International Regulations
ICAO

Over the years, a number of measures have been adopted under the auspices of the International Civil Aviation Organisation to organise investigations into accidents and, recently, incidents. In fact, when it comes to aviation safety, the international dimension is inescapable, and there can be no frontiers. International co-operation is therefore essential.

These measures are included in Article 26 of the Convention on International Civil Aviation and in Annex 13 of the same Convention. The overall organisation of investigations is codified, along with the rules for notification of events and the presentation and dissemination of results.

States are obliged to institute an investigation in case of an accident or serious incident on their territory. It is specified that " the sole aim of an investigation into an accident or an incident is to prevent future accidents or incidents " and that " this activity shall in no case be concerned with apportioning blame or liability ". The close association of the representatives of the state of registration, of operation, of design and construction of the aircraft is defined : the investigating state benefits from their knowledge and skills, allowing for rapid and complete feedback regarding safety issues.

EUROPEAN UNION

In Europe, a 1994 Directive (94/56/CE) outlined the legal framework for accident investigations closely following the rules mentioned above. It specifies that an investigation, systematically in the case of an accident or serious incident, shall be conducted or supervised by a permanent specialised organisation, that this organisation be functionally independent of the aviation authorities responsible for airworthiness, air traffic control, etc., as well as of any of any other interested party, and that the report be made public.

In addition, co-ordination between the different European investigative bodies was established in the context of the European Civil Aviation Conference (ECAC). This co-ordination relates to the methods and practices of the investigation, in particular with the objective of improving the integration of new member states, and to information exchange.