not blame
The sole aim of an EU safety investigation is to prevent future accidents and incidents, not to apportion blame or liability. It is separate from any court or administrative proceeding that does look for blame. Naming the causes (the actions, omissions, events or conditions that led to the event) never means assigning fault.
Each Member State has a permanent national safety investigation authority, the SIA. It is functionally independent of the bodies responsible for airworthiness, certification, operations, maintenance, licensing, air traffic control and aerodromes. So it is not the authority that issued your licence. After one event, two tracks can run: the safety investigation, about learning, and possible administrative or judicial action.
Describe this figure
One box at the top, "One event", sends an arrow to each of two lanes. The left lane, drawn with a solid border, is the safety investigation: run by the SIA, an independent authority, with the aim of learning and preventing; its outputs are safety recommendations and an anonymous report, and it never assigns blame. The right lane, drawn with a dashed border, is the judicial or administrative track: the aviation authority, police or courts, which may look for blame or liability and is separate from the safety investigation. A hatched wall stands between the two lanes and leads down to a box labelled protected records: witness statements, notes, drafts, and cockpit voice and image recordings. The box adds that a court can still order disclosure if the benefit outweighs the harm to investigations.
One event splits into two lanes, safety investigation and judicial or administrative track, with a wall of protected records between them.
Witness statements, draft reports and cockpit recordings are protected for safety use. A court can still order disclosure if the benefit outweighs the harm to investigations.
The sole aim of a safety investigation is prevention. It is carried out by an independent authority and is separate from proceedings that look for blame or liability.
The words that matter
An occurrence is any safety-related event that endangers, or if left uncorrected could endanger, an aircraft, its occupants or anyone else. It is the umbrella term for accidents, serious incidents and incidents. An incident is an occurrence other than an accident, linked to operating an aircraft, that affects or could affect the safety of operation. Investigation and reporting rules share these meanings.
The time window
For a manned aeroplane, an accident or serious incident must be linked to the operation of the aircraft and fall between the moment any person boards with the intention of flight and the moment all such persons have disembarked. A parked, empty aeroplane outside that window is neither.
Describe this figure
A horizontal bar runs left to right across the figure. The shaded middle part is the window, from "first person boards with intention of flight" to "last person disembarks", and it holds taxi, take-off, flight, landing and taxi. On each side, in dashed unshaded boxes, a parked, empty aeroplane is shown, labelled "neither", because it is outside the window. A bracket under the shaded part says that inside the window an accident or serious incident is possible.
A bar from first boarding with intention of flight to last disembarkation, shaded inside; the parked, empty aeroplane outside is unshaded.
What makes it an accident
Inside the window, an event is an accident if any one of three conditions is met.
Condition 1: injury. A person is fatally or seriously injured because of being in the aircraft, direct contact with any part of it (including parts that have come off), or direct exposure to jet blast. Natural causes, self-inflicted injuries and injuries inflicted by others do not count.
A fatal injury is one that results in death within 30 days of the accident.
A serious injury is any one of these: hospitalisation for more than 48 hours, starting within 7 days of the injury; a fracture of any bone except simple fractures of fingers, toes or nose; lacerations causing severe haemorrhage or nerve, muscle or tendon damage; injury to an internal organ; second- or third-degree burns, or any burns affecting more than 5 % of the body surface; or verified exposure to infectious substances or harmful radiation.
Describe this figure
Six cards, each with an icon, list the ways an injury counts as serious, and any one is enough. A bed icon is a hospital stay of over 48 hours that starts within 7 days; a bone is a fracture of any bone except simple finger, toe or nose fractures; a drop is a laceration with severe bleeding or nerve, muscle or tendon damage. A heart stands for injury to any internal organ; a flame is second- or third-degree burns, or burns over more than 5 % of the body surface; and a radiation symbol is verified exposure to infectious substances or harmful radiation. A separate red-bordered panel below reads "Fatal injury: death within 30 days of the accident".
Six icons, one per serious-injury criterion, plus a panel: fatal means death within 30 days.
Condition 2: damage. The aircraft suffers damage or structural failure that adversely affects its structural strength, performance or flight characteristics and would normally need a major repair or replacement of the affected component.
A long exclusion list applies. The condition does not apply to engine failure or damage limited to a single engine. Nor does it apply to damage limited to propellers, wing tips, antennas, tyres, brakes, wheels, fairings, panels, windscreens or skin (small dents or punctures), to minor landing gear damage, or to hail or bird strike damage. If someone is fatally or seriously injured, though, the event is still an accident under the injury condition.
