S.L. 499.22 Art. 2Interpretation.

In these regulations, unless the context otherwise requires:

"accident" means an occurrence associated with the operation of 2021; 2023; an aircraft which, in the case of a manned aircraft, takes place 2025. 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 it comes to rest at the end of the flight and the primary propulsion system is shut down, in which:

(a) a person is fatally or seriously injured as a result of:

(i) being in the aircraft, or

(ii) direct contact with any part of the aircraft, including parts which have become detached from the aircraft, or

(iii) 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

(b) the aircraft sustains damage or structural failure which:

(i) adversely affects the structural strength, performance or flight characteristics of the aircraft, and

(ii) 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, its cowlings or accessories, - damage limited to propellers, wing tips, antennas, probes, vanes, tyres, brakes, wheels, fairings, panels, landing gear doors, - damage to windscreens, - small dents or puncture holes in the aircraft skin, - minor damages to main rotor blades, tail rotor blades, landing gear, and - minor damages resulting from hail or bird strike, including holes in the radome; or

(c) the aircraft is missing or is completely inaccessible; "accredited representative" means a person designated by a State, on the basis of his or her qualifications, for the purpose of participating in a safety investigation conducted by another State and who shall be from a safety investigation authority;

"the Act" means the Civil Aviation Act; Cap. "adviser" means a person appointed by a State, on the basis of his or her qualifications, for the purpose of assisting its accredited representative in a safety investigation;

"aerodrome" has the same meaning as assigned to it in the Air Cap. Navigation Act;

"aircraft" means any machine that can derive support in the atmosphere from the reactions of the air, other than the reactions of the air against the earth’s surface, bearing civil registration except where in other cases the Chief Investigator of the Bureau determines that an investigation is appropriate under regulations 5(4) and 10(2); "the Annex" means Annex 13 to the Chicago Convention, as amended from time to time; "the Bureau" means the Bureau of Air Accident Investigation established under regulation 5; "cause" means any action, omission, event, condition, or a combination thereof, which led to the accident or incident, but its identification does not imply the assignment of fault or the determination of administrative, civil or criminal liability;

"Chicago Convention" means the Convention on International Civil Aviation, done at Chicago on the 7th December, 1944;

"Chief Executive Officer" means the Chief Executive Officer of the Bureau appointed in accordance with regulation 6;

"Chief Investigator" means the Chief Investigator of aircraft accidents appointed in accordance with regulation 6; "Civil Aviation Directorate" means the Civil Aviation Directorate within the Authority for Transport in Malta established under the Authority for Transport in Malta Act; Cap. "contributing factors" means actions, omissions, events, conditions, or a combination thereof, which, if eliminated or avoided, would have reduced the probability of the accident or incident occurring, or mitigated the severity of the consequences of the accident or incident. The identification of contributing factors does not imply the assignment of fault or the determination of administrative, civil or criminal liability; "EASA" means the European Aviation Safety Agency;

"the European Commission" means the Commission of the European Union;

"Contracting State" means any State which is a party to the Chicago Convention;

"European Economic Area" has the meaning assigned to it in the European Economic Area Agreement between the European Community and the European Free Trade Area signed in Oporto, on the 2nd May, 1992; "fatal injury" means an injury sustained by a person in an accident and which results in his or her death within thirty days of the date of the accident; "flight recorder" means any type of recorder installed in the aircraft for the purpose of facilitating accident and, or incident investigations; "final report" means a report made pursuant to regulation 17, made in the format set out in the Appendix to the Annex and which may be adapted to the circumstances of the accident or incident under investigation; "incident" means an occurrence, other than an accident, associated with the operation of an aircraft which affects or could affect the safety of operation; "inspector" means a qualified person in the employ of the Bureau on an ad hoc or part-time or full-time basis; "international standards and recommended practices" means international standards and recommended practices for aircraft accident and incident investigation adopted in accordance with Article 37 of the Chicago Convention; "investigation" means a process conducted for the purpose of accident and incident prevention which includes the gathering and analysis of information, the drawing of conclusions, including the determination of cause or causes and, or contributing factors and, when appropriate, the making of safety recommendations; "investigator-in-charge" means an inspector who, on the basis of his or her qualifications, is nominated as such under regulation 6 and charged with the responsibility for the organisation, conduct and control of a safety investigation;

"Member State" means a Member State of the European Union or of the European Economic Area;

"the Minister" means the Minister responsible for matters relating to civil aviation;

"operator" means any natural or legal person, operating or proposing to operate one or more aircraft;

"owner", in relation to an aircraft which is registered, means the registered owner of the aircraft;

"pilot in command" means a person who for the time being is in charge of the piloting of the aircraft without being under the direction of any other pilot in the aircraft; "preliminary report" means the communication used for the prompt dissemination of data obtained during the early stages of the investigation; "Regulation (EU) No. 996/2010" means Regulation (EU) No. 996/2010 of the European Parliament and of the Council on the investigation and prevention of accidents and incidents in civil aviation as may be amended from time to time; "Regulation (EU) No. 376/2014" means Regulation (EU) No. 376/ 2014 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 3 April 2014 on the reporting, analysis and follow-up of occurrences in civil aviation, amending Regulation (EU) No. 996/2010 of the European Parliament and of the Council and repealing Directive 2003/42/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council and Commission Regulations (EC) No. 1321/2007 and (EC) No. 1330/2007 as amended from time to time; "relatives" means the immediate family and, or next of kin and, or other person closely connected with the victim of an accident, as defined under the national law of the victim;

"safety recommendation" means a proposal of a safety investigation authority, based on information derived from a safety investigation or other sources such as safety studies, made with the intention of preventing accidents and incidents; "serious incident" means an incident involving circumstances indicating that there was a high probability of an accident associated with the operation of an aircraft, which -

(a) 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

(b) 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 it comes to rest at the end of the flight and the primary propulsion system is shut down. Examples of serious incidents are specified in the Annex of Regulation (EU) No. 996/2010; "serious injury" means an injury which is sustained by a person in an accident that -

(a) requires hospitalisation for more than forty-eight hours, commencing within seven days from the date the injury was received; or

(b) results in a fracture of any bone (except simple fractures of fingers, toes, or nose); or

(c) involves lacerations which cause severe haemorrhage, nerve, muscle or tendon damage; or

(d) involves injury to any internal organ; or

(e) involves second or third degree burns, or any burns affecting more than 5 per cent of the body surface; or

(f) involves verified exposure to infectious substances or harmful radiation;

"State of design" means the State having jurisdiction over the organisation responsible for the type design;

"State of manufacture" means the State having jurisdiction over the organisation responsible for the final assembly of the aircraft;

"State of occurrence" means the State in the territory of which an accident or incident occurs;

"State of the operator" means the State in which the operator’s principal place of business is located or, if there is no such place of business, the operator’s permanent residence; "State of registry" means the State on whose register the aircraft is entered; "undertaking" means any natural person, any legal person, whether profit-making or not, or any official body whether having its own legal personality or not.