01. Notification

Am I required to report civil aviation accidents or serious incidents?

The Spanish and international laws oblige the people involved and aware of a civil aviation accident or serious accident to notify to CIAIAC those occurred within the Spanish airspace , regardless of the State of Registry or operator of the aircraft.

What is meant by 'person involved'?

According to European legislation ‘person involved’ means the owner, a member of the crew, the operator of the aircraft involved in an accident or serious incident; any person involved in the maintenance, design, manufacture of that aircraft or in the training of its crew; any person involved in the provision of air traffic control, flight information or aerodrome services, who have provided services for the aircraft; staff of the national civil aviation authority; or staff of EASA.

Do I have to report accidents involving ultralight aircrafts?

Yes, you have. CIAIAC opens an investigation of all accidents involving ultralight aircrafts from which a notification is received. According to current regulations, it is mandatory to report accidents of this type of aviation.

What should I do in case of doubts as to whether an event is a major incident?

Current regulations set a non-exhaustive list of incidents that could be considered serious and therefore could be subject to investigation by CIAIAC. It should be emphasized that the list does not include all events that can be considered serious incidents and, on the other hand, not all included events can be automatically considered as serious incidents, being necessary to assess their particular circumstances and characteristics for a final evaluation.

In any case, it is recommended that in case of doubt, notify CIAIAC.

This link shows an indicative list with examples of incidents that could be considered serious.

How to report an accident or serious incident to CIAIAC?

In the following link you can find information on how to report an accident or serious incident to CIAIAC.

Is there a CIAIAC notification form to report serious accidents / incidents?

CIAIAC has no notification form, giving priority in all cases to emergency telephone notification. In the link below you can find the main information that should be available when reporting a civil aviation accident or incident. Subsequently, and in case an investigation is initiated on the matter, all the detailed information related to the event will be provided to CIAIAC.