PART 1 | Citation and commencement |
| 1. These Regulations are the Transport Safety Investigations (Aviation Occurrences) Regulations 2023 and come into operation on 1 January 2024. |
2.—(1) In these Regulations —| “accredited representative” means an individual appointed by a Contracting State, on the basis of the individual’s qualifications, for the purpose of participating in an investigation conducted by another State, and includes any other person so recognised under Annex 13 to the Chicago Convention; |
| “adviser” means an individual appointed by a State, on the basis of the individual’s qualifications, for the purpose of assisting the State’s accredited representative in an investigation conducted by another State; |
“air traffic services” includes —| (a) | any aerodrome control service; | | (b) | any air traffic advisory service; | | (c) | any air traffic control service; | | (d) | any approach control service provided for arriving or departing controlled flights; | | (e) | any area control service provided for controlled flights in such airspace of defined dimensions within which an air traffic control service is provided; | | (f) | any flight information service provided for the purpose of giving advice and information intended for the safe and efficient conduct of flights; and | | (g) | any alerting service provided to notify appropriate organisations regarding aircraft in need of search and rescue from air, and to assist such organisations as required; |
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| “aircraft accident” means an accident associated with the operation of an aircraft within the meaning given by regulation 3; |
| “appropriate foreign authority” includes an investigation authority designated by a region of Contracting States (not including Singapore) as responsible for transport safety investigations which correspond to investigations that must be carried out by the TSIB into aircraft accidents, and to the functions of the TSIB, under the Act; |
| “cause”, as a noun in relation to any aviation occurrence, means any action, omission, event, condition, or a combination thereof, which led to the aviation occurrence, the identification of which does not imply the assignment of fault or the determination of administrative, civil or criminal liability; |
“Chicago Convention” means —| (a) | the Convention on International Civil Aviation done at Chicago on 7 December 1944; | | (b) | the Protocols amending that Convention which Singapore ratifies; and | | (c) | the Annexes to that Convention relating to international standards and recommended practices, being Annexes adopted in accordance with that Convention; |
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| “Contracting State” means any State which is a party to the Chicago Convention; |
| “crew”, in relation to an aircraft, includes every individual having duties or functions on board the aircraft during the flight of the aircraft in connection with the flying of the aircraft or the safety of the aircraft when it is in operation; |
| “dangerous goods” has the meaning given by the First Schedule to the Air Navigation (92 — Carriage of Dangerous Goods) Regulations 2022 (G.N. No. S 998/2022); |
| “fatal aircraft‑related injury” has the meaning given by regulation 3(3); |
| “fuel”, as a noun, includes alternative fuel or power which serves, partly at least, as a substitute for fossil oil fuel, such as and not limited to electricity, hydrogen and liquid or gaseous biofuels; |
| “ICAO” means the International Civil Aviation Organization established under the Chicago Convention, and includes any successor to that Organization; |
| “maximum certificated take‑off mass” or “MCTOM”, in relation to an aircraft, means the maximum total mass of the aircraft and its contents at which the aircraft may take off anywhere in the world, under the most favourable circumstances in accordance with the Certificate of Airworthiness in force in respect of the aircraft; |
| “operation of an aircraft” has the meaning given by paragraph (2); |
| “operator” means a person engaged in or offering to engage in aircraft operation; |
| “owner”, in relation to an aircraft which is registered, means the registered owner of the aircraft; |
“passenger” means an individual boarding or intending to board an aircraft for the purpose of travelling on board as a passenger, and includes —| (a) | a participant of an aerial sports activity or flying exhibition involving that aircraft; and | | (b) | an inspector or other like official making any investigation or inspection or witnessing any training, practice or test for the purposes of any written law about aviation safety; |
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“pilot‑in‑command”, in relation to an aircraft, means —| (a) | the pilot designated by the operator of the aircraft as being in command and charged with the safe conduct of a flight using that aircraft; and | | (b) | if no such person under paragraph (a) is designated, an individual who is, for the time being, in charge of the piloting of the aircraft without being under the direction of any other pilot in the aircraft; |
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| “preliminary report” means the communication used for the prompt dissemination of data obtained during the early stages of an investigation; |
“safety recommendation” means a proposal that is —| (a) | made by —| (i) | the Director under regulation 20; or | | (ii) | an appropriate foreign authority of a State conducting or participating in an investigation; |
| | (b) | made for the purpose of preventing aviation occurrences; and | | (c) | not made for the purpose of creating a presumption of blame or liability for any aviation occurrence, |
| being a proposal based on information derived from the investigation or from other information (such as safety studies); |
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| “safety recommendation of global concern” means a safety recommendation regarding a systemic deficiency having a probability of recurrence, with significant consequences at a global level, and requiring timely action to improve safety; |
| “section 12(1) report” means a report about an aviation occurrence that is an immediately reportable matter required by section 12(1) of the Act to be reported, and includes a notification given by any appropriate foreign authority to the Director in relation to such an aviation occurrence; |
| “section 12(2) report” means a report about an aviation occurrence that is an ordinary reportable matter required by section 12(2) of the Act to be reported, and includes a notification given by any appropriate foreign authority to the Director in relation to such an aviation occurrence; |
| “serious aircraft‑related injury” has the meaning given by regulation 3(4); |
| “Singapore Flight Information Region” means the area within which air navigation services are provided by the CAAS in accordance with the International Civil Aviation Organisation Asia/Pacific Regional Air Navigation Plan; |
