The format of the Final Report in the Appendix of Annex 13 shall be used. However, it may be adapted to the circumstances of the accident or incident.  

ICAO Document No. 6756-AN/965 Part IV, shows standard procedures for writing the Final Report.

a.Release of information

AAIU investigators and seconded investigators shall not circulate, publish or give access to a draft report or any part thereof, or any documents obtained during an investigation of an accident or incident, without the express consent of the State which conducted the investigation, unless such reports or documents have already been published or released by that State.

b.Consultation

  1. AAIU shall send a copy of the draft Final Report to the State that instituted the investigation and to all States that participated in the investigation, inviting their significant and substantiated comments on the report as soon as possible. The draft Final Report of the investigation shall be sent for comments to:
  • the State of Registry;
  • the State of the Operator;
  • the State of Design; and
  • the State of Manufacture.

If AAIU receives comments within 60 days of the date of the transmittal letter, it shall either amend the draft Final Report to include the substance of the comments received or, if desired by the State that provided comments, append the comments to the Final Report. If AAIU receives no comments within 60 days of the date of the first transmittal letter, it shall issue the Final Report in accordance with 7-4 (c), unless an extension of that period has been agreed by the States concerned.

  1. AAIU may consult other States, such as those States which provided relevant information, significant facilities, or experts who participated in the investigation in accordance with Annex 13 paragraph 5.27.
  2. Comments to be appended to the Final Report are restricted to non-editorial-specific technical aspects of the Final Report upon which no agreement could be reached.
  3. When sending the draft Final Report to recipient States, the AAIU may consider using the most suitable and quickest means available, such as facsimile, e-mail, courier service or express mail.
  4. The AAIU should send, through the State of the Operator, a copy of the draft Final Report to the operator to enable the operator to submit comments on the draft Final Report.
  5. The AAIU should send, through the State of Design and the State of Manufacture, a copy of the draft Final Report to the organizations responsible for the type design and the final assembly of the aircraft to enable them to submit comments on.

c.Recipient States

The Final Report of the investigation of an accident shall be sent with a minimum of delay by the AAIU to:

  • the State that instituted the investigation;
  • the State of Registry;
  • the State of the Operator;
  • the State of Design;
  • the State of Manufacture;
  • any State having suffered fatalities or serious injuries to its citizens; and
  • any State that provided relevant information, significant facilities or experts.

d.Release of the Final Report

  1. In the interest of accident prevention, the AAIU shall release the Final Report as soon as possible.
  2. The AAIU should release the Final Report in the shortest possible time and, if possible, within 12 months of the date of the occurrence. If the report can not be released within 12 months, the AAIU shall release an interim report on each anniversary of the occurrence, detailing the progress of the investigation and any safety issues raised.
  3. When AAIU has conducted an investigation into an accident or an incident involving an aircraft of a maximum mass of over 5 700 kg and has released a Final Report, AAIU shall send to the International Civil Aviation Organization a copy of the Final Report.

Note: Whenever practicable, the Final Report sent to ICAO is to be prepared in one of the working languages of the Organization and in the form shown in the Appendix of Annex 13.

e. Safety recommendations

  1. At any stage of the investigation of an accident or incident, AAIU shall recommend to the appropriate authorities, including those in other States, any preventive action that it considers necessary to be taken promptly to enhance aviation safety.
  2. AAIU shall address, when appropriate, any safety recommendations arising out of its investigations to the accident investigation authorities of other State(s) concerned and, when ICAO documents are involved, to ICAO.

Note: When Final Reports contain safety recommendations addressed to ICAO, because ICAO documents are involved, these reports must be accompanied by a letter outlining the specific action proposed.

f. Action on Safety recommendations

  1. When AAIU receives safety recommendations, it shall inform the proposing State of the preventive action taken or under consideration, or the reasons why no action will be taken.
  2. Whenever practicable, AAIU shall make proposals for preventive action other than safety recommendations.