Definitions
The law of accident investigation rests on a handful of precisely worded definitions in ICAO Annex 13 — Aircraft Accident and Incident Investigation, Chapter 1. Whether an occurrence counts as an accident, a serious incident or a mere incident determines who must be notified and whether a safety investigation is mandatory. The same definitions are carried word-for-word into EU law, and they are among the most reliably tested items in the Air Law exam.
Accident — the time window
An accident is an occurrence associated with the operation of an aircraft. For a manned aircraft, the definition applies only within a fixed time window: from the moment any person boards the aircraft with the intention of flight until the moment all such persons have disembarked. A passenger injured on the apron before boarding, for example, has not suffered an aviation accident in the Annex 13 sense.
Accident — the three criteria
Within that window, the occurrence is an accident if at least one of three criteria is fulfilled:
| Criterion | Counts as an accident | Expressly excluded |
|---|---|---|
| Person | A person is fatally or seriously injured as a result of being in the aircraft, direct contact with any part of the aircraft (including parts which have become detached), or direct exposure to jet blast | Injuries from natural causes, self-inflicted or inflicted by other persons; injuries to stowaways hiding outside the areas normally available to passengers and crew |
| Aircraft | The aircraft sustains damage or structural failure which adversely affects structural strength, performance or flight characteristics and would normally require major repair or replacement of the affected component | Engine failure or damage limited to a single engine (including its cowlings or accessories); damage to propellers, wing tips, antennas, tyres, brakes or fairings; small dents or puncture holes in the skin |
| Missing | The aircraft is missing or completely inaccessible | — |
Practical consequence for the light-aeroplane pilot: a hard landing that wrinkles the wing structure is an accident; a burst tyre or a damaged propeller alone is not, because both fall under the express exclusions.
Fatal and serious injury
A fatal injury is an injury which results in death within 30 days of the date of the accident.
A serious injury is an injury which:
- requires hospitalisation for more than 48 hours, commencing within 7 days of the injury, or
- results in a fracture of any bone (except simple fractures of fingers, toes or the nose), or
- involves lacerations causing severe haemorrhage or nerve, muscle or tendon damage, or
- involves injury to any internal organ, or
- involves second- or third-degree burns, or any burns affecting more than 5 % of the body surface, or
- involves verified exposure to infectious substances or injurious radiation.
Incident and serious incident
An incident is an occurrence, other than an accident, associated with the operation of an aircraft which affects or could affect the safety of operation.
A serious incident is an incident involving circumstances indicating that there was a high probability of an accident. The difference between an accident and a serious incident lies only in the result. Annex 13 Attachment C gives typical examples: a near collision requiring an avoidance manoeuvre, controlled flight into terrain (CFIT) only narrowly avoided, loss of control, a collision during taxi or take-off, an engine fire, severe structural damage, or an emergency landing with or without success.
Investigation
An investigation is a process conducted for the purpose of accident prevention. It comprises the gathering and analysis of information, the drawing of conclusions — including the determination of cause(s) and/or contributing factors — and, when appropriate, the making of safety recommendations.
From ICAO into EU and German law
Regulation (EU) 996/2010 on the investigation and prevention of accidents and incidents in civil aviation adopts the Annex 13 definitions verbatim in Article 2. In Germany the regulation applies directly; the competent safety investigation authority is the Bundesstelle für Flugunfalluntersuchung (BFU) in Braunschweig (see the lesson "Investigation objective"), and the national framework, the Flugunfall-Untersuchungs-Gesetz (FlUUG), uses the same definitions unchanged.
Exam essentials
- An accident can only occur between the moment a person boards the aircraft with the intention of flight and the moment all such persons have disembarked.
- A fatal injury is one that results in death within 30 days of the accident.
- A serious injury includes hospitalisation for more than 48 hours commencing within 7 days of the injury, and any bone fracture except simple fractures of fingers, toes or the nose.
- Damage limited to a single engine, propellers, wing tips, antennas, tyres, brakes, fairings, or small dents or holes in the skin does not by itself make an occurrence an accident.
- An aircraft that is missing or completely inaccessible counts as an accident.
- A serious incident differs from an accident only in the result: the circumstances indicated a high probability of an accident.
- The ICAO Annex 13 definitions are adopted unchanged into EU law by Regulation (EU) 996/2010, Art. 2.