Contact Details

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Accident and Incident Investigation

Overview

Civil Aviation Authority of Sri Lanka is responsible for the investigation of aircraft accidents/ incidents within the territory of Sri Lanka involving both local and foreign commercial aircraft. The administrative functions are carried out by the Accident Investigation Unit. Aviation Safety Monitoring Unit.

Aircraft Accident Investigation Board

The Aircraft Accident Investigation Board (AAIB) will be appointed by the Authority as per the provisions laid down in the Civil Aviation Act No. 14 of 2010 as the case may be. In addition investigators would participate in overseas investigations of accidents / incidents involving aircraft registered in Sri Lanka or aircraft which are operated by an operator of Sri Lanka as appropriate. When carrying out investigations, the appointed AAIB will gather, record and analyze all the available information on the accidents and incidents, determine the causes and/or the contributing factors, identify the possible safety issues and draw up safety recommendations to address these safety issues to rectify them and complete the investigation report.

Objective

The sole objective of an investigation of an accident is the prevention of accidents and incidents due to similar causes in future. It is not to apportion blame or liability.

Definition

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List of Serious incident - (Example includes)

The incidents listed below are examples of what may be serious incidents. However, the list is not exhaustive list. and, depending on the context, items on the list may not be classified as serious incidents if effective defences remained between the incident and the credible scenario.

1. Near collisions requiring an avoidance manoeuvre to avoid a collision or an unsafe situation or when an avoidance action would have been appropriate.
2. Collisions not classified as accidents.
3. Controlled flight into terrain only marginally avoided.
4. Aborted take-offs on a closed or engaged runway, on a taxiway1 or unassigned runway.
5. Take-offs from a closed or engaged runway, from a taxiway1 or unassigned runway.
6. Landings or attempted landings on a closed or engaged runway, on a taxiway1, on an unassigned runway or on unintended landing locations such as roadways.
7. Retraction of a landing gear leg or a wheels-up landing not classified as an accident.
8. Dragging during landing of a wing tip, an engine pod or any other part of the aircraft, when not classified as an accident.
9. Gross failures to achieve predicted performance during take-off or initial climb.
10. Fires and/or smoke in the cockpit, in the passenger compartment, in cargo compartments or engine fires, even though such fires were extinguished by the use of extinguishing agents.
11. Events requiring the emergency use of oxygen by the flight crew.
12. Aircraft structural failures or engine disintegrations, including uncontained turbine engine failures, not classified as an accident.
13. Multiple malfunctions of one or more aircraft systems seriously affecting the operation of the aircraft.
14. Flight crew incapacitation in flight: a) for single pilot operations (including remote pilot); or b) for multi-pilot operations for which flight safety was compromised because of a significant increase in workload for the remaining crew.
15. Fuel quantity level or distribution situations requiring the declaration of an emergency by the pilot, such as insufficient fuel, fuel exhaustion, fuel starvation, or inability to use all usable fuel on board.
16. Runway incursions classified with severity A. The Manual on the Prevention of Runway Incursions (Doc 9870) contains information on the severity classifications.
17. Take-off or landing incidents. Incidents such as under-shooting, overrunning or running off the side of runways.
18. System failures (including loss of power or thrust), weather phenomena, operations outside the approved flight envelope or other occurrences which caused or could have caused difficulties controlling the aircraft.
19. Failures of more than one system in a redundancy system mandatory for flight guidance and navigation.
20. The unintentional or, as an emergency measure, the intentional release of a slung load or any other load carried external to the aircraft.

Regulatory Material relating to Aircraft Accident Investigation

• Civil Aviation Act No 14 of 2010
• Aircraft Accident and Incident Investigation Regulations
• AIC – Aircraft Accident or Serious Incident Compliance requirements of Aircraft Operators, Aerodromes Operators & Air Navigation Service Providers
• Aviation Occurrence Reporting System – IS 006
• Arrangement between CAA, Sri Lanka and Transport Safety Investigation Bureau of Singapore 
• Declaration of Intent between the Civil Aviation Authority of Sri Lanka (CAA-Sri Lanka) and BEA-France.