Describe this figure
A light aeroplane is drawn from above with pins on its parts. Eight round blue pins mark parts whose damage alone does not make an accident: propeller, wing tips, antennas, tyres, brakes and wheels, fairings and panels, windscreen, skin dents or holes, and one engine. Three square red pins, A to C, mark the wing spar (a dashed line inside the wing), the fuselage and the tail, whose damage can make an accident if it needs a major repair. A note at the bottom says that fatal or serious injury still makes it an accident, whichever part was damaged.
A light-aeroplane outline: propeller, wing tips, tyres, one engine and similar parts are marked "alone, not an accident"; wing spar, fuselage and tail are marked "can make an accident".
Condition 3: missing or inaccessible. The aircraft is missing or completely inaccessible.
What makes it a serious incident
A serious incident is an incident whose circumstances show a high probability of an accident, in the same boarding-to-disembarkation window. Nobody needs to be hurt or anything damaged. The difference from an accident is the outcome.
The regulation's examples are typical, not exhaustive. They include a near collision needing an avoidance manoeuvre, landing on a closed or engaged runway or a taxiway, a gross failure to achieve predicted take-off or climb performance, crew incapacitation, and running off the side of the runway.
The classification logic
Work through these in order.
- Linked to operating the aircraft and inside the window? If not, it is not an aviation accident or serious incident.
- Fatal or serious injury, not excluded? Accident.
- Qualifying damage, not on the exclusion list? Accident.
- Aircraft missing or inaccessible? Accident.
- Otherwise, did the circumstances show a high probability of an accident? Serious incident.
- Otherwise, did it affect, or could it have affected, safety? Incident.
Describe this figure
A vertical flowchart of six questions. Question 1 asks whether the event is linked to flying the aircraft and inside the boarding-to-disembarking window; a no leads to a dashed grey box saying it is outside the window and neither an accident nor a serious incident. Questions 2, 3 and 4 ask about fatal or serious injury, damage needing major repair that is not on the exclusion list, and an aircraft that is missing or completely inaccessible; a yes to any of them leads to the Accident box. Question 5 asks whether the circumstances showed a high probability of an accident, and a yes gives a serious incident. Question 6 asks whether the event affects or could affect safety, and a yes gives an incident; a no at the end means it is not an incident.
A flowchart of the six questions; each "yes" ends in Accident, Serious incident or Incident.
The legal definitions of accident, fatal injury, incident, serious incident and serious injury.
Which investigations are covered
The EU rules apply to accidents and serious incidents in the territory of the Member States, and to some outside it involving aircraft registered in, or operated by an undertaking established in, a Member State where no other State investigates. An accredited representative is designated by a State to take part in another State's investigation, and the investigator-in-charge organises, conducts and controls an investigation. For the States under the Chicago Convention, see lesson 010-01-01.
Military, customs, police and similar flights are outside these rules unless the Member State decides otherwise.
The Member State where it happened must investigate every accident or serious incident to an aircraft covered by the EU Basic Regulation. Some special-category aircraft, such as many microlights, are investigated only if national law says so.
One discretion matters for the PPL(A). The SIA may decide not to investigate an accident or serious incident to a manned aircraft with a maximum take-off mass (MTOM) of 2 250 kg or less when nobody was fatally or seriously injured, taking account of the safety lessons expected. It is the authority's choice, not an exemption from notifying it.
The State of occurrence must investigate. Military, customs and police flights are excluded. At 2 250 kg MTOM or less without fatal or serious injury, the authority may decide not to investigate.
ICAO's investigation Annex (Annex 13) uses the same definitions in substance. It differs on one point: ICAO makes investigating a serious incident a Standard only above 2 250 kg maximum mass, and a Recommendation at or below it. The EU rule applies in the EU.
ICAO terms for the States and the aircraft
These ICAO terms are used in investigation but not defined in the EU text.
- State of Occurrence: the State in whose territory the accident or incident happens.
- State of Registry: the State on whose register the aircraft is entered.
- State of the Operator: the State of the operator's principal place of business, or else its permanent residence.
- State of Design: the State with jurisdiction over the organisation responsible for the type design.
- State of Manufacture: the State with jurisdiction over the organisation responsible for final assembly of the aircraft, engine or propeller.
