The Fox Rothschild aviation team would like to thank the hundreds of aviation professionals who joined us for our 21^st annual aviation symposium.  As always, the all-star panels had an unrestrained discussion of the key issues facing aviation safety.

For those of you who were unable to join us, Plane-ly Spoken is beginning a weekly series where we will provide a recap of each panel and a link to the PowerPoint and other related materials.

This week, we look back at “Accidents Outside the United States: The Role of the Department of State and the NTSB.”  The panel included representatives from the NTSB, State Department Consular Affairs, and a survivor of an overseas accident, who discussed their experiences and how accidents are investigated overseas. 

While the NTSB manages all investigations of accidents that occur within the United States, overseas accidents are conducted in accord with the international standards set forth by the International Civil Aviation Organization in its Annex 13 publication.  Unlike the NTSB process, private entities are almost never a “party” to the investigation.  If a foreign accident involves a US air carrier or US aircraft, the accident is investigation by the country where the accident occurred.  The NTSB is only a party to the investigation.  However, the NTSB can, in turn, utilize US entities such as the air carrier as technical advisors to aid it in the work.

While ICAO Annex 13 sets the standards each nation should apply to accident investigations, there can be substantial variations in procedures between countries.  As the panel stressed, if you routinely fly outside the United States, it pays to be aware of those differences in advance.

For more details on the ICAO ANNEX 13 process, see the attached PowerPoint Slides.