Framework and significance of technical investigations
Within the framework of the International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO), common provisions for organising investigations into aviation accidents and incidents have been adopted by the majority of countries. These provisions are collected in Annex 13 to the Chicago Convention, entitled “Aircraft Accident and Incident Investigations”. In paragraph 5.3 of this document, “When the location of the accident or serious incident cannot definitely be established as being in the territory of any State, the State of Registry shall institute and conduct any necessary investigation of the accident…”. A European Directive of 21 November 1994 (94/56/CE) and the French Law of 29 March 1999, provide details of the application of these provisions in relation to France.
It should be noted that the sole intention of the technical investigation is to prevent future accidents. In order to achieve this, the investigation focuses on determining and understanding the circumstances of an event, on identifying its causes and on applying any lessons learned, without trying to identify any possible liability or blame. Its scope is therefore distinct from that of any investigation that may be conducted by the judicial authorities.
The investigation can lead the BEA to issue safety recommendations, which are proposed courses of action that are considered as useful for aviation safety on the basis of the investigators’ findings. Such recommendations, as the European Directive 94/56/CE states, can in no way be considered to constitute a presumption of liability or blame.
The investigation concludes with the issuing of a report, which is made public. For public transport accidents, its presentation follows an internationally determined format, as defined in Annex 13, which is based on four main sections. These contain the factual information, the analysis, the conclusions and the safety recommendations. Since an investigation into an aviation disaster generally takes a considerable time, interim reports can be published before the end of the investigation.