- Maximum mass: the maximum certificated take-off mass.
- Contributing factors: factors whose removal would have reduced the probability or the severity of the event. Naming them assigns no fault.
What you must do after an accident or serious incident
As good practice, rescue and safety come first. Then three legal duties follow.
Notify. Any person involved who knows of an accident or serious incident must notify the SIA of the State where it happened without delay. No number of hours is set, so never convert "without delay" into hours. A PPL(A) pilot flying the aircraft is a person involved.
Leave the scene alone. Until the investigators arrive, nobody may change the site or move, sample or remove the aircraft, its contents or wreckage, except for safety, to help injured people, or with the express permission of the authorities controlling the site.
Preserve evidence. Every person involved must take all necessary steps to preserve documents, material and recordings, so that recordings of conversations and alarms are not erased after the flight.
The investigator-in-charge can then enter the site without restriction, control the flight recorders and call witnesses.
Describe this figure
Six steps hang on a vertical line, each with a timing label on the left and a tag saying rule, practice or by the SIA. First comes rescue and safety, tagged as good practice: get people to safety and help the injured. Then, without delay, the pilot notifies the SIA of the State where it happened; until the investigators arrive nobody changes the site or moves the wreckage, except for safety or to help the injured; and documents and recordings are kept so voice and alarm recordings are not erased. Within 72 hours of becoming aware, the occurrence report is due, and the clock starts at awareness, not when the event happened. The last step, marked with a diamond, is the SIA's final report within 12 months if possible, with an interim statement at each anniversary if it is not ready.
A timeline: rescue; notify without delay; preserve site and records; report within 72 hours; final report within 12 months.
Notify without delay, leave the site and wreckage alone (with the stated exceptions), and preserve documents and recordings.
A sensible order: evacuate, deal with fire risk, give first aid, call emergency services; notify the SIA; leave the wreckage undisturbed and, if safe, photograph it; keep your logbook, flight plan, GPS or EFB tracks and phone recordings. This order is good practice, not a legal requirement. This does not replace ATO instruction or your aircraft's POH/AFM.
For the on-scene report and search and rescue, see lesson 010-10-01; for distress and urgency, 010-07-06.
The report and what follows
Every investigation ends with a report that states its sole aim is prevention and protects everyone's anonymity. The SIA publishes the final report as soon as possible and, if possible, within 12 months; otherwise it issues an interim statement at each anniversary. ICAO has the same targets.
A safety recommendation is an SIA proposal to prevent accidents and incidents. The addressee has 90 days to say what action is taken or planned, and the SIA then has 60 days to say whether the reply is adequate.
Occurrence reporting
Most safety lessons come from events smaller than accidents, so a second system exists: occurrence reporting. It aims to get safety information reported, analysed and acted on in time.
Who and when. The pilot in command must report, or, if unable, the next crew member in the chain of command, for aircraft registered in a Member State. The report is due within 72 hours of becoming aware of the occurrence, unless exceptional circumstances prevent it. The clock starts at awareness.
What. Mandatory reporting covers occurrences that may represent a significant risk to aviation safety. A simplified list applies to aircraft other than complex motor-powered aircraft, which includes a typical single-engine piston aeroplane. It includes unintentional loss of control, landing outside the intended area, runway incursion and excursion, failure to achieve expected performance, and unintended flight into IMC (instrument meteorological conditions) by a non-IFR aircraft or unqualified pilot. It also covers technical failures such as a disconnected flight control, structural failure or engine failure. Further items are an airspace infringement, an emergency call, fire or smoke, pilot incapacitation, a damaging bird strike, and icing, including carburettor icing, that endangered or could have endangered anyone. You must report an occurrence even if it happens during a different activity from its listing.
