S.L. 499.22 Art. 5Establishment of Bureau of Air Accident Investigation.

(1) There shall be established, under the Ministry responsible for civil aviation, a body, to be known as the Bureau of

Air Accident Investigation, to carry out safety investigations in accordance with these regulations. The legal and judicial representation of the Bureau shall vest in the Chief Executive Officer.

(2) The Bureau shall be functionally independent of any authority in Malta responsible, in particular, for airworthiness, certification, flight operation, maintenance, licensing, air traffic control or aerodrome operation, the judicial authorities and, in general, of any other party or entity whose interests or missions could conflict with the functions of the Bureau or influence its objectivity.

(3) In the conduct of any safety investigation, the Bureau shall neither seek nor take instructions from anybody and shall have unrestricted authority over the conduct of the investigations.

(4) The functions of the Bureau shall include the gathering and analysis of aviation safety related information and data, in particular for accident prevention purposes, in so far as those functions do not affect its independence and entail no responsibility in regulatory, administrative or standards matters.

(5) The Bureau shall be given the means, resources and adequate facilities required for it to carry out its responsibilities independently, including hangarage facilities for the storage and examination of an aircraft, its contents and its wreckage.

(6) The Minister shall ensure, in particular, that

(a) the Bureau shall include at least:

(i) a Chief Executive Officer;

(ii) one (1) Chief Investigator capable of performing functions in accordance with these regulations; and

(iii) one (1) inspector capable of performing the functions of investigator in charge in the event of a major accident;

(b) the inspectors within the Bureau be afforded such status as is necessary to guarantee the independence of the Bureau in the performance of its functions.

(7) The Bureau may, at any time, request the assistance from investigation authorities of other States or give assistance, if requested, to other investigation authorities in other States. Where such assistance is given to Member States it shall, as far as possible, be free of charge.

(8) The Bureau shall have in place an operations manual of aircraft accident and incident investigation containing all information and instructions necessary to enable the investigators to perform their duties.