Aviation

• Immunizations for rescue workers
• Protective equipment against blood borne pathogen hazards
• Exposure control plan 29 C.F.R. 1910.1030(c)(1)
• Aviation Disaster Family Assistance Act of 1996 Public Law 104-264 110 Statute 3214 Section 703.
• This plan details the actions and duties of the NTSB, other agencies, and the airlines during the crash investigation.
• Under a 1999 agreement between the NTSB and the ATA, airlines have agreed to pay both logistical and transportation
expenses for families wishing to travel to accident site and extraordinary expenses for crash victim recovery and identification
and emergency response.
• Other government agency regulations may be pertinent depending on the aircraft manifest
• Postal Service notification required for loss of U.S. Mail
• Department of Defense notification required when military personnel onboard
• Hazardous cargo may involve:
• Center for Disease Control
• U.S. Energy Research and Development Administration
Accident outside the United States
International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) Annex 13 sets the ground rules for investigations of aviation accidents involving
more than one country. The NTSB will likely be a party to the investigation.
ICAO Annex 13 Filed Differences
The United States investigation protocol follows ICAO standards with the following filed differences to ICAO Annex 13 – Aircraft
Accident and Incident Investigation.
• Section 5.12
• The United States laws provide some protection against dissemination of some medical or private information.
• US laws also prohibits disclosure of the cockpit voice recorder information not pertinent to the investigation.
• Section 5.25 h)
• Deliberations related to analysis, probable causes, and safety recommendations are limited to investigative authority and staff.
Other participation is through written submissions.
• Section 5.26 b)
• The standard used in the US for public access to information does not consider the consent of the state conducting the
investigation.
• Section 6.2
• The US laws on public right to access of government held information may not protect the dissemination of a draft report.
Treaties applicable to accidents and investigations:
Which treaty applies depends on accident location and origin country of parties involved.
• Warsaw Convention of 1929
• The Warsaw Convention established liability limits for loss in an aviation accident. A fixed and undisputed payout was
established unless willful misconduct on the part of the carrier could be proven.
• The Hague Protocol
• This protocol increased the amount of compensation for each loss or injury under the Warsaw Convention
• The Montreal Convention
• This convention was held for the purpose of modernizing the Warsaw Convention and incorporating other related documents.
The convention supercedes the previous international air carriage agreements - the Warsaw Convention and the Hague
Protocol. It became effective after 30 nations adopted the convention in 2003.
• This convention eliminates passenger liability limits of the Warsaw Convention/Hague Protocol, leaving a court to decide if there
is liability.
• Article 33 of this convention allows jurisdiction over suits to be brought in the domicile of a code share partner. This is generally
considered a way of accessing US courts for higher damage awards.
Page 3