After the Accident: A List of Best Practice “Do’s” That Will Serve You Well
This next post in our series covering an operator’s perspective of accident investigations is a collection of things that “worked” when it came to on-scene best practices. If this is the first post in the series that you have read, we recommend you go back and catch-up on our earlier posts over the last few weeks. We try to keep them all short enough to read in a few minutes and they are all titled “After the Accident:” so they should be easy to find.
In no particular order, here are some of the “do’s” we learned through trial and error:
As discussed in an earlier post, communication and organization are the most important “do’s” and making initial contact with the investigator in charge is critical in establishing a positive rapport and fostering transparency. Prior to heading to the scene, coordinating logistics such as transportation, lodging, rental car, and food are important for a smooth start. Ideally, someone from your organization can be working on these logistics while you travel to the scene.
Establishing two separate bases of operation is a good rule of thumb.
One that is kept private for the investigation team and another for any public relations response. This allows the investigation team to operate without the interruptions and distraction of media and victim’s family presence.
Ensure all records are preserved (both paper and digital).
As part of your company’s emergency response plan you should have personnel identified who will take control of these documents and ensure that nothing is altered. Additionally, if there are any potentially useful video or audio recordings such as cell phone or security footage a request should immediately be submitted to preserve this as evidence. The sources of video and audio files could be anything such as helipad or even dashcam footage. In one investigation, we went door to door in an industrial complex until we found a business with security cameras oriented on the aircraft flight path. This video proved valuable in determining a timeline and supporting some witness statements.
As part of your emergency response plan a single media point of contact such as your organization’s public affairs department should be identified.
Employees must be trained to direct requests to this person and remember that “no comment” is not a great response to questions. If approached, employees should be allowed to acknowledge the incident occurred and ask to allow for the investigation process to continue as intended while directing additional questions to the media point of contact. Remember, any contact with media by party members must be cleared in advance with the investigator in charge.
Once your pre-travel steps are complete and you are heading to the scene, continue communication with the investigator in charge and any law enforcement that may already be on site.
Additionally, keeping communication open with other potential party members (such as OEMs) prior to arriving also supports the goal of transparency. By creating this cooperative and open atmosphere it encourages teamwork.
You can expect some type of media on-scene and must direct any requests to the investigator in charge or your organization’s public relations contact.
Photo Credit: Matt Chesin via Unsplash
Once arriving on scene, meet at a staging area nearby, but not at the scene.
We discussed this in an earlier blog post but as a reminder, the intent of meeting at an offsite staging area is to positively identify key personnel and finish confirming everyone’s credentials.
Aircraft accidents will attract media so it is important that we discuss a couple reminders.
If possible, prior to arrival on-scene you can coordinate with law enforcement to meet offsite and provide an escort directly through any perimeters that have been established. Once on-scene, keep in mind that media will likely have telephoto lenses and sensitive microphones so be careful about what is discussed openly even if you believe you have privacy.
It is understandable that your organization may want legal representation after an incident or serious accident.
An accident scene is not a place for attorneys and if they are present during the initial investigation it will raise suspicion about the intent of your involvement. Remember, these investigations are not to serve the purpose of legal defense and attorneys are not allowed on scene. If your organization provides attorneys for employees that may be questioned or other legal support, they must remain off site and be available via telephone if necessary.
At the end of the first day on scene, many investigators in charge will call a group meeting so everyone can discuss what they accomplished and plan the next day.
This first group meeting is a good time to exchange contact information and ensure that everyone is on the same page. From our experience, this is also an ideal time for everyone to have file exchanges via USB flash drive, so all parties have the same information going forward. These meetings should be an open exchange of all gathered information to date and should be repeated each evening. Due to the sensitive nature of these daily meetings, it should be clear why we suggested a separate and private location for the investigation team free from spectators and the media.
It is possible that not all teardown or analysis of aircraft wreckage will take place on scene.
While party members have input, ultimately it is up to the investigator in charge about whether additional teardown or analysis and testing will take place offsite. It is common for an OEM to provide additional analysis at their facilities, and it may include component testing, data downloading, or even static engine runs. If this is going to take place offsite, you should expect continuous accountability of components in the form of sealed shipping containers with evidence tape that will indicate if something has been tampered with. The offsite analysis or testing usually requires party representation to further the goal of transparency and integrity.
Another type of offsite analysis can come in the form of piecing together components such as flight controls to check for continuity.
In one of our prior investigations, this took place at an aircraft insurance storage yard well after the accident. Several wooden pallet-sized crates of aircraft wreckage were presented so party members could sift through them together with OEM experts to identify components and find any potential engineering or mechanical causes for the accident. These events are emotionally and physically exhausting as well as time consuming. This is one of the reasons why selecting your go-team members will require forethought considering that someone must continue running the day-to-day operations during the investigation process.
While not comprehensive, hopefully this brief list of best practices will spark some ideas and planning for your go-team. For more information, please feel free to contact us. In an upcoming post, we plan to share some of the approaches and techniques that did not work well and together with this post your organization will have a good start on the “do’s and do not’s” of an accident investigation.
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At VyClimb, part of our mission is to lead the aviation industry and the companies it serves to an elevated level of operational excellence to create greater stakeholder confidence. For more information or to discuss ways we may be able to help you please contact info@vyclimb.com.
