ACCIDENT INVESTIGATION UNIT
INTERNATIONAL OBLIGATIONS AND LOCAL LEGAL REQUIREMENTS FOR AIRCRAFT ACCIDENT INVESTIGATION
Being a member State of ICAO, Sri Lanka is obligated to comply with the Standards and Recommended Practices contained in Annexes to the convention on International Civil Aviation.
ICAO Annex 13 contains Standards and Recommended Practices relating to conduct of Aircraft Accident and Incident Investigations. Chapter XVI of the Air Navigation Regulations of Sri Lanka 1955 contains the applicable Regulations on Aircraft Accident Investigation.
The Director General of Civil Aviation, as the Chief Inspector of Accident is vested with powers;
to carry out an investigation
to take statements from relevant persons
to have access to and examine any aircraft involved in an accident
to examine, remove, test, take measures
to enter & inspect any place or building for the purpose of the investigation
to take measures for the preservation of evidence
to publish the whole or part of the report upon the completion of an investigation
The sole objective of the investigation of an accident or incident shall be the prevention of accidents and incidents due to similar causes in future. It is not the purpose of the investigation to apportion blame or liability.
Any judicial or administrative proceedings to apportion blame or liability should be separate. The emphasis of an investigation is on remedial action.
AN ACCIDENT MEANS,
"Accident" means an occurrence associated with the operation of an aircraft which takes place between the time any person boards the aircraft with the intention of flight until such time as all persons have disembarked, in which:
- 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 from the aircraft; or
- direct exposure to jet blast,
except when the injuries arise from natural causes, are self-inflicted or inflicted by other persons, or when the injuries are to stowaways hiding outside the areas normally available to 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 which is limited to the engine, its cowlings or accessories, or for damage limited to propellers, wing tips, antennas, tyres, brakes, fairings, small dents or puncture holes in the aircraft skin; or
- the aircraft is missing or completely inaccessible.
A SERIOUS INCIDENT MEANS,
"Serious incident" means an incident involving circumstances indicating that an accident nearly occurred. Examples;
- A near collision requiring avoidance manoeuvre to avoid a collision or an unsafe situation or where an avoidance action would have been appropriate.
- A controlled flight into terrain only marginally avoided.
- An aborted take-off on a closed or engaged runway.
- A take-off from a closed or engaged runway with marginal separation from an obstacle.
- A landing or an attempted landing on a closed or engaged runway.
- A gross failure to achieve predicted performance during take-off or initial climb.
- Fire or smoke in the passenger compartment, in the cargo compartment or engine fire, even though such a fire was extinguished by the use of extinguishing agents.
- An event requiring the emergency use of oxygen by the flight crew.
- An aircraft structural failure or engine disintegration not classified as an accident.
- Multiple malfunctions of one or more aircraft systems seriously affecting the operation of the aircraft.
- Flight crew incapacitation during flight.
- Fuel quantity requiring the declaration of an emergency by the pilot.
- A take-off or landing incident such as undershooting, overrunning or running off the side of runways.
- A system failure, weather phenomenon, an operation outside the approved flight envelope or other occurrence which could have caused difficulties controlling the aircraft.
- A failure of more than one system in a redundancy system mandatory for flight guidance or navigation.
- Decompression
- Runway incursion
- Bombonboard aircraft on ground or inflight
- Biological / Chemical threats onground or inflight
- Highjacking inflight or onground
- Any disruptive passenger incident. (any passenger who become disruptive during flight time any incident/accident occured pertaining to any passenger behave.)
- Any other incident on ground or in air or in and around operational airport where safety is impaired, which requires further investigations by CAASL as per the evaluation of Accountable Manager of the Responsible Organization.
ROLE OF CIVIL AVIATION AUTHORITY OF SRI LANKA, IN CASE OF AN ACCIDENT
- Conduct the investigation
- Issue a report
Report format >>
Aircraft Accident/Incident Investigation Reports >>
3.Implement measures
Safety Recommendations
The CAASL would recommend to the appropriate authorities, including those in other States, any preventive action which it considers necessary to be taken promptly to enhance aviation safety at any stage of an accident or incident investigation.
