UNITED STATES
Accident Or Incident? Explaining Aircraft Damage Assessment By Mike Hodges, Air Safety Investigator, and Clint Crookshanks, Aerospace Engineer (Structures) When an aircraft crashes, National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) air safety investigators and aerospace engineers must determine if the event can be classified as an accident or an incident, as defined by Title 49 Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) Part 830.
An accident is: “…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 and all such persons have disembarked, and in which any person suffers death or serious injury, or in which the aircraft receives substantial damage.”
Figure 1. A Cessna 170 airplane sustained substantial damage to the left wing, due to ground impact after an aerodynamic stall on takeoff in Arctic Village, Alaska.
An incident is: “…an occurrence other than an accident, associated with the operation of an aircraft, which affects or could affect the safety of operations.” Figure 2. An Enstrom F280-F helicopter sustained substantial
Although the determination of an accident focuses on damage as well as injuries, here we will focus on damage assessment. So, when assessing the damage, how do we decide what’s an accident and what’s an incident? When we’re first notified about an adverse aircraft event, we begin to assess the aircraft damage. NTSB investigators and engineers attempt to obtain as much information as possible about the damage. Sometimes we’re given information that makes it obvious the aircraft sustained substantial damage, such as the photos showing the extent of the damage (see Figures 1–3). Figures 1-3 show the substantial damage as indicated by the arrows.
damage to the tail boom, during a practice run-on landing in Sodus, New York.
Figure 3. A Piper PA-24-250 airplane sustained substantial damage to the left wing, after impacting a light pole during an instrument approach in Sturgis, South Dakota. ➤
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