Article 3

For the purposes of this Directive: ‘accident’ means an occurrence associated with the operation of an aircraft which takes place between the time any person boards the aircraft with the intention of flight until such time as all such persons have disembarked, in which: a person is fatally or seriously injured as a result of: being in the aircraft, or direct contact with any part of the aircraft, including parts which have become detached from the aircraft, or direct exposure to jet blast, except when the injuries are from natural causes, self-inflicted or inflicted by other persons, or when the injuries are to stowaways hiding outside the areas normally available to the passengers and crew; or the aircraft sustains damage or structural failure which: adversely affects the structural strength, performance or flight characteristics of the aircraft, and would normally require major repair or replacement of the affected component, except for engine failure or damage, when the damage is limited to the engine, its cowlings or accessories; or for damage limited to propellers, wing tips, antennas, tyres, brakes, fairings, small dents or puncture holes in the aircraft skin; the aircraft is missing or is completely inaccessible; ‘serious injury’ mens an injury which is sustained by a person in an accident and which: requires hospitalization for more than 48 hours, commencing within seven days from the date the injury was received; or results in a fracture of any bone (except simple fractures of fingers, toes, or nose); or involves lacerations which cause severe haemorrhage, nerve, muscle or tendon damage; or involves injury to any internal organ; or involves second or third degree burns, or any burns affecting more than 5% of the body surface; or involves verified exposure to infectious substances or harmful radiation; ‘fatal injury’ means an injury which is sustained by a person in an accident and which results in his/her death within 30 days of the date of the accident; ‘causes’ means actions, omissions, events or conditions, or a combination thereof, which led to the accident or incident; ‘investigation’ means a process conducted for the purpose of accident and incident prevention which includes the gathering and analysis of information, the drawing of conclusions, including the determination of cause(s) and, when appropriate, the making of safety recommendations; ‘investigator-in-charge’ means a person charged, on the basis of his qualifications, with responsibility for the organization, conduct and control of an investigation; ‘flight recorder’ means any type of recorder installed in the aircraft for the purpose of facilitating accident/incident investigations; ‘undertaking’ means any natural person, any legal person, whether profit-making or not, or any official body whether having its own legal personality or not; ‘operator’ means any person, body or undertaking operating or proposing to operate one or more aircraft; ‘incident’ means an occurrence, other than an accident, associated with the operation of an aircraft which affects or would affect the safety of operation; ‘serious incident’ means an incident involving circumstances indicating- that an accident nearly occurred (a list of examples of serious incidents can be found in the Annex); ‘safety recommendation’ means any proposal by the investigating body of the State conducting the technical investigation, based on information derived from that investigation, made with the intention of preventing accidents and incidents.

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Source: EUR-Lex (Cellar) · retrieved 2026-11-10 · Text as adopted (Official Journal); later amendments are not incorporated in this text.