An occurrence associated with the operation of an aircraft which, in the case of a manned aircraft, takes place between the time any person boards the aircraft with the intention of flight until such time as all such persons have disembarked, or in the case of an unmanned aircraft, takes place between the time the aircraft is ready to move with the purpose of flight until such time as it comes to rest at the end of the flight and the primary propulsion system is shut down, in which:

• A person is fatally or seriously injured as a result of:
  • Being in the aircraft, or
  • Direct contact with any part of the aircraft, including parts which have become detached from the aircraft, or
  • Direct exposure to jet blast, except when the injuries are from natural causes, self-inflicted or inflicted by other persons, or when the injuries are to stowaways hiding outside the areas normally available to the passengers and crew; or
• The aircraft sustains damage or structural failure which:
  • Adversely affects the structural strength, performance or flight characteristics of the aircraft, and
  • Would normally require major repair or replacement of the affected component, except for engine failure or damage, when the damage is limited to a single engine, (including its cowlings or accessories), to propellers, wing tips, antennas, probes, vanes, tires, brakes, wheels, fairings, panels, landing gear doors, windscreens, the aircraft skin (such as small dents or puncture holes), or for minor damages to main rotor blades, tail rotor blades, landing gear, and those resulting from hail or bird strike (including holes in the radome); or
• The aircraft is missing or is completely inaccessible.
  • Note 1:
    • For statistical uniformity only, an injury resulting in death within thirty days of the date of the accident is classified, by ICAO, as a fatal injury.
  • Note 2:
    • An aircraft is considered to be missing when the official search has been terminated and the wreckage has not been located.
  • Note 3:
    • The type of unmanned aircraft system to be investigated is addressed in 5.1 of Annex 13.
  • Note 4:
    • Guidance for the determination of aircraft damage can be found in Attachment G of Annex 13.

An incident involving circumstances indicating that there was a high probability of an accident and associated with the operation of an aircraft which, in the case of a manned aircraft, takes place between the time any person boards the aircraft with the intention of flight until such time as all such persons have disembarked, or in the case of an unmanned aircraft, takes place between the time the aircraft is ready to move with the purpose of flight until such time as it comes to rest at the end of the flight and the primary propulsion system is shut down.

List of Examples of Serious Incidents (Reference to ICAO Annex 13, Attachment C)

The incidents listed are typical examples of incidents that are likely to be serious incidents. The list is not exhaustive and only serves as guidance to the definition of serious incident.

• Near collisions requiring an avoidance manoeuvre to avoid a collision or an unsafe situation or when an avoidance action would have been appropriate.
• Controlled flight into terrain only marginally avoided
• Aborted take-offs on a closed or engaged runway, on a taxiway1 or unassigned runway.
• Take-offs from a closed or engaged runway, from a taxiway1 or unassigned runway.
• Landings or attempted landings on a closed or engaged runway, on a taxiway1 or unassigned runway.
• Gross failures to achieve predicted performance during take-off or initial climb
• Fires and smoke in the passenger compartment, in cargo compartments or engine fires, even though such fires were extinguished by the use of extinguishing agents.
• Events requiring the emergency use of oxygen by the flight crew
• Aircraft structural failures or engine disintegrations, including uncontained turbine engine failures, not classified as an accident
• Multiple malfunctions of one or more aircraft systems seriously affecting the operation of the aircraft.
• Flight crew incapacitation in flight.
• Fuel quantity requiring the declaration of an emergency by the pilot.
• Runway incursions classified with severity A. The Manual on the Prevention of Runway Incursions (Doc 9870) contains information on the severity classifications
• Take-off or landing incidents. Incidents such as under-shooting, overrunning or running off the side of runways.

Exclusion of authorized operations by helicopters

• System failures, weather phenomena, operations outside the approved flight envelope or other occurrences which could have caused difficulties controlling the aircraft.
• Failures of more than one system in a redundancy system mandatory for flight guidance and navigation