Flying in the Face of Criminalization: The Safety Implications of Prosecuting Aviation Professionals for Accidents

Two parallel investigations take place after every aviation accident: one technical, one judicial. The former must be conducted with the sole intention of making safety recommendations to prevent the recurrence of similar accidents. The judicial investigation, however, has the intention of identifying those parties that have been at fault and to apportion blameworthiness for criminal and civil liability. Consequently, this results in a predicament for those parties that have been identified as having played a role in the accident, a dilemma between not supplying information aimed at enhancing safety and preventing future accidents and, on the other hand, supplying such information which may possibly be used against them in subsequent criminal prosecution. The situation is compounded by inconsistent approaches between different legal systems