| “Singapore operator” means an operator whose principal place of business is located, or whose permanent residence is, in Singapore; |
| “State of Design”, in relation to an aircraft, means the State having jurisdiction over the organisation responsible for the type design of the aircraft; |
| “State of Manufacture”, in relation to an aircraft, means the State having jurisdiction over the organisation responsible for the final assembly of the aircraft or its engine or propeller; |
| “State of Occurrence” means the State in whose territory an aviation occurrence occurs; |
| “State of Registry”, in relation to an aircraft, means the State on whose register the aircraft is entered; |
| “State of the Operator” means the State in which the operator’s principal place of business is located or, if there is no such place of business, the operator’s permanent residence is located. |
(2) In these Regulations, “operation of an aircraft” takes place —| (a) | in the case of a manned aircraft — between the time any individual boards the aircraft with the intention of flight until such time as all individuals have disembarked; or | | (b) | in the case of an unmanned aircraft — between the time the aircraft is ready to move for the purpose of flight until such time as it comes to rest at the end of the flight and the primary propulsion system is shut down. |
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| (3) For the purposes of regulations 15(5) and 19(3)(b), a Contracting State (other than Singapore) has a special interest in an aviation occurrence being investigated by an investigator under the Act if any of its citizens sustained fatal aircraft‑related injuries or serious aircraft‑related injuries in relation to the operation of an aircraft involved in that aviation occurrence. |
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| Meaning of “accident” associated with operation of aircraft, and related definitions |
3.—(1) Subject to paragraphs (2) and (3), an accident associated with the operation of an aircraft is an accident for the purposes of the definition of “accident” in section 2 of the Act, if it involves any of the following in relation to the operation of an aircraft:| (a) | an individual suffers a fatal aircraft‑related injury; | | (b) | an individual suffers a serious aircraft‑related injury; | | (c) | the aircraft is missing; | | (d) | the aircraft is completely inaccessible; | | (e) | an aircraft sustains damage or structural failure that —| (i) | adversely affects the structural strength, performance or flight characteristics of the aircraft; and | | (ii) | would normally require major repair or replacement of the affected part. |
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(2) However, the following damage sustained by, or following a failure of, an aircraft must be disregarded for the purposes of paragraph (1)(e):| (a) | engine failure limited to a single engine; | | (b) | engine damage limited to a single engine (including its cowlings or accessories); | | (c) | damage to propellers, wing tips, antennas, probes, vanes, tires, brakes, wheels, fairings, panels, landing gear doors or windscreens; | | (d) | damage such as small dents or puncture holes to the aircraft skin; | | (e) | minor damage to main rotor blades, tail rotor blades or landing gear; | | (f) | minor damage resulting from hail or bird strike (including holes in the radome). |
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(3) In these Regulations, an individual suffers a fatal aircraft‑related injury in relation to the operation of an aircraft if —| (a) | he or she suffers an injury as a result of —| (i) | being in the aircraft during its operation; | | (ii) | direct contact during the operation of the aircraft with any part of the aircraft, including parts which have become detached from the aircraft; or | | (iii) | direct exposure to jet blast during the operation of the aircraft; |
| | (b) | he or she dies as a result of the injury after sustaining the injury; and | | (c) | none of the following applies:| (i) | the injury results from natural causes; | | (ii) | the injury is self‑inflicted; | | (iii) | the injury is caused by another person; | | (iv) | the injury is to an individual who is a stowaway in a part of the aircraft that is not usually accessible to crew members or passengers after take‑off. |
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(4) In these Regulations, an individual suffers a serious aircraft‑related injury in relation to the operation of an aircraft if —| (a) | he or she suffers an injury as a result of —| (i) | being in the aircraft during its operation; | | (ii) | direct contact during the operation of the aircraft with any part of the aircraft, including parts which have become detached from the aircraft; or | | (iii) | direct exposure to jet blast during the operation of the aircraft; |
| | (b) | any of the following applies:| (i) | the injury requires or is likely to require hospitalisation for a period that —| (A) | starts no later than the 7th day after the date the individual sustained the injury; and | | (B) | exceeds 48 hours after starting; |
| | (ii) | the injury involves a fracture of any bone, except a simple fracture of any finger, toe or the nose of the individual; | | (iii) | the injury involves any laceration that causes the individual severe haemorrhage or nerve, muscle or tendon damage; | | (iv) | the injury involves an injury to any internal organ of the individual; | | (v) | the injury involves second or third degree burns, or any burns affecting more than 5% of the surface of the body of the individual; | | (vi) | the injury involves a verified exposure of the individual to infectious substances or injurious radiation; and |
| | (c) | none of the following applies:| (i) | the injury results from natural causes; | | (ii) | the injury is self‑inflicted; | | (iii) | the injury is caused by another person; | | (iv) | the injury is to an individual who is a stowaway in a part of the aircraft that is not usually accessible to crew members or passengers after take‑off. |
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4.—(1) The following international agreements are identified for the purposes of section 10(1) of the Act:| (a) | Articles 26, 37 and 38 of the Chicago Convention, in so far as those Articles relate to aviation safety investigation; | | (b) | Annex 13 to the Chicago Convention. |
| (2) For the purposes of section 10(2) of the Act, the rules, recommendations, guidelines, codes or other instruments that are promulgated by the ICAO referred to in the Chicago Convention are identified in so far as the rules, recommendations, guidelines, codes or other instruments relate to aviation safety investigation and Annex 13 to the Chicago Convention. |
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