The Board of Accident Investigation
The Board of Accident Investigation is regulated by the document Annex 13.
A Board of Accident Investigation is appointed by the country in which the accident has occured, in this case Italy. Sweden, Norway and Denmark has the right to appoint an accredited member since the MD87 was registered in Sweden and the flight company SAS is owned by the three nations together. Germany appoints a member since the Cessna was registered in Germany. The US also appoints an accredited member since both aircrafts were produced there.
The accredited members shall have a complete insight into the work of the Board of Accident Investigation and contribute with their factual knowledge, e.g. facts about the aircrafts involved. The Swedish representative collaborates with experts from e.g SAS, Swedish Pilots Association, Scandinavian Civil Aviation Supervisory Agency, and Swedish Civil Aviation Administration.
When the Board of Accident Investigation have reached a final report, it should be available to the accredited members, who should read it and share their opinions. If any of the accredited members has a different opinion on any matter, it should be presented in the report.
The Board of Accident Investigation does not investigate any liability, but their responsibility is to
- describe the event
- find an explanation to why it occured
- find a way of learning from the event
In conclusion, their investigation deals with aviation safety.