Article 5

Member States shall define, in the framework of their respective internal legal systems, a legal status of the investigation that will enable the investigators-in-charge to carry out their task in the most efficient way and within the shortest time. In accordance with the legislation in force in the Member States and, where appropriate, in cooperation with the authorities responsible for the judicial inquiry, the investigators shall be authorized inter alia to: have free access to the site of the accident or incident as well as to the aircraft, its contents or its wreckage; ensure an immediate listing of evidence and controlled removal of debris, or components for examination or analysis purposes; have immediate access to and use of the contents of the flight recorders and any other recordings; have access to the results of examination of the bodies of victims or of tests made on samples taken from the bodies of victims; have immediate access to the results of examinations of the people involved in the operation of the aircraft or of tests made on samples taken from such people; examine witnesses; have free access to any relevant information or records held by the owner, the operator or the manufacturer of the aircraft and by the authorities responsible for civil aviation or airport operation.

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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.