Air Navigation Act
(Chapter 6, Section 3(1))
Air Navigation (Investigation of Accidents and Incidents) Order
O 7
G.N. No. S 78/2003

REVISED EDITION 2004
(31st December 2004)
[24th February 2003]
PART I
PRELIMINARY
Citation
1.  This Order may be cited as the Air Navigation (Investigation of Accidents and Incidents) Order.
Definitions and application
2.—(1)  In this Order, unless the context otherwise requires —
“accident” means an occurrence associated with the operation of an aircraft (which in the case of a manned aircraft, takes place between the time any person boards the aircraft with the intention of flight until such time as all persons have disembarked, or which in the case of an unmanned aircraft, takes place between the time the aircraft is ready to move with the purpose of flight until such time it comes to rest at the end of the flight and the primary propulsion system is shut down) in which —
(a)a person is fatally or seriously injured as a result of —
(i)being in the aircraft;
(ii)direct contact with any part of the aircraft, including parts which have become detached from the aircraft; or
(iii)direct exposure to jet blast,
except where the injuries arise from natural causes, are self-inflicted or inflicted by any other person, or where the person injured is a stowaway hiding outside the areas normally available to passengers and crew;
(b)the aircraft sustains damage or structural failure which —
(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 component,
and guidance for the determination of which is set out in the First Schedule; but excludes —
(A)engine failure or damage, when the damage is limited to a single engine (including its cowlings or accessories) or to propellers, wings tips, antennas, probes, vanes, tyres, brakes, wheels, fairings, panels, landing gear doors, windscreens or the aircraft skin (such as small dents or puncture holes);
(B)minor damage to main rotor blades, tail rotor blades or landing gear; and
(C)minor damage resulting from hail or bird strike (including holes in the radome); or
(c)the aircraft is missing or completely inaccessible;
[S 424/2010 wef 02/08/2010]
“accredited representative” means a person appointed by a Contracting State, on the basis of his qualifications, for the purpose of participating in an investigation conducted by another State;
“adviser” means a person appointed by a Contracting State, on the basis of his qualifications, for the purpose of assisting its accredited representative in an investigation conducted by another State;
“aircraft” means any machine that can derive support in the atmosphere from the reactions of the air other than the reactions of the air against the earth’s surface;
“Annex 13” means Annex 13 to the Chicago Convention as amended from time to time by the Council of the International Civil Aviation Organisation;
“ATS” means air traffic services and includes flight information service, alerting service, air traffic advisory service, air traffic control service, area control service, approach control service and aerodrome control service;
“cause”, in relation to any accident or incident, means any action, omission, event, condition, or a combination thereof, which led to the accident or incident, the identification of which does not imply the assignment of fault or the determination of administrative, civil or criminal liability;
[S 424/2010 wef 02/08/2010]
“Chief Inspector” means the Chief Inspector of Accidents appointed under paragraph 7(2);
“Contracting State” means any State which is a party to the Chicago Convention;
“Final Report” means a report of an accident or incident in the format set out in Annex 13 and which may be adapted to the circumstances of the accident or incident under investigation;
“flight recorder” means any type of recorder installed in the aircraft for the purpose of complementing accident or incident investigation;
“flying display” means a civilian organised event (including any rehearsal for such event) which —
(a)consists, wholly or partly, of an exhibition of flying of any civil or military aircraft; and
(b)takes place at an aerodrome or premises other than a naval, military or air force aerodrome or premises;
“incident” means an occurrence, other than an accident, associated with the operation of an aircraft which affects or could affect the safety of such operation;
“Inspector” means an Inspector of Accidents appointed under paragraph 7(1);
“investigation” means a process conducted for the purpose of accident and incident prevention which includes the gathering and analysis of information, the drawing of conclusions, including the determination of causes or contributing factors, or both, and, when appropriate, the making of safety recommendations;
[S 522/2009 wef 30/10/2009]
[S 424/2010 wef 02/08/2010]
“investigator-in-charge” means a person designated by the Chief Inspector as such under paragraph 8(3) and charged with the responsibility for the organisation, conduct and control of an investigation;
“military aircraft” means an aircraft belonging to —
(a)the Singapore Armed Forces; or
(b)any of the naval, military or air forces of any State;
“Non-contracting State” means any State which is not a party to the Chicago Convention;
“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;
“pilot-in-command”, in relation to an aircraft, means a person who for the time being is in charge of the piloting of the aircraft without being under the direction of any other pilot in the aircraft;
“Preliminary Report” means the communication used for the prompt dissemination of data obtained during the early stages of an investigation;
“runway incursion” means any occurrence at an aerodrome involving the incorrect presence of an aircraft, a vehicle or a person on the protected area of a surface designated for the landing and take-off of aircraft;
[S 522/2009 wef 30/10/2009]
“safety recommendation” means a proposal of the Chief Inspector, investigator-in-charge or the accident investigation authority of a State conducting an investigation, based on information derived from an investigation and made with the intention of preventing accidents or incidents, and which in no case has the purpose of creating a presumption of blame or liability for an accident or incident;
[S 424/2010 wef 02/08/2010]
“serious incident” means an incident involving circumstances indicating that there was a high probability of an accident and associated with the operation of an aircraft which —
(a)in the case of a manned aircraft, takes place between the time any person boards the aircraft with the intention of flight until such time as all such persons have disembarked; or
(b)in the case of an unmanned aircraft, takes place between the time the aircraft is ready to move with the purpose of flight until such time it comes to rest at the end of the flight and the primary propulsion system is shut down,
examples of which are set out in the Second Schedule;
[S 424/2010 wef 02/08/2010]
“serious injury”, in relation to a person, means an injury which —
(a)requires hospitalisation for a period of more than 48 hours, such period commencing within 7 days from the date of the injury;
(b)results in a fracture of any bone other than a simple fracture of any finger or toe or the nose;
(c)involves lacerations which cause severe haemorrhage or nerve, muscle or tendon damage;
(d)involves injury to any internal organ;
(e)involves second or third degree burns or any burns affecting more than 5% of the surface of the body; or
(f)involves verified exposure to infectious substances or injurious radiation;
“Singapore aircraft” means an aircraft that is registered in Singapore;
“Singapore operator” means an operator whose principal place of business is located, or whose permanent residence is, in Singapore;
“State of Design” means the State having jurisdiction over the organisation responsible for the type design of the aircraft;
“State of Manufacture” means the State having jurisdiction over the organisation responsible for the final assembly of the aircraft;
“State of Occurrence” means the State in whose territory an accident or incident occurs;
“State of Registry” 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.
(2)   For the purposes of this Order, an aircraft shall be deemed to be missing when the official search has been terminated and the wreckage has not been located.
(3)   This Order shall apply only in relation to —
(a)an accident or incident involving a civil aircraft; and
(b)an accident or incident involving a military aircraft during a flying display in Singapore.
[G.N. No. S 78/2003]