The Civil Aviation (Investigation of Air Accidents and Incidents) Regulations 1996 states where an accident of serious incident occurs, it must be reported to the Chief Inspector of Air Accidents. It is their responsibility to carry out an investigation and within the UK this is the Air Accidents Investigation Branch (AAIB) of the department of transport.
There are three categories of aircraft accident:
- Incident
- Serious Incident
- Accident
If the accident occurs in or over the UK, the police must also be informed.