Accident and Incident Investigation Flashcards
7 cards from real ASI practice questions. Tap to flip, then mark Knew It or Still Learning — missed cards come back until you master them.
Read the first 7 Accident and Incident Investigation flashcards as text
When investigating a Controlled Flight Into Terrain (CFIT) accident, which data source would be MOST critical for reconstructing the aircraft's final flight path?
Answer: FDR/QAR combined with ATC radar track and TAWS activation data
CFIT reconstruction relies most heavily on FDR/QAR flight parameter data combined with ATC radar tracks and TAWS/EGPWS activation records to determine the aircraft's actual path relative to terrain.
What is 'organizational accident theory' (Reason's Swiss Cheese Model) and how does it apply to ASI investigations?
Answer: It recognizes that accidents result from alignment of latent organizational failures and active errors through multiple defensive layers
James Reason's model holds that accidents occur when latent organizational failures (training gaps, inadequate procedures, poor culture) align with active failures, creating pathways through multiple defensive barriers.
Under the FAA's Safety Management System (SMS) framework, what distinguishes a 'hazard' from a 'risk'?
Answer: A hazard is a condition with potential to cause harm; risk is the probability and severity of that harm occurring
In SMS, a hazard is any existing or potential condition that could cause injury or damage, while risk is the assessed combination of probability and severity of harm from that hazard.
An ASI discovers that a Part 135 operator's crew pairing violated rest requirements in the 72 hours preceding a fatal accident. This finding most directly implicates which causal category?
Answer: Human factors — physiological (fatigue)
Rest requirement violations directly suggest crew fatigue, which is categorized under human factors — physiological in accident investigation taxonomy.
Which regulation governs the FAA's authority to issue an Emergency Airworthiness Directive following an accident that reveals a critical airworthiness concern?
Answer: 14 CFR Part 39
14 CFR Part 39 establishes the airworthiness directive system, and an Emergency AD can be issued under Part 39 when an unsafe condition requires immediate action before the normal rulemaking process.
What is the purpose of a 'party system' in major NTSB accident investigations?
Answer: To give organizations with special knowledge or information a structured role in supporting the investigation under NTSB oversight
The NTSB party system allows organizations — such as the FAA, airline, manufacturer, and pilot union — with technical expertise to contribute to the investigation under NTSB rules that prohibit use of investigation information for litigation.
During a post-accident toxicology examination, a pilot is found to have a blood alcohol concentration (BAC) of 0.03 g/dL. Under 14 CFR 91.17, this finding:
Answer: Exceeds the 0.02 g/dL FAA limit and constitutes a violation regardless of impairment
14 CFR 91.17 prohibits acting as a crewmember with a BAC of 0.04 g/dL or more, but also prohibits flight within 8 hours of consuming alcohol or while under the influence — 0.03 may also trigger enforcement depending on timing and circumstances, but the standard 0.04 limit is the primary threshold.