| Group | What the list covers | PPL(A) example |
|---|---|---|
| Air operations | Unintentional loss of control; landing outside the intended area; runway incursion or excursion; poor take-off, climb or landing performance; an unairworthy flight, or one with unfinished preparation, that endangered or could have endangered anyone; unintended flight into IMC by a non-IFR aircraft or a pilot not qualified for IFR. | CS-ABC runs off the side of the runway on landing. |
| Technical | Severe vibration; a flight control disconnected or not working correctly; structural failure or loss of a part in flight; failure of an engine, propeller, fuel system or other essential system; a fluid leak that created a fire or contamination risk. | A flight control on CS-ABC disconnects in flight. |
| Air navigation services | Interaction with air navigation services that endangered or could have endangered anyone (incorrect service, conflicting communications, deviation from a clearance); airspace infringement. | CS-ABC enters controlled airspace without a clearance. |
| Emergencies | Any occurrence that leads to an emergency call; fire, explosion, smoke, toxic gases or fumes in the aircraft; pilot incapacitation that stops a duty being performed. | The pilot of CS-ABC makes an emergency call. |
| Environment and collisions | Collision with another aircraft, terrain or an obstacle; a near collision that needs an emergency avoidance manoeuvre; a bird or wildlife strike that damaged the aircraft or knocked out an essential service; interference from firearms, fireworks, kites, lasers, drones or similar; a damaging lightning strike; severe turbulence that injured someone or needs a damage check; icing, including carburettor icing, that endangered or could have endangered anyone. | A bird strike damages CS-ABC. Carburettor icing endangers the flight of CS-ABC. |
Describe this figure
The table has three columns: the group, what the list covers, and a PPL(A) example. The five groups are air operations, technical, air navigation services, emergencies, and environment and collisions. Examples include CS-ABC running off the side of the runway, a flight control disconnecting, an airspace infringement, an emergency call, a bird strike that damages the aircraft and carburettor icing that endangers the flight.
A table of the list in groups, each with a PPL(A) example.
Where. Report through the system of the organisation that employs, contracts or uses you, such as an ATO. Failing that, use the system of the Member State that issued, validated or converted your licence, or EASA's system.
EASA's guidance for private pilots says to report if you suspect an occurrence is reportable but cannot be sure, and also to report occurrences outside the EU. Some items, such as unintentional loss of control, are reportable as soon as they happen; others need your judgement about whether anyone was or might have been endangered.
The pilot in command must report a mandatory-reportable occurrence within 72 hours of becoming aware of it, unless exceptional circumstances prevent it.
Two duties, two addressees. An accident or serious incident must be notified to the SIA without delay and is also an occurrence to be reported within 72 hours. A reportable incident triggers only the occurrence report.
Protection and just culture
Reports are for safety use only, and Member States never record personal details in the national database. Report information may not be used to attribute blame.
Just culture means front-line operators are not punished for actions, omissions or decisions that match their experience and training, while gross negligence, wilful violations and destructive acts are not tolerated. Subject to national criminal law, Member States refrain from prosecuting unpremeditated or inadvertent infringements that come to light only through reports. The protection does not cover wilful misconduct, or a manifest, severe and serious disregard of an obvious risk.
Report information may not be used to attribute blame. Protection does not cover wilful misconduct or manifest, severe disregard of an obvious risk.
Worked examples
These exercises do not replace ATO instruction.
Example 1: Propeller and tyre damage. Given: CS-ABC runs off the side of the runway. A propeller blade is bent and a tyre has burst. Nobody is hurt. Method: Run the classification questions in order. Working: No injury. A propeller and a tyre are both on the exclusion list. Not missing. So it is not an accident. Running off the side of the runway is a typical serious-incident example. Answer: Not an accident. It is at least an incident, and a serious incident if the circumstances showed a high probability of an accident. It is also reportable as a runway excursion.
Example 2: Hospital stay after a hard landing. Given: After a hard landing in CS-ABD, a passenger is in hospital for 60 hours from the next day. The aeroplane is undamaged. Working: Hospitalisation began within 7 days and exceeded 48 hours: a serious injury from being in the aircraft. Answer: Accident, despite no damage.
Example 3: The 72-hour limit. Given: A flight in CS-ABC ends at 1500 UTC on Friday. On Saturday at 0900 UTC you review your GPS track and realise you entered controlled airspace without clearance. Working: 72 hours / 24 hours per day = 3 days. 3 days after Saturday 0900 UTC is Tuesday 0900 UTC. An airspace infringement is on the simplified list. Answer: The report is due by Tuesday 0900 UTC.
In the real world
On 31 December 2022 at Bordeaux-Mérignac, one controller holding several positions lined up a Robin DR400 at the runway 23 threshold, then forgot it and cleared an Airbus A320 to land on the same runway. The DR400 pilot's call that he was still at the threshold prompted a go-around, and the A320 passed over the light aircraft at about 178 ft. Nobody was hurt and nothing was damaged, yet the BEA classified it as a serious incident: the high probability of an accident, not the outcome, set the category.
