Air Accidents Investigation Branch
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| Agency overview | |
|---|---|
| Formed | 1915 |
| Jurisdiction | UK and overseas territories |
| Employees | 49 |
| Agency executive |
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| Parent department | Department for Transport |
| Website | http://aaib.gov.uk |
The Air Accidents Investigation Branch (AAIB) investigates air accidents in the United Kingdom. There are three categories of inspector: Operations Inspector, a pilot with command experience; Engineering inspector, with expertise in aircraft control systems; Flight Recorder Inspector, with experience in avionics. The AAIB is a branch of the Department for Transport and is based in the grounds of Farnborough Airport, Hampshire.
Aviation accident investigation in the United Kingdom started in 1912, when the Royal Aero Club published a report into a fatal accident at Brooklands Aerodrome, Surrey.
The AAIB was established in 1915 as the Accidents Investigation Branch (AIB) of the Royal Flying Corps (RFC). Captain G B Cockburn was appointed "Inspector of Accidents" for the RFC, reporting directly to the Director General of Military Aeronautics in the War Office.
After the end of the First World War, the Department of Civil Aviation was set up in the Air Ministry and the AIB became part of that Department with a remit to investigate both civil and military aviation accidents.
Following the Second World War a Ministry of Civil Aviation was established and in 1946 the AIB was transferred to it, but continued to assist the Royal Air Force with accident investigations - a situation which has continued ever since.
After working under various parent ministries, including the Department of Trade, the AIB moved to the then Department of Transport in 1983 and in November 1987 its name was changed to the Air Accidents Investigation Branch (AAIB). Latterly, the AAIB has become part of the reorganised Department for Transport (DfT) since 2002.
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