ICAO 9962 PDF

FOREWORD

As a result of the ICAO Universal Safety Oversight Audit Programme (USOAP) audits and audit follow-ups, it was found that a number of States had developed and documented accident and incident investigation policies and procedures, often in the form of a manual on policies and procedures. In those cases, the manuals generally implemented the provisions of ICAO Annex 13 — Aircraft Accident and Incident Investigation as well as industry best practices and checklists for carrying out investigations. However, the USOAP audits also established that many States lacked this type of Annex 13 implementation tool and detailed guidance for carrying out investigations. The States that lacked such documented policies and procedures were found to have more audit findings than States that had a manual on policies and procedures in place.

During the Accident Investigation and Prevention (AIG) Divisional Meeting (2008) (AIG/08) held in Montréal from 13 to 18 October 2008, Recommendation 5/1 ⎯ Amendment to Chapter 5 (Annex 13) was developed by the meeting that urged amendment of Annex 13, Chapter 5, to include a new Recommended Practice as part of the responsibility of the State conducting the investigation as follows:

“5.4.2 Recommendation.— The accident investigation authority should develop documented policies and procedures detailing its accident investigation duties. These should include: organization and planning; investigation; and reporting

Moreover, the AIG/08 meeting developed Recommendation 5/2 ⎯ Accident Investigation Policies and Procedures Document, which urged, “That ICAO develop guidance in the form of a framework of documented policies and procedures for carrying out investigations, to be made available to States in an appropriate ICAO document”. This manual is in response to that recommendation.

The guidance provided in this manual is intended for use by those States that do not have in place policies and procedures to meet the requirements of Article 26 of the Chicago Convention and the Standards and Recommended Practices (SARPs) of Annex 13. The content of this manual is consistent with, and is organized in accordance with, guidance materials contained in the:

Manual of Aircraft Accident and Incident Investigation (Doc 9756)

Part I — Organization and Planning

Part II — Procedures and Checklists

Part III — Investigation (in preparation)

Part IV — Reporting

The material contained herein is presented for the benefit of States to use as an implementation tool for the development of a State’s policies and procedures manual for accident and incident investigation; it is consistent with best international practices, including policies and procedures examined during ICAO USOAP audits. The contents of the manual provide a template for States to modify, as necessary, their accident investigation documentation, to be in line with Annex 13 provisions and to standardize and harmonize accident investigation processes among ICAO Member States.

The vision of ICAO in developing this manual was to provide a document that States could use as a template to insert their State-specific material into a core document containing the essence of the most accepted and appropriate policies and procedures available, therefore ensuring compliance with Annex 13 during investigations carried out by all States.

Note 1.— Because this manual deals with accident, serious incident and incident investigations, for reasons of brevity, the terms “accidents” and “accident investigation”, as used herein, apply equally to “incidents” and “incident investigation”.

Note 2.— This manual is constructed in such a manner that, for a State that wishes to develop its own policies and procedures manual, it may “fill in the blanks” by inserting State-specific materials, such as legislation, regulations and names of organizations. In certain portions of the manual, where State-specific text would be required, such as the title of the accident investigation authority, the text is noted in italics enclosed in single brackets, such as [Name of State] or the [Investigation Authority].

Note 3.— In certain portions of this manual, comments and explanations are added in italics as “Notes” enclosed in double brackets ([[….]]) in order to provide better understanding of the suggested content. These notes are for information and clarification only and would not necessarily become part of the final manual; rather, they are intended to provide explanations or reasons for certain information to be included in a particular section of the manual.

In order to keep this guidance material relevant and accurate, suggestions for improving it in terms of format, content or presentation are welcome. Any such recommendation or suggestion will be examined, and, if found suitable, included in the next edition of the guidance upon approval by the Secretary General.

Regular revision will ensure that the guidance remains both pertinent and accurate.