Page from history - the purpose of an accident investigation

From an article by Harold Caplan in the January 1955 edition of the Journal of the Royal Aeronautical Society, in which he defined the purpose of an accident investigation:

"To provide scientifically valid data arising from accidents and incidents which shall assist in preventing future similar occurrences and generally contribute to safer aviation."

Caplan went on to explain his working definition:

"It is unfortunately necessary to use the clumsy phrase 'scientifically valid data' to distinguish between that and mere 'legally valid data,' which is so often the major official result of investigations in terms of compliance with regulations ... Moreover, it is necessary to define 'investigation' in terms of the use to which the data will be put - an investigator with little idea of the purpose of his work cannot produce useful material and an investigation directed at ascertaining only the circumstances of an accident will rarely contribute to the prevention of other accidents ...

"Finally, it is necessary to specify that the data shall not only assist in preventing future similar occurrences but also 'generally contribute to safer aviation.' This is done because an investigation is one of the rare occasions when a detailed examination of, for example, operational or maintenance practice, is possible, and very often there are revealed potential hazards which contributed nothing to the particular incident, but in the interest of future safety are best eliminated."

At the time of this article, Caplan was associated with The British Aviation Insurance Co., Ltd. Extract reproduced with Caplan's permission. >> Caplan, tel. 011 44 (0) 1932 781200 <<