Report a civil aviation Accident
or Serious Incident

In summary, simply put:

A civil aviation occurrence is characterized as Accident when it is associated with the operation of an aircraft and in which:

1. a person is fatally or seriously injured , or
2. the aircraft sustains substantial 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 (not including engine failures or other simple failures), or
3. the aircraft is missing or is completely inaccessible.

A civil aviation occurrence, other than an accident,  is classified as Serious Incident when it is associated with the operation of an aircraft affecting the safety of operation and involving circumstances indicating that there was a high probability of an accident (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 E.U Regulation 996/2010 Annex.

For details refer to the EU regulation. 996/2010 and especially in article 2: "Definitions"

Anyone can report a civil aviation Accident or Serious Incident to AAIASB

You should report it to AAIASB if you have even the slightest suspicion that it might be a "Serious Incident". AAIASB will decide on the classification of the incident and on its eventual Safety Investigation, based on the details of the incident, the International and European Recommended Practices and the applicable Legal Framework.

No, there is no problem if an occurrence is reported from multiple sources. You may even think that it is already known while this is not the case. Additional important information you have about the occurrence may also be provided by your report. Especially if you have recordings of the occurrence you should definitely report to AAIASB and hand over the data. Any information you may have would be valuable to us.

No, by no means. The AAIASB, like all European Safety Investigation Authorities, is NOT concerned with aconcerned with apportioning blame or liability. Reports and witness statements are confidential and are not handed over to other authorities (Judicial, Police, etc.) unless there are established illegal actions that are not directly related to civil aviation safety (eg smuggling, etc.), in which case they should also be reported to the police or the judicial authorities. In any case, AAIASB is only interested in deficiencies in the cycle of design, manufacture and use of aircraft exclusively for the improvement of flight safety.

It is definitely recommended to contact us. You can initially use one of the initial witness report forms below by filling in your details and answering simple questions about the incident. You can contact us by any means such as email or office phone or even on the 24-hour standby mobile if you have important information about the occurrence. In any case, you should not worry and hesitate because any information you will provide may be extremely useful in understanding the events and factors that contributed to the occurrence, with the sole aim of improving flight safety. Interviews of witnesses by AAIASB Safety Investigators are conducted as simple discussions in a friendly tone and have nothing to do with assigning blame or liability.