The BEA's recommendation targets controller staffing records, not individuals, which shows the no-blame aim in practice. The light-aircraft pilot's radio call was a safety barrier.
Exam traps
"A bent propeller is always an accident." It is not. Damage limited to propellers, wing tips, tyres and similar parts, or to a single engine, does not meet the damage condition.
"A serious incident means someone was seriously injured." No. A serious incident is defined by a high probability of an accident. A serious injury from the aircraft makes the event an accident.
"After an accident I have 72 hours to notify the SIA." There are two duties: notify the SIA without delay, and report the occurrence within 72 hours of becoming aware.
Explain it back
In your own words, explain why landing CS-ABC with only a bent propeller and nobody hurt is not an "accident", yet may still need a report. Then say who you would notify, and how soon, if it had been an accident, and why the investigators are not trying to blame you.
Self-check
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What is the sole aim of an EU safety investigation into an aircraft accident?mcq · easy
Show answer
The only aim is prevention. The investigation is independent of, and separate from, any court or administrative proceeding that looks for blame or liability, so options A and C describe other processes. Option D is a compliance check, which is not the purpose of a safety investigation either.
Reference: Reg. (EU) No 996/2010 Art. 1(1); Reg. (EU) No 996/2010 Art. 5(6)
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On final approach in CS-ABC, you must manoeuvre sharply to avoid a near collision with another aircraft. Nobody is hurt and neither aircraft is damaged. How is this event classified?mcq · medium
Show answer
A serious incident is defined by circumstances that show a high probability of an accident, and a near collision needing an avoidance manoeuvre is a typical example. No injury, damage or missing aircraft is needed. A is wrong because an accident needs a fatal or serious injury, qualifying damage, or a missing aircraft. B is wrong because the high probability lifts the event above an ordinary incident. C is wrong because the event happened between boarding and disembarkation, so it counts.
Reference: Reg. (EU) No 996/2010 Art. 2(16); Reg. (EU) No 996/2010 Annex
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An aircraft registered in Portugal is operated by a company whose principal place of business is in Spain. It has an accident in France. Which State is the State of the Operator in the ICAO sense?mcq · easy
Show answer
The State of the Operator is the State of the operator's principal place of business, here Spain. Portugal is the State of Registry, because the aircraft is entered on its register. France is the State of Occurrence, because the accident happened in its territory. The State of Manufacture has jurisdiction over final assembly, which is a different role.
Reference: ICAO Annex 13, Chapter 1 (Definitions)
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Your CS-ABC, with an MTOM at or below 2 250 kg, lands badly. A passenger has a fractured thigh bone and is taken to hospital. The aeroplane is still on the runway. What do you do?mcq · hard
Show answer
A fractured thigh bone is a serious injury, so this is an accident. The person involved must notify the investigation authority without delay and leave the site alone, except for safety, helping injured people, or express permission. A is wrong on both counts. B confuses the licensing authority with the investigation authority, and the 72 hours belong to the separate occurrence report. D is wrong because the discretion not to investigate applies only without fatal or serious injury, and it never removes the duty to notify.
Reference: Reg. (EU) No 996/2010 Art. 9(1); Reg. (EU) No 996/2010 Art. 13(2); Reg. (EU) No 996/2010 Art. 5(5)
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A flight in CS-ABC ends at 1500 UTC on Friday. At 0900 UTC on Saturday you review your GPS track and realise you infringed controlled airspace. By what time must you submit the mandatory occurrence report, if no exceptional circumstances prevent it?mcq · medium
Show answer
The 72 hours start when you become aware, Saturday 0900 UTC. 72 hours is 3 days, so the deadline is Tuesday 0900 UTC. Monday 1500 UTC counts from the end of the flight, which is the wrong start point. Wednesday 0900 UTC adds an extra day. Without delay is the standard for notifying the investigation authority of an accident or serious incident, not for the occurrence report.
Reference: Reg. (EU) No 376/2014 Art. 4(7); Reg. (EU) 2015/1018 Annex V, 1.3(2)
Key concepts
Written with ASD-STE100 writing principles: short sentences, one topic per sentence, active voice, one word for one meaning.
Prevention, not blame
A safety investigation has one aim: to prevent future accidents and incidents. It never apportions blame or liability. It is independent of, and separate from, any court process that looks for blame.
