Air Accidents Investigation Branch
The Air Accidents Investigation Branch (AAIB) investigates civil aircraft accidents and serious incidents within the United Kingdom, its overseas territories and crown dependencies.
| Air Accidents Investigation Branch | |
|---|---|
| Agency overview | |
| Formed | 1915 |
| Jurisdiction |
|
| Headquarters | Farnborough House Farnborough Airport, Rushmoor |
| Employees | 64 |
| Annual budget | >£18 million |
| Agency executive | Crispin Orr, Chief Inspector of Air Accidents |
History
Aviation accident investigation in the United Kingdom started in 1912,[1] when the Royal Aero Club published a report into a fatal accident at Brooklands Aerodrome, Surrey.[2]
The AAIB was established in 1915 as the Accidents Investigation Branch (AIB) of the Royal Flying Corps (RFC). Captain G B Cockburn[3] was appointed "Inspector of Accidents" for the RFC, reporting directly to the Director General of Military Aeronautics in the War Office.[4][5]
After the First World War, the Department of Civil Aviation was set up in the Air Ministry and the AIB became part of that department with a remit to investigate both civil and military aviation accidents.[6]
Following the Second World War a Ministry of Civil Aviation was established and in 1946 the AIB was transferred to it, but continued to assist the Royal Air Force with accident investigations – a situation which has continued ever since.
After working under various parent ministries,[source?] including the Department of Trade,[7] the AIB moved to the then Department of Transport in 1983 and in November 1987 its name was changed to the Air Accidents Investigation Branch (AAIB).[8] Latterly, the AAIB has become part of the reorganised Department for Transport (DfT)[9] since 2002. In 2024, the AAIB was awarded the Lennox-Boyd Award by the Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association.[10]
References
- ↑ Hradecky, Simon. United Kingdom's Air Accident Investigation Board celebrates 100 years of air accident investigation. The Aviation Herald (8 June 2012). Retrieved 10 June 2012.
- ↑ "Brooklands accident". Flight (8 June 1912): 513. http://www.flightglobal.com/pdfarchive/view/1912/1912%20-%200513.html. Retrieved 10 June 2012.
- ↑ The London Gazette, 27 October 1916
- ↑ Supplement to the London Gazette, 7 January 1918
- ↑ Turner, Charles Cyril. The Old Flying Days (1927)Arno Press. p. 72. ISBN 978-0-405-03783-2.
- ↑ Route to Egypt Losses Enquiry, Hansard, 30 October 1919 vol 120 cc914-5W
- ↑ "Turkish Airlines DC-10 TC-JAV Report on the accident in the Ermenonville Forest, France on 3 March 1974." (Archive) Accidents Investigation Branch. Retrieved on 29 April 2012.
- ↑ "About us" (in en). GOV.UK. https://www.gov.uk/government/organisations/air-accidents-investigation-branch/about#who-we-are. Retrieved 2018-05-31.
- ↑ Welcome to the Website of the AAIB. AAIB. Retrieved 25 April 2014.
- ↑ AAIB awarded Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association (AOPA) Lennox-Boyd Award 2024United K9+ingdom Government. Retrieved 13 September 2024.