«In particular, the body and the staff responsible for the checks must be functionally independent of the authorities designated to issue authorisations for placing in service in the framework of this Directive, licences in the framework of Council Directive 95/18/EC of 19 June 1995 on the licensing of railway undertakings(21) and safety certificates in the framework of Directive 200./49/EC, and of the bodies in charge of investigations in the event of accidents.

«In particular, the body and the staff responsible for the checks must be functionally independent of the authorities designated to issue authorisations for placing in service in the framework of this Directive, licences in the framework of Council Directive 95/18/EC of 19 June 1995 on the licensing of railway undertakings(27)and safety certificates in the framework of Directive 2004/49/EC, and of the bodies in charge of investigations in the event of accidents.

whereas particular account should be taken of Annex 13 to this Convention which lays down recommended international standards and practices for aircraft accident investigation;

Council Directive 80/1266/EEC of 16 December 1980 on future cooperation and mutual' assistance between the Member States, in the field of air accident investigation (1) is hereby repealed.

Council Directive No 80/1266/EEC of 16 December 1980 on future cooperation and mutual assistance between the Member States in the field of air accident investigation (OJ No L 375, 31.12.1980, p. 32).

Every accident or serious incident shall be the subject of an investigation.

Whereas investigation of serious incidents should be carried out in a similar way to investigation of accidents;

Whereas it is important for accident prevention to make public the findings of accident investigations in the shortest time possible;

Any investigation into an accident shall be the subject of a report in a form appropriate to the type and seriousness of the accident.

investigations into accidents involving aircraft registered in a Member State, when such investigations are not carried out by another State;

establishing the fundamental principles governing the investigation of civil aviation accidents and incidents

Whereas the expeditious holding of technical investigations of civil aviation accidents and incidents improves air safety in helping to prevent the occurrence of such accidents and incidents;

A Member State may delegate the task of carrying out an investigation into an accident or incident to another Member State.

Independent technical investigations of transport accidents and incidents are one way of improving safety by identifying the causes of such accidents and thereby preventing them from occurring.

(2) Investigations into the causes of accidents should not be linked to compensation for damages or determination of liability.

'flight recorder' means any type of recorder installed in the aircraft for the purpose of facilitating accident/incident investigations;

Whereas the safety recommendations resulting from an accident or incident investigation should be duly taken into account by the Member States;

Council Directive of 21 November 1994 establishing the fundamental principles governing the investigation of civil aviation accidents and incidents.

Council Directive 94/56/EC of 21 November 1994 establishing the fundamental principles governing the investigation of civil aviation accidents and incidents

'safety recommendation' means any proposal by the investigating body of the State conducting the technical investigation, based on information derived from that investigation, made with the intention of preventing accidents and incidents.

Whereas, according to the international standards in Annex 13, the investigation of accidents is to be carried out under the responsibility of the State where the accident occurs;

(5) The setting up of this Group will contribute to the advancement of Community policy in the field of independent accident investigations, alongside other appropriate consultation procedures.

The purpose of this Directive is to improve air safety by facilitating the expeditious holding of investigations, the sole objective of which is the prevention of future accidents and incidents.

time to decide(1), the Commission indicated that there is a growing need for independent technical investigations geared towards revealing the causes of accidents and ways of improving legislation.

This Directive shall apply to investigations into civil aviation accidents and incidents which have occurred in the territory of the Community taking into account the international obligations of the Member States.

The extent of investigations and the procedure to be followed in carrying out such investigations shall be determined by the investigating body, taking into account the principles and the objective of this Directive and depending on the lessons it expects to draw from the accident or serious incident for the improvement of safety.

(4) For the examination of all issues pertinent to independent technical accident investigations, the Commission intends to set up a Group of Experts to advise the Commission on a strategy for dealing with accidents in the transport sector.

When a ro-ro ferry or high-speed passenger craft is involved in a marine casualty, the investigation procedure shall be launched by the State in whose waters the accident or incident occurs or, if in other waters, by the last Member State visited by the ferry or craft.

Whereas the sole aim of the technical investigation is to draw lessons which could prevent future accidents and incidents and whereas therefore the analysis of the occurrence, the conclusions and the safety recommendations are not designed to apportion blame or liability,

The Group of Experts shall be composed of qualified individuals competent to consider matters relating to transport safety issues, in particular independent technical accidents investigations in all modes of transport, including the transport of energy (oil and gas pipelines).

'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 cause(s) and, when appropriate, the making of safety recommendations;

Whereas investigation of accidents and incidents which have occurred in civil aviation should be carried out by or under the control of an independent body or entity in order to avoid any conflict of interest and any possible involvement in the causes of the occurrences being investigated;

Whereas Member States should ensure that their internal legal systems enable them and any other substantially interested Member States to participate or cooperate in, or conduct, accident investigations on the basis of the provisions of the IMO Code for the investigation of marine casualties;

the completed registration forms will be kept for the competent authorities or forwarded to them where such authorities deem this necessary for the prevention of threats, for criminal investigations or for clarifying the circumstances of missing persons or accident victims, save where national law provides otherwise.

Council Directive 80/1266/EEC of 16 December 1980 on future cooperation and mutual assistance between the Member States in the field of air accident investigation (4) is hereby repealed.

INVESTIGATION OR INQUIRY FOLLOWING AN ACCIDENT OR INCIDENT

Investigations into the causes of accidents should not be linked to compensation for damages or determination of liability.

it shall facilitate cooperation between the Member States and the Commission in the development, with due regard to the different legal systems in the Member States, of a common methodology for investigating maritime accidents according to agreed international principles, in the provision of support to the Member States in activities concerning investigations related to serious maritime accidents, and in the carrying out of an analysis of existing accident investigation reports;

it shall facilitate cooperation between the Member States and the Commission in the development, with due regard to the different legal systems in the Member States, of a common methodology for investigating maritime accidents according to agreed international principles, in the provision of the support of the Member States in activities concerning investigations related to serious maritime accidents, and in the carrying out of an analysis of existing accident investigation reports;

COUNCIL DIRECTIVE 94/56/EC of 21 November 1994 establishing the fundamental principles governing the investigation of civil aviation accidents and incidents

Council Directive 94/56/EC of 21 November 1994 establishing the fundamental principles governing the investigation of civil aviation accidents and incidents(4), aims at preventing accidents by facilitating the expeditious holding of investigations.

Entities entrusted with the investigation of civil aviation accidents and incidents, or with the analysis of occurrences, are entitled to access to that information.