Accident and Incident Investigation and Reporting
This domain tests Annex 13, the Aircraft (Investigation of Accidents and Incidents) Rules 2012, and the notification duties that fall on crews and operators. The investigative purpose is prevention, not the apportionment of blame - a distinction examiners use repeatedly.
Definitions that decide everything
- Accident: an occurrence associated with aircraft operation in which a person suffers fatal or serious injury, the aircraft sustains substantial damage, or the aircraft is missing or inaccessible.
- Serious incident: circumstances indicating a high probability of an accident, listed in Annex 13.
- Incident: any occurrence, other than an accident, affecting safety of operation.
A hard landing with no injury and no substantial damage is an incident; a gear-up landing with structural damage is an accident.
Reporting duties
- The commander or operator notifies the State of Occurrence and the State of Registry without delay; the Indian channel is the AAIB with DGCA notification. Annex 13 contemplates notification within 24 hours where practicable.
- Preliminary report within 30 days, final report within 12 months, both subject to extension. India follows this in the 2012 Rules.
- Flight recorders are preserved and protected; their use is limited to investigation. Mandatory occurrence reporting systems operate in parallel.
The States involved
State of Occurrence (conducts the investigation), State of Registry, State of Operator, State of Design and State of Manufacture may all participate; accredited representatives and advisers are the mechanism.
Worked example
An aircraft suffers a runway excursion causing the collapse of the nose gear and substantial structural damage, with one passenger hospitalised. That combination of substantial damage plus serious injury makes it an accident, not a serious incident; the crew must notify without delay, preserve the CVR and FDR, secure the site and refrain from public speculation.
Traps
Treating blame as the objective. Delaying notification to protect the schedule. Using CVR content for non-investigative purposes. Confusing the 30-day preliminary and 12-month final report timelines.