Clause 13

any accident or serious incident;

any conduct, transaction, process, practice, occurrence, circumstance or matter that may constitute such offence as may be prescribed by the voluntary reporting rules;

any reportable safety matter within the meaning of section 4O;

matters showing a serious and imminent threat to a person’s health or life;

any act of unlawful interference within the meaning of section 17;

any other conduct, transaction, process, practice, occurrence, circumstance or matter that is prescribed by the voluntary reporting rules to be excluded from this definition;“cause”, in relation to any accident or incident, means any action, omission, event, condition, or a combination thereof, which led to the accident or incident, the identification of which does not imply the assignment of fault or the determination of administrative, civil or criminal liability;“civil aircraft” means aircraft that is a Singapore registered aircraft and any other aircraft that is not military aircraft;“designated person” means a person designated by the Minister for the purposes of the voluntary reporting scheme established by the voluntary reporting rules;“flight recorder” means any type of recorder installed in the aircraft for the purpose of complementing accident or incident investigation;“flying display” means a civilian organised event (including any rehearsal for such event) which —

consists, wholly or partly, of an exhibition of flying of any civil or military aircraft; and

takes place at an aerodrome or premises other than a naval, military or air force aerodrome or premises;“incident” means an occurrence, other than an accident, associated with the operation of an aircraft which affects or could affect the safety of such operation;“non-contracting State” means any State which is not a party to the Chicago Convention;“serious incident” means an incident involving circumstances prescribed by regulations made for the purposes of this Part;“State of Design” means the State having jurisdiction over the organisation responsible for the type design of the aircraft;“State of Manufacture” means the State having jurisdiction over the organisation responsible for the final assembly of the aircraft;“voluntary reporting rules” means rules made under section 13F.Accidents, etc., to which this Part applies13A. This Part shall apply only in relation to —

an accident or incident involving a civil aircraft; or

an accident or incident involving a military aircraft during a flying display in Singapore.Air Accident Investigation Bureau of Singapore and Inspectors13B.—

For the purposes of this Part, the Minister may appoint as an Inspector of Accidents any individual (whether or not a public officer) who has suitable qualifications and experience to properly exercise the powers of an Inspector of Accidents under this Part.(2) Where 2 or more public officers are appointed as Inspectors, the Minister must appoint from among them a Chief Inspector of Accidents.(3) There shall be established a department of the Government known as the Air Accident Investigation Bureau of Singapore or AAIB, comprising such number of public officers who are Inspectors of Accidents and such other public officers as are necessary for the proper functioning of the AAIB.(4) The function of the AAIB shall be to carry out investigations into any accident or serious incident —

that occurs in Singapore; (b)that occurs outside Singapore, that involves a Singapore registered aircraft or an aircraft operated by a Singapore operator and if either of the following apply:

the occurrence is in any non-contracting State which does not intend to carry out an investigation of the accident or serious incident in accordance with Annex 13;

the investigation has been delegated to Singapore by another Contracting State by mutual arrangement and consent; or

that occurs in a location which cannot be definitely established as being in the territory of any State and that involves a Singapore registered aircraft or an aircraft operated by a Singapore operator.(5) In addition to subsection (4), the AAIB —

may carry out such other investigations into incidents (other than serious incidents) —

that occurs in Singapore from which air safety lessons may be derived; or

that occurs outside Singapore, that involves a Singapore registered aircraft or an aircraft operated by a Singapore operator, and from which air safety lessons may be derived; and

may discharge such other function which is incidental or conducive to the attainment or furtherance of the purposes of this Part as may be prescribed by regulations made for the purposes of this Part.(6) In exercising any power under this Part, the AAIB and every Inspector of Accidents must ensure that the power conferred on the AAIB and an Inspector of Accidents must be exercised in a manner that is consistent with Singapore’s obligations under the Chicago Convention.(7) The AAIB must, as soon as practicable after an investigation under this Part has been completed, publish, by electronic or other means, a report in relation to the investigation.Purpose of investigations under this Part13C.—

The sole objective of an investigation of an accident or incident under this Part shall be the prevention of accidents and incidents, and not to apportion blame or liability.(2) Any investigation carried out under this Part shall be separate from any judicial or administrative proceedings to apportion blame or liability.Relationship with other laws13D.—

For the avoidance of doubt, nothing in this Part shall limit the powers of any authority to investigate accidents under any written law for the time being in force relating to merchant shipping.(2) Nothing in this Part shall limit the powers of cancelling, suspending or endorsing any aviation safety instrument or other approval, licence, permit or other document issued or granted under this Act or any subsidiary legislation made under this Act.Division 2 — Reporting of accidents, serious incidents and aviation safety issuesCompulsory reporting of accidents and serious incidents13E.—