Accident Reporting

When;

1. An aircraft accident or serious incident occurs in Sri Lanka, regardless of the country that the aircraft is registered in and
2. An any aircraft registered in Sri Lanka or an aircraft operated by an operator of Sri Lanka which is involved in an accident or serious incident overseas
3. the owner, operator, hirer, lessor, agent or the pilot-in- command of the aircraft at the time the accident or incident as the case may be, occurred;
4. where the accident or incident occurs on or adjacent to an aerodrome in Sri Lanka, the owner or operator of such aerodrome or the Air Traffic Service Provider;
5. where the accident or incident occurs in Sri Lankan airspace, the ATS provider;
6. where the accident or incident occurs during a flying display or festival being held within Sri Lanka, the organizer of such flying display or festival; or
7. where the accident or incident occurs during a demonstration flight in Sri Lanka, the handler or organizer of such demonstration flight.
8. Police or Security Forces
9. Any other Local Authority/ Eyewitness or general public

The notification is required to be passed to this Authority by the quickest means and giving, as far as possible, the required information.

Notifying person should provide whatever information is able to gather as soon as possible without waiting for all the information to become available.

Details omitted from the notification may be provided later, when they become available.

1. In the case of an accident the identifying abbreviation "ACCID" or, in the case of a serious incident, the identifying abbreviation "INCID";
2. the type, model, nationality and registration marks of the aircraft;
3. the names of the owner, operator and hirer (if any) of the aircraft;
4. the name of the commander of the aircraft;
5. the date and time (UTC) of the accident/ serious incident;
6. the last point of departure and the next point of intended landing of the aircraft involved;
7. the position of the accident in relation to some easily defined geographical location and the latitude and longitude of such location;
8. the number of -
   1. crew on board and the number killed or seriously injured.
   2. passengers on board and the number killed or seriously injured.
   3. other persons killed or seriously injured as a result of the accident.
9. the nature of the accident or incident and the extent of damage as far as is known.
10. Physical characteristics of the location in which the accident or incident occurred
11. Presence and description of dangerous goods, if any that were being carried on board the aircraft
12. Identification & contactable details of the notifying person

where the accident or serious incident occurred outside Sri Lanka, the means by which the investigator-in-charge and the Accident Investigation Authority of the State of Occurrence may be contacted at any time;

Subsequently the Aircraft Accident / Serious Incident Report Form shall be completed and submit to this Authority.  Click here to download the Form

Mandatory Incident Reporting

The requirements of mandatory incident reporting is laid down in Implementing Standard 006

Report Forms

1. Occurrence Report Form
2. ATC Occurrence Report Form
3. Air Traffic Incident Report Form
4. Air Traffic Incident Report Form ( Pilot Report Over Radio)
5. On-ground Occurrence Report Form
6. Bird Strike Incident Reporting Form
7. ATS Engineering Occurrence Report Form
8. Notice of death in an aircraft registered in Sri Lanka
9. Birth Occurring in an aircraft registered in Sri Lanka
10. Person missing and believed to have died in consequence of an accident to an aircraft registered in Sri Lanka

Voluntary Incident Reporting

Voluntary and Confidential Aviation Incident Reporting (VCAIR) System

The Voluntary and Confidential Aviation Incident Reporting (VCAIR) System is a voluntary, non-punitive, confidential reporting system established by the Civil Aviation Authority of Sri Lanka (CAASL). This System provides a channel for reporting of aviation incidents and safety deficiencies while protecting the reporter’s identity.

The key objective of Voluntary and Confidential Aviation Incident Reporting system is to enhance aviation safety through the collection of reports on actual or potential safety deficiencies that would otherwise not be reported through other channels or that may appear minor, but which nevertheless can allow others to learn from the reporter’s experience and even lead to changes in procedures, practices or design. Such reports may involve occurrences, hazards or threats relevant to aviation safety. This Reporting System focuses on systems, human factors, procedures and equipment, rather than on individuals.

This system does not eliminate the need for mandatory reporting of aircraft accidents and incidents to CAASL under the existing law.

