Finally, the law in question regulates cases in which a warship and a civilian ship or a military helicopter and a civilian airplane are involved in the same accident (as in the case, for example, of the mid-air collision that occurred on 29 January in the USA, between a commercial aircraft and a US Army helicopter, near the "Ronald Reagan" Washington National Airport, see AVIONEWS and related links): in this regard, it is expected that the investigating authority will act in concert, respectively, either with the competent investigative authority of the navy or with the Comisión para la Investigación Técnica de los Accidentes deAeronaves Militares (CITAAM).

The decision taken by Spain could be an opportunity to reflect on the Italian situation, with a view to improving it. In Italy two distinct investigative bodies currently operate: the Italian Agency for Flight Safety (ANSV) and the Office for Railway and Maritime Investigations (formerly the General Directorate for Railway and Maritime Investigations, DIGIFEMA).

The ANSV, which is organizationally and functionally independent, is responsible for carrying out safety investigations into accidents and incidents involving civil airplane; the Office for Railway and Maritime Investigations, which reports directly to the minister of infrastructure and transport, is responsible for carrying out safety investigations into events occurring in the railway, maritime/inland waterway sectors and in fixed-system transport systems (underground railways, trams and light rail vehicles, trolleybuses, escalators, elevators, cableways).

The Spanish choice could serve as a useful starting point for reasoning about the strengthening and possible merger of the two aforementioned bodies, also with the aim of eliminating the most significant problems repeatedly reported by both the ANSV and the Office for Railway and Maritime Investigations in their respective annual reports.

In fact, the ANSV has long complained, in its reports to Parliament (the latest published concerns the year 2023), of having a serious staff shortage, especially in the investigative area, which could only be remedied thanks to the fundamental support provided by the Air Force, with its own personnel in command or coming from the auxiliary roles (what was supposed to be a temporary solution to stem the emergency of the lack of civilian staff has now been dragging on for a decade). The Office for Railway and Maritime Investigations, on the other hand, complains, in its reports relating to the year 2023 (railway sector/fixed-plant transport systems and maritime sector), that the hope of previous years has once again been disregarded, for there to be a transition to a new organization, with a simultaneous consolidation of the functional and organizational autonomy necessary for carrying out the role of independent investigative body.

A careful review of the current system could also finally provide an opportunity to reflect on the current method of designating the members of the ANSV board (essentially, its board of directors), which, if not carried out carefully and above all in compliance with international and European Union legislation, could undermine the independence and third-party nature of the body itself.

2- End

On this topic see also for details AVIONEWS.