If a relevant person has knowledge of —

an accident or a serious incident occurring in Singapore; or

an accident or a serious incident outside Singapore involving a Singapore registered aircraft or an aircraft operated by a Singapore operator,the relevant person must give notice of the accident or serious incident to the AAIB within such time and in such manner as may be so prescribed.(2) In this section, “a relevant person” means —

the owner, operator or pilot-in-command of the aircraft at the time of the accident or serious incident;

where the accident or serious incident occurs on or adjacent to an aerodrome in Singapore, the owner or operator of the aerodrome;

where the accident or serious incident occurs in Singapore airspace, the provider of air traffic services;

where the accident or serious incident occurs during a flying display in Singapore, the organiser of the flying display; and

in all other accidents, serious incidents or incidents, such persons as may be prescribed by regulations made for the purposes of this Part.(3) A relevant person who, without reasonable excuse, contravenes subsection (1) shall be guilty of an offence and shall be liable on conviction to a fine not exceeding $100,000 or to imprisonment for a term not exceeding 5 years or to both.Voluntary reporting scheme13F.—

Rules (referred to in this Act as the voluntary reporting rules) may be made by the Minister under this section to establish a scheme —

for the voluntary and confidential reporting of aviation safety issues;

to identify deficiencies and problems arising out of such reports; and

to provide data for safety improvements to the Singapore aviation system.(2) The voluntary reporting rules must prescribe for —

the voluntary and confidential reporting of aviation safety issues to one or more persons designated in the rules (referred to in this Part as a designated person);

the manner in which such reports are to be made;

the use and disclosure by a designated person of information contained in such reports and information the designated person obtains or generates in the course of considering any such report, which shall not be inconsistent with section 13G; and

any other matters necessary or incidental to the establishment or operation of a scheme in accordance with subsection (1).(3) All voluntary reporting rules made shall be presented to Parliament as soon as possible after publication in the Gazette.Protection for reporting aviation safety issues13G.—

Subject to subsection (4), the following:

a report of an aviation safety issue made by a person (referred to in this section as the reporter) to a designated person in accordance with the voluntary reporting rules or any evidence of the contents of such a report; and

the fact that such a report of an aviation safety issue was made by the reporter to a designated person,shall not be admissible in evidence against the reporter in any administrative proceedings before any tribunal in Singapore, any civil proceedings or any criminal proceedings before any court other than criminal proceedings for an offence under section 29C.(2) A person is not entitled to take disciplinary action against his employee using information derived from a report of an aviation safety issue made by the employee to a designated person in accordance with the voluntary reporting rules.(3) A tribunal is not entitled to make a decision of an administrative character (whether or not in the exercise of a discretion) under any written law against a reporter using information derived from a report of an aviation safety issue made by the reporter to a designated person in accordance with the voluntary reporting rules.(4) For the avoidance of doubt, this section does not prevent the use of information derived from a source that is not a report of an aviation safety issue made to any designated person in accordance with the voluntary reporting rules.(5) In this section, “tribunal” includes any person or body of persons constituted and vested by or under any written law to make a decision of an administrative character.Division 3 — InvestigationsPowers of Inspectors, etc.14.—

For the purposes of enabling him to carry out an investigation into an accident or incident under and in accordance with this Part and any regulations made for the purposes of this Part, an Inspector shall, where the whole or any part of the investigation is carried out in Singapore —

have free and unhampered access to the site of the accident or incident as well as to the aircraft, its contents or its wreckage;

have immediate and unrestricted access to and use of the contents of the flight recorders, air traffic service provider’s records and any other recordings;

have access to and be provided with the results of examinations of the bodies of victims or of tests made on samples taken from the bodies of the victims;

have immediate access to and be provided with the results of examinations of the persons involved in the operation of the aircraft or of tests made on samples taken from such persons; and

have free access to any relevant information or records held by any relevant person within the meaning of section 13E(2), any maintenance contractor or sub‑contractor of an operator of an aircraft, the hirer, the designer or the manufacturer of the aircraft, and by the authorities for civil aviation or airport operation or air traffic services.(2) For the purposes of enabling him to carry out an investigation into an accident or incident under and in accordance with this Part and any regulations made for the purposes of this Part, an Inspector may, where the whole or any part of the investigation is carried out in Singapore —

by summons under his hand —

call before him and examine any person as he thinks fit;

require such person to answer any question or furnish any information or produce any books, papers, documents and articles which he may consider relevant; and

make copies of and retain any such books, papers, documents and articles until the completion of the investigation;

take statements from all such persons as he thinks fit and require any such person to make and sign a declaration of the truth of the statement made by him;

