Anatomy Of An Aircraft Accident Investigation

Flying Safety, Jan, 2001 by Kurt J. Saladana

Frequently, SIB members, assigned specialists and local technical assistance will sift the soil at the impact site in search of small springs, screws, nuts and bolts, and other potentially revealing debris. But, by the end of the first week, wreckage has usually been cleaned up and returned to the host wing where it's kept under lock and key and accessible only to the SIB, whose members and technical assistants will continue to search for evidence. Unlike airliner reconstruction, as will sometimes be done in a civil aviation mishap, SIBs will normally only reconstruct small areas of interest rather than the entire aircraft.

Witness Testimony

While waiting for test results and analyses, the SIB spends most of its time interviewing witnesses. It's during this phase that everyone who recently worked on or flew the mishap aircraft will be interviewed. Usually, SIB aircrew members will interview aircrews, and SIB maintenance members will interview maintainers. The Flight Surgeon will interview individuals from all categories, as required.

Many witnesses will be offered confidentiality which means that these statements will be privileged, i.e., these statements will only be used within DoD safety channels for safety purposes. These statements cannot be used against the witness in any disciplinary or adverse administrative action. The only time this doesn't hold true is if the SIB discovers that a witness intentionally provided false information (i.e., lied). "Privilege" prevents a supervisor or commander from asking you to talk about the mishap, but it also prohibits you from talking to your buddies or others about your testimony to the SIB.

Reconstructing the Accident

Once the results return from analysis, and are combined with what is known from recorded data and witness testimony, the SIB attempts to determine exactly why the mishap occurred. Frequently, the answer is still unknown and the SIB must search the wreckage in even greater detail. In most cases, specific mechanical malfunctions will either be determined or ruled out--SIBs are rarely unable to identify an item that failed. The SIBs most challenging task is most often determining why the failure occurred.

Was a part poorly designed, improperly manufactured, incorrectly installed, damaged, poorly maintained, or inadequately inspected? Was the person who inspected, installed or serviced the part properly trained and supervised? Was the pilot properly trained and proficient enough to respond to the emergency? Each SIB asks literally thousands of these questions and many more, dependent upon the circumstances.

Once the SIB has determined the "What" and is trying to discover the "Why," it's normal to have another round of interviews. In our scenario, if a problem was discovered with the engine, as the technician who worked on it, you would be interviewed extensively. Questions would include what you remember about the engine and the day that you worked on it, training, supervision, ops tempo, home life, job satisfaction, and on and on. You would be asked if you remembered anything unusual, or if there were any particular problems, and be given the opportunity to comment on any perceived problem areas with the work on the engine, your shop, the unit, etc. The SIB would also interview people who work with you, your supervisors and, if you're married, might ask to interview your spouse. The SIB realizes this can put a lot of pressure on an individual, and will emphasize that no punitive actions will be taken.