ACCIDENT INVESTIGATIONS

Internal Investigations
An internal accident review is normally performed in the event of a fatality or serious incident. The intent is to establish the facts and gather reports from witnesses. A trained staff member takes primary responsibility to document factual information about the incident.

External Investigations
If an organization is dealing with an emergency they typically lack credibility with the public to assess cause. Major airplane disasters are investigated by an independent body, rather than the airline that crashed and this relieves media pressure on the organization while dealing with the human aspects of the emergency. ASI has experience in investigating accidents in various environments.

An external investigation is recommended if a fatality occurs and in some other circumstances such as possible illegal or immoral conduct by a staff member or where media attention or legal action is probable. The external investigation team is selected by the top management of thee organization. The team usually consists of three or more members none of whom should be involved in the management of the organization.

The external investigation team may be charged to examine any aspect of the incident and making a determination of:

• The cause of the incident.
• If policies and procedures were adhered to.
• Recommendations for prevention