on production, if required, of his credentials, enter and inspect any place, building or aircraft the entry or inspection whereof appears to him to be necessary for the purposes of the investigation;

on production, if required, of his credentials, remove, test, take measures for the preservation of or otherwise deal with any aircraft other than an aircraft involved in the accident or incident where it appears to him to be necessary for the purposes of the investigation;

take possession of, examine, remove, test or take measures for the preservation of any object or evidence as he considers necessary for the purposes of the investigation;

require an immediate listing of evidence and removal of debris or components for examination or analysis purposes;

require the readout of the flight recorders;

in the case of a fatal accident, require a complete autopsy examination of fatally injured flight crew, and, when necessary, passengers and aviation personnel by a pathologist, and if a pathologist experienced in the investigation of aircraft accidents is available, by such pathologist, and require the autopsy report or reports to be submitted to an Inspector;

where appropriate, require the medical examination or toxicological examination of the crew, passengers and aviation personnel involved in the accident or incident by a medical practitioner, and if a medical practitioner experienced in the investigation of aircraft accidents is available, by such medical practitioner, and require the medical report or toxicological report or both, as the case may be, to be submitted to an Inspector;

require the crew, passengers and aviation personnel involved in the accident or incident to undergo such other tests (including a breathalyser test) as he considers necessary for the purposes of the investigation, and require the test report or reports to be submitted to an Inspector; and

have such other powers as may be prescribed in regulations made for the purposes of this Part.(3) Without prejudice to the generality of subsections (1) and (2), an Inspector may request another Contracting State to provide such information, facilities or experts as he may consider necessary for the purposes of an investigation.(4) A person to whom a summons or requirement is given by an Inspector in accordance with this section shall be guilty of an offence if the person —

fails to attend before the Inspector in accordance with the summons or requirement;

refuses to take an oath or make an affirmation when required by the Inspector to do so;

refuses or fails to answer a question lawfully put to the person; or

fails to produce to the Inspector the specified evidential material in accordance with the summons or requirement,and shall be liable on conviction to a fine not exceeding $100,000 or to imprisonment for a term not exceeding 5 years or to both.(5) A person is not excused from answering a question or producing evidential material in response to a summons or requirement made by an Inspector under this Part on the ground that the answer, or the production of the material, might tend to incriminate the person.(6) Where an individual claims, before answering a question or producing evidential material that he is required by an Inspector under this Part to give, that the answer or the production of evidential material might tend to incriminate him —

that answer or evidential material;

the giving of the answer or the production of evidential material; and

any information, document or thing obtained as a direct or indirect consequence of the giving of the answer or the production of evidential material,shall not be admissible in evidence against that individual in any civil proceedings or any criminal proceedings other than proceedings for an offence in respect of the falsity of the answer or evidential material produced.(7) Subsection (6) shall apply notwithstanding any other written law.Securing of accident sites, etc.14A.—

Subject to subsection (2), where an accident or a serious incident occurs in Singapore —

no person other than the Chief Inspector of Accidents, an investigator in charge of the investigation into that accident or serious incident (referred to in this Part as the investigator-in-charge) or an authorised person shall have access to the aircraft involved in the accident or serious incident, the contents thereof or the site of the accident or serious incident; and

no person shall move or interfere with the aircraft, its contents or the site of the accident or serious incident except under the authority of the Chief Inspector of Accidents or the investigator-in-charge.(2) Subsection (1) shall not apply if the conduct was necessary —

to extricate persons or animals from an accident site;

to remove any mail, valuable property or dangerous goods from the accident site;

to prevent destruction of any aircraft, the wreckage of an aircraft or other evidence by fire or other cause;

to move an aircraft, or the wreckage of an aircraft, to a safe place if the aircraft or wreckage is in water; or

to prevent any danger or obstruction to the public, air navigation or other transport.(3) In this section, “authorised person” —

means any person authorised by the Chief Inspector of Accidents or the investigator-in-charge either generally or specifically to have access to any aircraft involved in an accident or a serious incident, and includes any police officer or any officer of customs; and

in relation to an accident involving a military aircraft belonging to the Singapore Armed Forces, includes any person authorised by the Chief of Air Force.Appointment of accredited representative, adviser and expert14B.—

