Article citation information:
Fortońska, A. Inches from a plane crash:
terminology, causes, investigative activities and responsibility. Scientific Journal of Silesian University of
Technology. Series Transport. 2017, 97,
39-45. ISSN: 0209-3324. DOI:
https://doi.org/10.20858/sjsutst.2017.97.4.
Agnieszka FORTOŃSKA[1]
INCHES
FROM A PLANE CRASH: TERMINOLOGY, CAUSES, INVESTIGATIVE ACTIVITIES AND
RESPONSIBILITY
Summary. The
author of this article will discuss issues related to aircraft accidents. The
paper will set out the investigative activities carried out by Poland’s State
Commission on Aircraft Accidents Investigation. The author will also address
the concept of liability for aircraft accidents. The paper will be concluded
with comments on aviation accidents.
Keywords:
aircraft accidents; plane crash; aircraft accident investigation commission;
aviation law
1. INTRODUCTION AND TERMINOLOGY
“The only complete
catastrophe is the catastrophe from which we learn nothing.”
William Ernest Hocking
It is generally observed that the
media and ordinary citizens tend to refer to a fatal accident involving a
passenger plane as “a plane crash”. However, this is a colloquial term, which
is absent from any official document. Annex 13 to the Convention on
International Civil Aviation introduces concepts such as “accident”, “incident”
and “serious incident”. According to this document, an aircraft 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
until such time as all such persons have disembarked” [1].
In addition, Annex 13 regulates the
definition of the term “serious incident” as “an incident involving
circumstances indicating that an accident nearly occurred”. An aircraft
accident and a serious incident differ only in terms of consequences. Another
term included in Annex 13 is “incident”, which is “an occurrence, other than an
accident, associated with the operation of an aircraft which affects or could affect
the safety of operation” [2]. Polish law uses the same terminology as can be
found in international legislation and divides air occurrences into:
(i) accidents, (ii) incidents, (iii) serious incidents and (v) other
occurrences referred to in Article 135(a) of the Polish Aviation Law Act [3,4].
In addition to the above-mentioned
act, the terms “accident” and “incident” are contained in the Regulation of the
Minister of Transport of 18 January 2007 concerning accidents and incidents.
The regulation stipulates the system for reporting occurrences in civil
aviation [5]. Furthermore, the EU enacted Regulation (EU) No. 996/2010 of the
European Parliament and of the Council of 20 October 2010 concerning the
investigation and prevention of accidents and incidents in civil aviation, in
turn repealing Directive 94/56/EC [6]. The aim of the regulation is to ensure
the safety of civil aviation and to take actions that will reduce the number of
aviation occurrences. As with Annex 13 to the Chicago Convention, the regulation
specifies that the investigation of accidents and serious incidents has to be
carried out under the responsibility of the state where the accident or serious
incident occurs, or the state of registry when the location of the accident or
serious incident cannot definitely be established as being in the territory of
any state.
2. AIRLINE ACCIDENT
STATISTICS
Although aircraft accidents
involving civil aircraft continually take place, this means of transport is
still safe and ranks as one of the most popular travel modes chosen by
passengers.
Fig. 1. Airline accident statistics 2011-2015
Source: own elaboration on the basis of
statistics from https://aviation-safety.net/statistics/
Unfortunately, when considering the available
statistics on the number of people who died during travel, 2014 was one of the
most tragic years for civil aviation. The impact of these statistics was mainly
influenced mainly by four aircraft catastrophes involving passenger aircraft,
namely: Malaysia Airlines Flight 370, 8 March 2014 (239 people); Malaysia
Airlines Flight 17, 17 July 2014 (298 people); Air Algerie Flight 5017, 24 July
2014 (116 people); and Indonesia AirAsia Flight 8501, 28 December 2014 (162
people) [7].
Fig. 2. Statistics of airline accidents fatalities
Source: own elaboration on the basis of statistics
from https://aviation-safety.net/statistics/
Given all the aircraft catastrophes
that have taken place in the history of civil aviation, it is necessary to
emphasize that aircraft accidents can take place at any stage of a flight,
e.g., during take-off, ascending, flying, approaching for landing or landing.
Considering this summary, it is important to note that the most dangerous stage
is the flight and approach for landing [8].
Fig. 3. Airline accident statistics: phase of
flight
Source: own elaboration on the basis of statistics
from https://aviation-safety.net/statistics/
3. CAUSES OF AIRCRAFT ACCIDENTS
An aircraft accident can take place at any
stage of a flight. Sometimes, there is only one cause, whereas, on another
occasion, it could involve a series of errors, breakdowns or malfunctions of
the aircraft. There is no rule regarding this. Furthermore, there are
situations when even experts examining an aircraft accident are not able to
determine its cause due to the lack of conclusive evidence in the form of black
boxes, which recorded discussions with flight and air traffic personnel and
flight parameters. Nevertheless, the most frequent cause of events involving
aircraft is human error (pilot error, controller error, ground handling error).
Moreover, other causes of aircraft accidents
include weather conditions, technical aspects (breakdown, malfunction, aircraft
design flaw), terrorist attacks, sabotage, being shot down, communication
error, aircraft icing, collision with birds and collision between aircraft.