Rule: Reg. (EU) No 996/2010 Art. 1(1), 5(6)
Do not: Do not use investigation findings to decide who is at fault.
Classifying an event
An event counts only when it is linked to operating the aircraft and falls inside the boarding-to-disembarkation window. An accident needs a fatal or serious injury, qualifying damage, or a missing or inaccessible aircraft. A serious incident shows a high probability of an accident, and nobody needs to be hurt. An incident affects the safety of operation, or can affect it.
Rule: Reg. (EU) No 996/2010 Art. 2(1), 2(7), 2(16)
Damage exclusions
Damage limited to a propeller, wing tip, tyre or brake does not make an accident on its own. The same applies to engine failure or damage limited to a single engine, including its cowlings and accessories. A fatal or serious injury still makes the event an accident.
Rule: Reg. (EU) No 996/2010 Art. 2(1)(b)
Do not: Do not classify damage to a propeller or tyre as an accident on its own.
Injury definitions
A fatal injury causes death within 30 days of the accident. A serious injury meets at least one of six criteria. One criterion is a hospital stay of more than 48 hours that begins within 7 days of the injury.
Rule: Reg. (EU) No 996/2010 Art. 2(5), 2(17)
Do not: Do not count a simple fracture of a finger, toe or nose as a serious injury.
Occurrence report deadline
The pilot in command must report a reportable occurrence within 72 hours after awareness of it, unless exceptional circumstances prevent it. The 72 hours start at awareness, not when the event happened. If the pilot in command cannot report, the next crew member in the chain of command reports.
Rule: Reg. (EU) No 376/2014 Art. 4(6)-(7)
Do: Do count the 72 hours from the moment you become aware of the occurrence.
Duties after an accident
Every person involved must notify the SIA without delay after an accident or serious incident. Until the investigators arrive, do not change the site or move the wreckage. The exceptions are safety, help for injured people, or express permission from the authorities in charge of the site. Every person involved must also preserve documents, material and recordings.
Rule: Reg. (EU) No 996/2010 Art. 9(1), 13(2)-(3)
Do not: Do not allow recordings of conversations and alarms to be erased after the flight.
Which State investigates
The State of Occurrence investigates an accident or serious incident. For a manned aircraft of 2 250 kg MTOM or less, with no fatal or serious injury, the SIA can decide not to investigate. That choice is not an exemption from notification.
Rule: Reg. (EU) No 996/2010 Art. 5(1), 5(5)
Do not: Do not skip the notification, even when the SIA can decide not to investigate.
Just culture
Just culture means front-line operators are not punished for actions that match their experience and training. Gross negligence, wilful violations and destructive acts are not tolerated. The protection does not cover wilful misconduct.
Rule: Reg. (EU) No 376/2014 Art. 2(12), 16(6)-(10)
Do not: Do not assume the protection covers a wilful violation or gross negligence.
Flashcards
Print them: A6 landscape cards (PDF, front and back) · 4 cards per A4 landscape sheet (PDF, cut lines) · Key figures deck (PDF, 12 figures)
Print double-sided, flip on the short edge.
010-12-01-01What is the one aim of an EU safety investigation?
To prevent future accidents and incidents. It never apportions blame or liability.
010-12-01-02Is a safety investigation separate from a court case about blame?
Yes. It is independent of, and separate from, any court or administrative proceeding that looks for blame.
010-12-01-03Does a bent propeller alone make an accident?
No. Damage limited to a propeller, wing tip, tyre or brake does not make an accident on its own.
010-12-01-04Which engine damage does not meet the damage condition?
Engine failure or damage limited to a single engine, including its cowlings or accessories.
010-12-01-05Does a fatal or serious injury still count if the damage is excluded?
Yes. The event is still an accident under the injury condition.
010-12-01-06How many days after the accident does death make an injury fatal?
Death within 30 days of the date of the accident makes the injury fatal.
010-12-01-07When is a hospital stay a serious injury?
When it lasts more than 48 hours and starts within 7 days of the injury.
010-12-01-08Which burns make an injury serious?
Second- or third-degree burns, or any burns affecting more than 5 % of the body surface.
010-12-01-09Is a simple fracture of a finger, toe or nose a serious injury?
No. A fracture of any bone is serious, except a simple fracture of a finger, toe or nose.
010-12-01-10What makes an event a serious incident?
An incident whose circumstances show a high probability of an accident, in the same window.