The CAASL will address, when appropriate, any safety rec¬ommendations arising out of its investigations, to the accident investigation authorities of other State(s) concerned and, when ICAO documents are involved, to ICAO.
Action on Safety Recomendation
The CAASL as the State receiving safety recommendations from another State, consequent to an Accident Incident Investigation carried out by that State will inform that state of the preventive action taken or under consideration, or the reasons as to why no action will be taken.
INFORMANTS OF ACCIDENTS AND SERIOUS INCIDENTS TO CAASL
Where an aircraft accident or serious incident occurs in Sri Lanka;
- Air Traffic Controller,
- The owner of the aircraft,
- Operator or pilot-in-command of the aircraft
- Handling Agent/Maintenance Organization/Airport Operator
- Police or Security Forces
- Local Authority,
- Eyewitness
- General Public
Where an accident or serious incident occurs overseas and involves a Sri Lankan registered aircraft or an aircraft operated by a Sri Lanka air operator;
- the owner,
- operator or pilot-in-command
- State of Occurrence is also required to report the occurrence to the CAASL as soon as possible.
Information the CAA is interested in;
- the identification of the person providing information
- the nature of the occurrence
- the date and local time of the occurrence
- location
- name of the owner, operator and hirer of the aircraft involved
- the manufacturer, model, nationality and registration marks and serial number of the aircraft
- the time and last point of departure and the next point of intended landing
- the name of the pilot-in-command and the nationality of the crew and passengers;
- the number of crew members and passengers on board the aircraft at the time of the occurrence;
- the number of fatalities of crew members, passengers or other persons respectively or seriously injured
- the extent of damage
- the position of the aircraft with reference to some easily identified geographical point
- the latitude and longitude and topographical characteristics;
- the presence and description of dangerous goods on board the aircraft.
When notifying the CAASL, notifying person should provide whatever information he is able to gather as soon as possible without waiting for all the information to become available. Details omitted from the notification may be provided later, when they become available.
Aircraft Accident Incident Reporting Form>>
CONTACT DETAILS;
CAASL - Accident Investigation Unit (AIU) Tel - +94-11-2433213 (Ext: 804)
(During office hours) +94-11-2391462
DGCA - +94 -777 352081 (24 hours)
Director/Flight Safety - +94 - 777 352082
Director/Aeronautical Services – +94 -777 352083
Fax: +94 – 11 – 2424540; +94 – 11 - 2440231
AIRCRAFT ACCIDENT INVESTIGATION PANEL
CAASL has appointed well qualified personnel with industry experience in the fields of flight operations, airworthiness, air traffic control and aviation medicine into above panel apart from the CAASL officials to assist the Director General of Civil Aviation in the conduct of investigations.
Members of the Panel outside CAA;
- Capt. H.C. Fernando -Tel +94-11-2375248, +94-77-3467777
- Capt. G.A. Fernando - Tel: +94-11-2604884, +94-11-2693337
- Capt. W.P.A. Jayasinghe - Tel +94-11-2400301, +94-77-2225858
- Capt. K.R. Yahampath - Tel +94-11-2519915, +94-77-7324672
- Mr. A. Wickramaarachchi - Tel +94-11-2926317, +94-777-344338
- Mr. L.O.A. De Silva -Tel +97-142-162-829, +97-142-244-502
- Mr. R.D.D. Jayasekera - Tel +94-11- 2713896
- Mr. D.A.G. Jayawardena - Tel +94-(0)197332018/2019
- Mr. Rally De Vaz - Tel: +94-(0)197332017
- Mr. H. Priyadarshan - Tel: +94-(0)197332105
- AVM Dr. N.H. Guneratne - Tel: +94-11-2421354
Contact information of Aircraft Accident Investigation Authoritis in other States http://www.icao.int/icaonet/adrep/files/addresses.htm