Where an accident or incident occurs outside Singapore in a Contracting State and —

where Singapore is the State of Registry, State of the Operator, State of Manufacture or State of Design of the aircraft involved in the accident or incident; or

where Singapore, at the request of the Contracting State conducting the investigation, is requested to provide information, facilities or experts to that Contracting State in connection with the investigation,the Minister may appoint an accredited representative and one or more advisers to assist the accredited representative.(2) The Minister may also appoint an expert to participate in the investigation into an accident which occurs in another Contracting State where Singapore has a special interest in the accident by virtue of fatalities or injuries to citizens of Singapore.(3) The accredited representative and an adviser appointed by the Minister under subsection (1) may, for the purposes of the investigation in which they are participating, exercise such rights and powers of an Inspector in respect of any aircraft, records, information, documents, objects, witnesses or other evidence in Singapore or held by any person in Singapore specified in section 14.Obstructing investigations, etc.14C.—

Where —

a person engages in conduct;

the person knows that the conduct, or is reckless as to whether the conduct, will adversely affect an investigation under this Part that is being conducted at that time or that could be conducted at a later time;

the conduct has the result of adversely affecting such an investigation (whether or not the investigation has started at that time); and

the conduct is not authorised by the Chief Inspector of Accidents, an Inspector or any person acting under the authority of the Minister, Chief Inspector of Accidents or Inspector under this Part,the person shall be guilty of an offence and shall be liable on conviction to a fine not exceeding $20,000 or to imprisonment for a term not exceeding 12 months or to both.(2) Subsection (1) shall not apply if the person has a reasonable excuse, the burden of proof of which lies with that person. Limitations on disclosure of records of investigation, etc.14D.—

In this section, “restricted information” means —

all statements (whether oral or in writing) obtained from persons by an Inspector, or by a person acting under the authority of the Minister or Chief Inspector of Accidents, in the course of an investigation under this Part (including any record of any such statement);

all communications with any person having been involved in the operation of an aircraft that is being or has been investigated under this Part;

all medical or private information regarding persons (including deceased persons) involved in the accident or incident that is being or has been investigated under this Part;

any cockpit voice recording and transcript from such recording;

any air traffic services recording and transcript from such recording;

any cockpit airborne image recording and any part or transcript from such recording;

records of the analysis of information or evidential material acquired in the course of an investigation under this Part (such as but not limited to flight recorder information), including any opinion expressed by a person in the analysis of such information or evidential material;

information that is contained in a report of an aviation safety issue made under the voluntary reporting rules;

information that is obtained or generated by a designated person in the course of considering a report of an aviation safety issue made under the voluntary reporting rules; and

records of the analysis of information contained in a report of an aviation safety issue made under the voluntary reporting rules, including opinions expressed by a person in that analysis.(2) Subject to subsection (3), a person who is or has been an Inspector, a member of the staff of the AAIB, or an adviser, or who has or has had access to any restricted information, shall not disclose or make available any restricted information to any other person or a court.(3) Subsection (2) shall not apply —

to anything done by a person in performing functions or exercising powers under, or in connection with, this Part or the subsidiary legislation made for the purposes of this Part;

to disclosure to a court in criminal proceedings for an offence under any provision of this Part or the subsidiary legislation made for the purposes of this Part or under section 29C; or

to disclosure where the High Court determines that the benefits resulting from the disclosure outweigh the adverse domestic and international impact the disclosure may have on that or any future investigation.(4) If a person is prohibited by this section from disclosing any restricted information, then the person cannot be required by any court to disclose the information, and any information disclosed by the person in contravention of this section shall not be admissible in any civil proceedings or any criminal proceedings (other than proceedings against the person under this section).(5) A report referred to in section 13B(7) is not admissible in evidence in any civil proceedings and any criminal proceedings, that is not an inquiry under the Coroners Act (Cap. 63A).(6) Notwithstanding anything in the National Library Board Act (Cap. 197), the Minister, the Chief Inspector of Accidents, an inspector and an investigator-in-charge shall not be required to hold aircraft records or factual information concerning an accident or incident that is being or has been investigated under this Part beyond such time as is necessary for the completion of the investigation and reports.Regulations14E.—

The Minister may, for the purposes of this Part, make regulations in relation to the conduct of investigations into accidents or incidents, including providing for —

the determination of the circumstances and causes of such accidents and incidents with a view to avoiding similar occurrences in the future; and

permitting the participation or representation of such accredited representatives and advisers in any investigation as is provided for in Annex 13, including recovery or reimbursement of reasonable expenses incurred by the accredited representatives and advisers by reason of their participation in the investigation from owners or operators of the aircraft involved.(2) All regulations made under this section shall be presented to Parliament as soon as possible after publication in the Gazette.(3) The provisions of any order made under section 3 by the Minister before the date of commencement of section 13 of the Air Navigation (Amendment) Act 2014 in relation to investigations into accidents and incidents involving aircraft and in force immediately before that date shall continue in force as if made under this section until the provision is revoked or repealed by regulations made under this section.”.