Council Directive 94/56/EC of 21 November 1994 establishing the fundamental principles governing the investigation of civil aviation accidents and incidents

12.12.1994 EN Official Journal of the European Communities L 319/14
COUNCIL DIRECTIVE 94/56/EC
of 21 November 1994
establishing the fundamental principles governing the investigation of civil aviation accidents and incidents
THE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN UNION
,
Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European Community, and in particular Article 84 (2) thereof,
Having regard to the proposal from the Commission (1),
Having regard to the opinion of the Economic and Social Committee (2),
Acting in accordance with the procedure referred to in Article 189c of the Treaty (3),
Whereas a high general level of safety should be maintained in civil aviation in Europe and all efforts should be made to reduce the number of accidents and incidents;
Whereas the expeditious holding of technical investigations of civil aviation accidents and incidents improves air safety in helping to prevent the occurrence of such accidents and incidents;
Whereas account should be taken of the Convention on International Civil Aviation, signed in Chicago on 7 December 1994, which provides for implementation of the measures necessary to ensure the safe operation of aircraft; whereas particular account should be taken of Annex 13 to this Convention which lays down recommended international standards and practices for aircraft accident investigation;
Whereas, according to the international standards in Annex 13, the investigation of accidents is to be carried out under the responsibility of the State where the accident occurs;
Whereas if, in the case of serious incidents, investigation is not carried out by the State where the incident occurs, such investigation should be conducted by the State of registry;
Whereas investigation of serious incidents should be carried out in a similar way to investigation of accidents;
Whereas the scope of investigations must depend on the lessons which can be drawn from them for the improvement of safety;
Whereas air safety requires investigations to be carried out in the shortest possible time,
Whereas investigators should be able to accomplish their tasks unhindered;
Whereas the Member States must, in compliance with the legislation in force as regards the powers of the authorities responsible for the judicial inquiry and, where appropriate, in close collaboration with those authorities, ensure that those responsible for the technical inquiry are allowed to carry out their tasks in the best possible conditions;
Whereas investigation of accidents and incidents which have occurred in civil aviation should be carried out by or under the control of an independent body or entity in order to avoid any conflict of interest and any possible involvement in the causes of the occurrences being investigated;
Whereas the body or entity should be suitably equipped and its tasks could include prevention activities;
Whereas Member States should take measures to ensure mutual assistance, if required, in carrying out investigations;
Whereas a Member State must be able to delegate the task of carrying out an investigation to another Member State;
Whereas it is important for accident prevention to make public the findings of accident investigations in the shortest time possible;
Whereas the particular nature of incidents should be taken into account when circulating the findings of investigations into them;
Whereas the safety recommendations resulting from an accident or incident investigation should be duly taken into account by the Member States;
Whereas the sole aim of the technical investigation is to draw lessons which could prevent future accidents and incidents and whereas therefore the analysis of the occurrence, the conclusions and the safety recommendations are not designed to apportion blame or liability,