Air Safety Investigation Online Course Types of Investigations

An aircraft accident is first and
foremost a tragedy. From the moment such a tragedy occurs, the clock starts
ticking as people start looking for answers. This can lead to speculation, frustration,
and potentially a lot of misinformation and misunderstanding regarding the
events that surrounded the tragedy. The past has shown us that the most
effective way to get to the answers is through an investigation.

However, there
is a complication. If we start to look at all those different people that are
directly or indirectly affected by an accident it appears on the surface that they all
have the same motive; they all want to get to the bottom of what happened. Beneath the surface, though, each of these
parties has different underlying motives for wanting to find out what happened. Furthermore some of these underlying
motives conflict with each other and may influence how the parties behave in an
investigation.

For this reason, rather than one single investigation, two
different investigations are conducted. A judicial investigation looks at what
happened from the motive of apportioning blame or liability. It seeks to look back
and see who's at fault. An air safety investigation looks at what happened
from the motive of identifying safety hazards, and preventing re-occurrences.

It
seeks to look forward and improve future air safety. There is a separation between
these two investigations. An internationally agreed-upon set of rules
defines the terms of this separation known as Annex 13 to the Convention
of International Civil Aviation: Air Accident and Incident Investigation, or
simply Annex 13 for short. Both investigations get access to the
same factual data, such as access to the wreckage and witnesses, but each
investigation needs to conduct their own analysis.

In this way it is easier for
parties to participate in the analysis and interpretation of data for the
safety investigation, without the risk of incriminating themselves..