Definitions

For the purposes of this Regulation, the following definitions shall apply:

‘accident’ means an occurrence associated with the operation of an aircraft which, in the case of a manned aircraft, takes place between the time any person boards the aircraft with the intention of flight until such time as all such persons have disembarked, or in the case of an unmanned aircraft, takes place between the time the aircraft is ready to move with the purpose of flight until such time it comes to rest at the end of the flight and the primary propulsion system is shut down, in which:

a person is fatally or seriously injured as a result of:

being in the aircraft, or,

direct contact with any part of the aircraft, including parts which have become detached from the aircraft, or,

direct exposure to jet blast,

except when the injuries are from natural causes, self-inflicted or inflicted by other persons, or when the injuries are to stowaways hiding outside the areas normally available to the passengers and crew; or

the aircraft sustains damage or structural failure which adversely affects the structural strength, performance or flight characteristics of the aircraft, and would normally require major repair or replacement of the affected component, except for engine failure or damage, when the damage is limited to a single engine, (including its cowlings or accessories), to propellers, wing tips, antennas, probes, vanes, tires, brakes, wheels, fairings, panels, landing gear doors, windscreens, the aircraft skin (such as small dents or puncture holes) or minor damages to main rotor blades, tail rotor blades, landing gear, and those resulting from hail or bird strike, (including holes in the radome); or

the aircraft is missing or is completely inaccessible;

‘accredited representative’ means a person designated by a State, on the basis of his or her qualifications, for the purpose of participating in a safety investigation conducted by another State. An accredited representative designated by a Member State shall be from a safety investigation authority;

‘adviser’ means a person appointed by a State, on the basis of his or her qualifications, for the purpose of assisting its accredited representative in a safety investigation;

‘causes’ means actions, omissions, events, conditions, or a combination thereof, which led to the accident or incident; the identification of causes does not imply the assignment of fault or the determination of administrative, civil or criminal liability;

‘fatal injury’ means an injury which is sustained by a person in an accident and which results in his or her death within 30 days of the date of the accident;

‘flight recorder’ means any type of recorder installed in the aircraft for the purpose of facilitating accident/incident safety investigations;

‘incident’ means an occurrence, other than an accident, associated with the operation of an aircraft which affects or could affect the safety of operation;

‘international standards and recommended practices’ means international standards and recommended practices for aircraft accident and incident investigation adopted in accordance with Article 37 of the Chicago Convention;

‘investigator-in-charge’ means a person charged, on the basis of his or her qualifications, with responsibility for the organisation, conduct and control of a safety investigation;

‘operator’ means any natural or legal person, operating or proposing to operate one or more aircraft;

‘person involved’ means the owner, a member of the crew, the operator of the aircraft involved in an accident or serious incident; any person involved in the maintenance, design, manufacture of that aircraft or in the training of its crew; any person involved in the provision of air traffic control, flight information or aerodrome services, who have provided services for the aircraft; staff of the national civil aviation authority; or staff of EASA;

‘preliminary report’ means the communication used for the prompt dissemination of data obtained during the early stages of the investigation;

‘relatives’ means the immediate family and/or next of kin and/or other person closely connected with the victim of an accident, as defined under the national law of the victim;

‘safety investigation’ means a process conducted by a safety investigation authority for the purpose of accident and incident prevention which includes 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;

‘safety recommendation’ means a proposal of a safety investigation authority, based on information derived from a safety investigation or other sources such as safety studies, made with the intention of preventing accidents and incidents;

‘serious incident’ means an incident involving circumstances indicating that there was a high probability of an accident and is associated with the operation of an aircraft, which in the case of a manned aircraft, takes place between the time any person boards the aircraft with the intention of flight until such time as all such persons have disembarked, or in the case of an unmanned aircraft, takes place between the time the aircraft is ready to move with the purpose of flight until such time it comes to rest at the end of the flight and the primary propulsion system is shut down. A list of examples of serious incidents is set out in the Annex;

‘serious injury’ means an injury which is sustained by a person in an accident and which involves one of the following:

hospitalisation for more than 48 hours, commencing within 7 days from the date the injury was received;

a fracture of any bone (except simple fractures of fingers, toes, or nose);

lacerations which cause severe haemorrhage, nerve, muscle or tendon damage;

injury to any internal organ;

second or third degree burns, or any burns affecting more than 5 % of the body surface;

verified exposure to infectious substances or harmful radiation.

REGULATION (EU) No 996/2010 OF THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND OF THE COUNCIL of 20 October 2010 on the investigation and prevention of accidents and incidents in civil aviation and repealing Directive 94/56/EC ANNEX