Notification of accident

(1) An accident to which these Regulations apply shall be notified in accordance with the provisions of paragraph (2) of this regulation if, between the time when any person boards an aircraft with the intention of flight and such time as all persons have disembarked therefrom– (a) any person suffers death or serious injury while in or upon the aircraft or by direct contact with the aircraft or anything attached thereto; or (b) the aircraft receives substantial damage. (2) Where an accident occurs of which notification is required to be given under paragraph (1) of this regulation, the person in command of the aircraft involved at the time of the accident or if he be killed or incapacitated then the next senior uninjured officer of the aircraft (if any), or if there is no uninjured officer, then the owner, operator, hirer, or other person on whose behalf he was in command of the aircraft, as the case may be, shall forthwith send notice thereof, by the quickest means of communication available to the Inspector of Civil Aviation 261 Accidents, and if the accident occurs in or over Belize, he shall also notify the constable in charge of the nearest police station. (3) The notice shall be sent as soon as possible, and if the accident occurs in or over Belize, within twenty-four hours after the occurrence of the accident, unless the person whose duty it is to send the notice proves that it was not possible to send it within that time. (4) In every case, the notice shall state as far as possible– (a) the type, nationality and registration marks of the aircraft; (b) the name of the owner, operator and hirer, if any, of the aircraft; (c) the name of the person in command of the (d) the date, Greenwich mean time, and the local time of the accident; (e) the last point of departure and the next point of intended landing of the aircraft; (f) the position of the aircraft with reference to some easily defined geographical point; (g) the number of persons (if any)– (i) killed (ii) seriously injured, as a result of the accident; (h) the nature of the accident so far as is known; 262 Civil Aviation (i) brief particulars of damage to the (5) Upon receipt of such notice the Inspector of Accidents shall with the least possible delay send a copy thereof to the Governor. (6) Where an accident to which these Regulations apply occurs, whether in or over Belize or elsewhere, the owner, operator or hirer of the aircraft shall, if so required by notice in writing from either the Governor or the Inspector of Accidents, send to the Inspector of Accidents, within such time as may be specified in the notice, such information with respect thereto as may be required by the notice. (7) In the case of an accident occurring in or over Belize to an aircraft registered outside Belize the Governor shall forward the information provided under paragraph (4) of this regulation to the territory of registration of the aircraft concerned with the least possible delay and by the quickest means of communication available, at the same time indicating to what extent an inquiry or investigation will be carried out.