In national legislation, on the basis of
Regulation No. 14 of the President of the Civil Aviation Authority, dated 14
December 2006, the cause groups of the accident were identified thus:
- human factor
(refers only to flying personnel)
- technical factor (refers to the systems of the aircraft concerned)
- environmental factor (refers to the environment in which the flight
takes place and to infrastructure facilities that provide security)
- organizational factor ( associated with flight safety management
systems) [9-12]
4. OCCURRENCE REPORTING: INVESTIGATIVE
ACTIVITIES OF THE STATE COMMISSION ON AIRCRAFT ACCIDENTS INVESTIGATION -
RECOMMENDATIONS AND REPORTS
With regard to the statistics
presented above, it should be noted that, despite the fact that aeroplanes, as
modes of transportation, display a high safety level, air accidents still
occur. In the event of an aircraft occurrence, the first step is to report this
no later than 72 hours after it occurred (using any available means of
communication) [13]. In addition, it is
necessary to send a form with the occurrence data. According to Article 135 (a)
Item 1 of the Polish Aviation Law Act, a group of people obliged to report such
an occurrence includes, among others, an aircraft operator or pilot-in-command,
air navigation service providers and airport managers. In Poland, accident and
incident investigations are handled by the State Commission on Aircraft
Accidents Investigation (PKBWL), which is a permanent and independent agency
[14]. Furthermore, there is also the Polish Committee for Investigation of
National Aviation Accidents (KBWLLP), whose task is determining the causes of
accidents in state aviation (Article 140 of the Polish Aviation Law Act) [15].
The above-mentioned committees may cooperate based on the Regulation of the
Minister of National Defence and the Minister of Transport, Construction and
Maritime Economy of 29 January 2013 [16].
After the occurrence has been
reported, the next step is for the chairman of the commission to categorize it
as either an accident, incident, serious incident or another occurrence as
referred to in Article 135(a) of the Polish Aviation Law Act. It should be
emphasized that the commission investigates air occurrences in the order in
which they took place. It is possible to make an exception to this rule based
on a decision made by the chairman of the commission to change the order due to
the occurrence gravity (Section 13 of the Regulation of the Minister of
Transport of 18 January 2007) [17].
The commission then starts its
investigation. According to Annex 13 to the Convention on International Civil
Aviation, an accident investigation is a process conducted for the purpose of
accident prevention, which includes gathering and analysing information,
reaching conclusions, including the determination of causes, and, when
appropriate, making safety recommendations. On the other hand, Section 14 of
the Regulation of the Minister of Transport sets out the scope of the
commission’s tasks. These include the collection, registration and analysis of
all relevant materials, the collection of medical materials, and the preparation
of a preliminary and final report.
In addition, the investigator-in-charge is
obliged to notify the police or the prosecutor’s office of the commencement of
the investigation, if such authorities have already started relevant
proceedings. Following its investigative work, the commission compiles a final
report, which should be prepared as soon as possible (ideally within 12 months
of the occurrence). It is crucial to emphasize that the commission only
examines the cause of an accident or incident, as well as prepares
recommendations and conclusions. It is not its duty to apportion blame or
liability to any specific individuals or entities. This is handled by the
prosecutor’s office [18,19].
5. LIABILITY FOR AIR ACCIDENTS
When an
aircraft accident occurs, it is necessary to determine civil or criminal
liability. In Polish legislation, criminal liability for causing a disaster or
an accident in air traffic is regulated by the Penal Code (Article 173 et seq.)
[20-22]. In addition, Section XII of the Polish Aviation Law Act defines penal
provisions, while Section XI specifies civil liability. Liability for damage
caused by aircraft traffic is subject to Article 435 et seq. of the Polish
Civil Code, which specifies liability for damage caused by the use of
mechanical means of communication driven by forces of nature [23]. Apart from
the above, international law has regulated air carrier liability for personal
injury in the Warsaw Convention and the Montreal Convention. The air carrier is
liable if an event that caused the death, wounding or any other bodily injury
of a passenger took place on board one of its aircraft or in the course of any
of the operations associated with embarking or disembarking [24-26].
Furthermore, in line
with court judicature, the air carrier is liable if “the accident” is an
unexpected, unpredictable and unusual event [27]. According to the Warsaw
Convention, the air carrier is liable on the basis of the presumption of guilt,
and this liability is limited to the sum of 125,000 francs in compensation. On
the other hand, the Montreal Convention specifies risk-based carrier liability
as well as compensation limits for passenger death or injury in relation to
100,000 “special drawing rights”. According to both conventions, the carrier
may be exonerated from its liability if it manages to prove that the damage was
not caused by its negligence or wrongful act, and that it took all reasonable
steps to prevent it. In addition, the air carrier is responsible for persons
acting on its behalf and its subcontractors, including the pilot-in-command,
aircraft crew, commercial agents and ground control staff [28,29].
6. SUMMARY
An aircraft accident is an unexpected and random
event, while civil aviation authorities are faced with the difficult challenge
of ensuring passenger safety. In view of the task entrusted to them, civil
aviation specialists are making perpetual efforts to introduce strict
regulations that enforce compliance with procedures, airport control rules and
cabin crew training requirements. Unfortunately, it is not possible to
completely eliminate the risks associated with air transport. The only solution
is to do everything to prevent any circumstances that could lead to an aircraft
accident. However, it is important to note that, owing to the work of aircraft
accident investigation commissions, we can draw conclusions that could prevent
aviation disasters in the future. By making recommendations in reports, air
carriers, aircraft builders and flight crews provide their feedback and often
implement changes in rules and regulations, training standards or aircraft
construction. In this way, the number of aircraft accidents drops year by year,
which reflects increases in the safety of air transport and boosts passenger
confidence in commercial airlines.
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Received 23.09.2017; accepted in revised form 17.11.2017
Scientific Journal of Silesian
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