Aircraft Accident and Incident Investigation — Page 492, Lesson 656

I want to walk you through the very foundation of accident and incident investigation in aviation. This is where the entire legal framework starts, so let's build it carefully from the ground up. First, the master document. The ICAO Standards and Recommended Practices — we call them SARPs — for the investigation of aircraft accidents and incidents are contained in Annex 13 to the Chicago Convention. So when anyone in the world talks about how an accident investigation should be run, they are referring to Annex 13. That is your governing standard. Now, applicability. Unless otherwise stated, the specifications for investigations apply to activities following accidents and incidents wherever they occurred. That is a deliberately broad statement — it means the rules follow the event, not the location. But there is an important qualification about the State of the Operator. Let me define that term. The State of the Operator is the state in which the aircraft operator is based or has its principal place of business. In Annex 13, the specifications concerning the State of the Operator apply only under three conditions: when the aircraft is leased, chartered or interchanged; and when that State is not the State of Registry; and if that State discharges, in respect of the annex, in part or in whole, the functions and obligations of the State of Registry. So the State of Registry is the state in which the aircraft is registered. Normally that state runs the show. But if an aircraft is leased, chartered or interchanged, and the operator's state is different from the registry state, then the operator's state can step in and take over some or all of the registry state's duties under Annex 13. Now the central definition — what actually counts as an accident. This is precise, and you need it word-perfect. An accident is defined as an occurrence associated with the operation of an aircraft which takes place between the time any person boards the aircraft with the intention of flight until such time as all such persons have disembarked. So the time window is critical: it starts when the first person steps on board intending to fly, and it ends only when the last person has got off. Anything that happens in that window, associated with the operation of the aircraft, is a candidate. Within that window, an accident exists if any one of three things happens. Let me take them one at a time. First, a person is fatally or seriously injured. That injury must result from one of three causes: being in the aircraft; or direct contact with any part of the aircraft, including parts which have become detached from the aircraft; or direct exposure to jet blast. But there are exceptions. The injury does not count if it is from natural causes, or self-inflicted, or inflicted by other persons. And it does not count if the injuries are to a stowaway hiding outside the areas normally available to the passengers and crew. So a heart attack on board is not an accident under this definition. A passenger attacking another passenger is not an accident. And a stowaway in the wheel well who gets hurt is not an accident. Second, the aircraft sustains damage or structural failure. But not just any damage. The damage must adversely affect the structural strength, performance or flight characteristics of the aircraft, and it must normally require major repair or replacement of the affected component. And again there are exceptions. It is not an accident if the damage is limited to engine failure or damage confined to the engine, its cowlings or accessories. It is also not an accident if the damage is limited to propellers, wing tips, antennas, tyres, brakes, fairings, small dents or puncture holes in the aircraft skin. So a blown tyre on landing, a dented wing tip, a stone chip in the skin — those do not elevate the event to accident status. Third, the aircraft is missing or completely inaccessible. If you cannot find the aircraft, or you cannot physically reach it, that is an accident regardless of what happened to it. Now, one note that ties the whole thing together. The difference between an accident and a serious incident lies only in the result. That is a subtle but crucial point. The same kind of event, the same chain of circumstances, can be classified one way or the other purely based on what actually happened — whether someone was seriously injured, whether the aircraft was substantially damaged, whether it disappeared. The event itself is not inherently an accident or a serious incident; the outcome decides the label. So when you are classifying an event, you work through that definition step by step. Check the time window. Check whether a person was injured and whether any exception applies. Check whether the aircraft was damaged and whether that damage meets the threshold. Check whether the aircraft is missing or inaccessible. Only then do you know whether you are dealing with an accident under Annex 13.