# Accident Investigation under ICAO Annex 13: Objective, Responsibilities, and Rights

> Review Annex 13 investigation principles, including safety-only objective, State responsibilities, notification duties, and rights of accredited representatives.

- **Subject:** 010 — Air Law
- **Section:** 010-13 — Aircraft Accident and Incident Investigation
- **Topic code:** 010-13-02
- **Last reviewed:** 2026-03-27
- **Author:** Pablo Asensio Martínez
- **HTML version:** https://pilotsyllabus.com/en/air-law/aircraft-accident-and-incident-investigation/accident-and-incident-investigation-in-icao-annex-13/

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## Objective of the Investigation
The **sole objective** of the investigation of an accident or incident shall be the **prevention of accidents and incidents**.
*   It is **not** the purpose of this activity to apportion blame or liability.

## Responsibilities
*   **State of Occurrence:**
    *   Shall institute an investigation.
    *   Is responsible for conducting the investigation (may delegate it).
    *   Must notify the State of Registry, State of the Operator, State of Design, State of Manufacture and ICAO (if > 2,250 kg).
*   **State of Registry:**
    *   If the accident occurs outside the territory of any State (e.g., international waters), the State of Registry assumes responsibility.

## Rights
The State of Registry, the State of the Operator, the State of Design and the State of Manufacture shall each be entitled to appoint an **Accredited Representative** to participate in the investigation.

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