010-12-01-11Must a serious incident involve someone hurt or damage?
No. Nobody needs to be hurt and nothing needs to be damaged. The outcome sets the category, not the danger felt.
010-12-01-12Which question comes first when you classify an event?
Is it linked to operating the aircraft and inside the boarding-to-disembarkation window?
010-12-01-13What is an event with a missing aircraft classified as?
An accident. A missing or inaccessible aircraft is one of the three accident conditions.
010-12-01-14Who must notify the SIA after an accident or serious incident?
Every person involved, without delay. No number of hours is set for it.
010-12-01-15What do you do with the wreckage until the investigators arrive?
Leave the site and the wreckage alone. Exceptions: safety, help for injured people, or express permission.
010-12-01-16What must you preserve after an accident or serious incident?
Documents, material and recordings. Recordings of conversations and alarms must not be erased after the flight.
010-12-01-17Who reports an occurrence within 72 hours?
The pilot in command. If unable, the next crew member in the chain of command reports.
010-12-01-18How long does the pilot in command have to report an occurrence?
72 hours after becoming aware of it, unless exceptional circumstances prevent it.
010-12-01-19When does the 72-hour occurrence clock start?
At awareness of the occurrence, not when the event happened.
010-12-01-20When can the SIA decide not to investigate?
For a manned aircraft of 2 250 kg MTOM or less with no fatal or serious injury. Notification still applies.
010-12-01-21Which State investigates an accident or serious incident in its territory?
The State of Occurrence, where the accident or serious incident happens.
010-12-01-22Is the ICAO duty to investigate a serious incident the same as the EU rule?
No. ICAO makes it a Standard only above 2 250 kg maximum mass. At or below that, it is a Recommendation.
010-12-01-23What is the target for publishing the final investigation report?
As soon as possible and, if possible, within 12 months of the event.
010-12-01-24What does the SIA publish if the final report is not out within 12 months?
An interim statement, at least at each anniversary of the event.
010-12-01-25How long does the addressee have to reply to a safety recommendation?
90 days, to say what action is taken or planned.
010-12-01-26How long does the SIA have to judge a recommendation reply?
60 days, to say whether the reply is adequate.
010-12-01-27What is a safety recommendation?
An SIA proposal to prevent accidents and incidents. It creates no presumption of blame.
010-12-01-28Are actions that match your experience and training punished under just culture?
No. Front-line operators are not punished for them, but gross negligence and wilful violations are not tolerated.
010-12-01-29Does just culture protect wilful misconduct?
No. The protection does not cover wilful misconduct or a manifest, severe disregard of an obvious risk.
010-12-01-30Can an occurrence report be used against the reporter?
No. In disciplinary or administrative proceedings, report contents must not be used against the reporter.
010-12-01-31Does an accident or serious incident need one report or two?
Two duties: notify the SIA without delay, and report the occurrence within 72 hours.
Sources
- Regulation (EU) No 996/2010 on the investigation and prevention of accidents and incidents in civil aviation, EUR-Lex consolidated version 19.05.2024: Articles 1-5, 8-18, 20, 23, 24 and Annex.
- Regulation (EU) No 376/2014 on the reporting, analysis and follow-up of occurrences in civil aviation, EUR-Lex consolidated version 11.09.2018: Articles 1-7, 13, 15, 16.
- Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) 2015/1018, Article 1 and Annex V (classification of occurrences), EUR-Lex consolidated version 17.08.2026.
- ICAO Annex 13, Aircraft Accident and Incident Investigation, 13th edition, July 2024: Chapter 1, Chapter 2, 3.1-3.3, 5.1-5.1.2, 6.5-6.6.
- EASA, Easy Access Rules for Occurrence Reporting, GM Section 5 "Private pilots", revision December 2022: easa.europa.eu.
- Regulation (EU) 2018/1139 (Basic Regulation), Article 2(3)(d) and Annex I, EUR-Lex consolidated version 02.08.2026.
- EASA Easy Access Rules for Aircrew, November 2025: AMC1 FCL.210; FCL.215 (syllabus rows).
- BEA, final report BEA2023-0004 (Airbus A320 OE-INE and Robin DR400 F-GTZY, Bordeaux-Merignac, 31 December 2022), published 5 April 2024: bea.aero.
This page is educational. It does not replace instruction at your ATO or your aircraft's POH/AFM. Rules change: check the regulation in force.