Areas covered by the System

The VCAIR System covers following areas;

1. Flight Operations
   1. Departure/en-route/approach/landing
   2. Aircraft cabin operations
   3. Air proximity events
   4. Weight and balance and performance
2. Ground Operations
   1. Aircraft Ground operations
   2. Movement on the airport
   3. Fueling operations
   4. Airport conditions or services
   5. Cargo handling
3. Air Traffic Management
   1. ATC Operations
   2. ATC equipment and navigation aids
   3. Crew and ATC communications
4. Aircraft Maintenance
   1. Aircraft/engines/ components design or production activities
5. Design and manufacturing
   1. Aircraft / engines/components design or production activities
6. Approved training organizations
   1. Training activities involving flight operations
7. Miscellaneous
   1. Passenger handling operations related to safety

What should not be reported

1. Accidents or serious incidents or Criminal activities
2. Incidents or events with no aviation safety content
3. Personal problems, personality conflicts and industrial relation issues
4. Legal/commercial disputes

Who can make a Report

If you belong to any of these groups, you can contribute to safety enhancement through the VCAIR System by reporting on actual or potential occurrences, hazards, threats and deficiencies in aviation operations.

1. Flight and cabin crew members;
2. Air traffic controllers;
3. Licensed aircraft engineers, technicians or mechanics;
4. employees of maintenance, design and manufacturing organizations;
5. aerodrome ground handling operators;
6. airport employees;

Individuals involved in general aviation

When to report

You should make a report when:

1. You wish for others to learn and benefit from the incident but are concerned about protecting your identity.
2. There is no other appropriate reporting procedure or channel.
3. You have tried another reporting procedure or channel but the issue has not been addressed.

Note: It is possible that an incident reported by you is also reported to the other relevant authorities by a third party. The VCAIR System cannot prevent these authorities from taking the action(s) that they deem necessary, even though your identity will be protected by the VCAIR System.

Processing of reports

The CAASL pays particular attention to the need to protect the identity of the reporter when processing of all reports.

Every reports will be read and validated by the administrator. The administrator may contact the reporter to make sure he understand the nature and circumstances of the occurrence / hazard reported and/or to obtain the necessary additional information or clarification.

When the administrator is satisfied that the information obtained is complete and coherent, he will de-identify the information and enter the data into the VCAIR System database. Should there be a need to seek inputs from any third party, only the de-identified data will be used.

The VCAIR form, with the date of return annotated, will eventually be returned to the reporter. The administrator will endeavour to complete the processing within ten (10) working days if additional information is not needed. In cases where the administrator needs to discuss with the reporter or consult a third party, more time may be needed.

If the administrator is away from his office for a prolonged period, the alternate administrator will process the report. Reporters can rest assured that every VCAIR report will be read and followed through by either the administrator or the alternate administrator.

Feedback to the aviation community

Relevant de-identified reports and extracts may be shared with the aviation community through periodic publication so that all can learn from the experiences. Relevant authorities and parties can also review their policy and plan for improvements.

If the content of a VCAIR report suggests a situation or condition that poses an immediate or urgent threat to aviation safety, the report will be handled with priority and referred, after de-identification, to the relevant organizations as soon as possible to enable them to take the necessary safety actions.

Submission of Voluntary Report

Step 01 - By mail - Complete the VCAIR form and mail it to the following address: (Click here to view form)

Attention: VCAIR System
Civil Aviation Authority of Sri Lanka
No: 152/1, Minuwangoda Road
Katunayake

Anonymous reports will not be accepted. This is to ensure that the Administrator can contact you to obtain or clarify information when necessary, and to also advise you on the action taken or outcome arising from your report.

Past Accident & Incident Reports

Aircraft Accident Information

• Useful Aircraft Accident Information - http://www.planecrashinfo.com/cause.htm
• Boeing Statistics on Accidents - http://www.boeing.com/resources/boeingdotcom/company/about_bca/pdf/statsum.pdf
• Air Safety Information - http://www.airsafe.com/events/models/atr.htm