Q: If I have a "fender bender" with my aircraft, do I need to report that to anyone, other than having my mechanic look at the damage to see what repair, if any, may be necessary?
A: If you have an incident that results in some damage to your aircraft, you may have a reporting responsibility to the National Transportation Safety Board, but there is no duty to report the event to the FAA. It is important to understand this distinction so that any report is made to the correct agency and not unnecessarily made to the wrong agency.
The NTSB has a statutory role to investigate accidents and to identify the causes of the accident in the event that a safety recommendation can be made to prevent future accidents. The NTSB does not make any finding of liability. The FAA, on the other hand, has a role to assure safety through enforcement of the FARs so if the FAA is investigating, they may be looking to find you in violation and seek to suspend or revoke your pilot certificate. In some circumstances, where the accident is minor, the NTSB may delegate some investigatory responsibilities to the FAA, and in those instances, the FAA inspector is understood to be acting on behalf of the NTSB and is not supposed to be gathering evidence for any FAR violation report.
The NTSB's rules define an aircraft accident as "an occurrence associated with the operation of an aircraft which takes place between the time any person boards the aircraft with the intention of flight and all such persons have disembarked, and in which any person suffers death or serious injury, or in which the aircraft receives substantial damage." Serious injury means "any injury which: (1) requires hospitalization for more than 48 hours, commencing within 7 days from the date of the injury was received; (2) results in a fracture of any bone (except simple fractures of fingers, toes, or nose); (3) causes severe hemorrhages, nerve, muscle, or tendon damage; (4) involves any internal organ; or (5) involves second- or third-degree burns, or any burns affecting more than 5 percent of the body surface." Substantial damage means "damage or failure which adversely affects the structural strength, performance, or flight characteristics of the aircraft, and which would normally require major repair or replacement of the affected component...but...engine failure or damage limited to an engine if only one engine fails or is damaged, bent fairings or cowling, dented skin, small punctured holes in the skin or fabric, ground damage to rotor or propeller blades, and damage to landing gear, wheels, tires, flaps, engine accessories, brakes, or wing tips are not considered 'substantial damage' for the purpose of this part."
Send your legal questions to [email protected] and we'll answer the best in upcoming issues. Kathy Yodice is an attorney with Yodice Associates in Washington, D.C., which provides legal counsel to AOPA and administers AOPA's legal services plan. She is an instrument-rated private pilot.
