The Official Journal of the European Union published on 12 November 2010 Regulation (EU) Nº 996/2010 of 20 October 2010, on the investigation and prevention of accidents and incidents in civil aviation. This Regulation, which repeals Directive 94/56/EC, will enter into force twenty days after its publication taking full and immediate effect on that date.

The general aim of  Regulation Nº 996/2010 of 20 October 2010, on the investigation and prevention of accidents and incidents in civil aviation is to improve aviation safety by ensuring a high level of efficiency, expediency, and quality of European civil aviation safety investigations, the sole objective of which is the prevention of future accidents and incidents without apportioning blame or liability, including through the establishment of a European Network of Civil Aviation Safety Investigation Authorities.

It also provides for rules concerning the timely availability of information relating to all persons and dangerous goods on board an aircraft involved in an accident, and aims to improve the assistance to the victims of air accidents and their relatives.

This regulation, which was promoted for adoption by the Commission late October 2009 and enjoyed the support form the European Parliament, also aims to incorporate legal and institutional changes that have occurred in the civil aviation sector in the last two decades. Furthermore, it shoul be noted that the objectives of this Regulation may be better achieved through cooperation with third countries, which could be allowed to participate as observers, in the work of the Network.

Scope of Regulation on the investigation and prevention of accidents and incidents in civil aviation

This Regulation will apply to safety investigations into accidents and serious incidents:

• which have occurred in the territories of the Member States to which the Treaties apply
• involving aircraft registered in a Member State or operated by an undertaking established in a Member State, which have occurred outside the territories of the Member States to which the Treaties apply, when such investigations are not conducted by another State
• in which a Member State is entitled, according to international standards and recommended practices, to appoint an accredited representative to participate as a State of Registry, State of the Operator, State of Design, State of Manufacture or State providing information, facilities or experts at the request of the State conducting the investigation
• in which a Member State having a special interest by virtue of fatalities or serious injuries to its citizens is permitted by the State conducting the investigation to appoint an expert

Also, the Regulation lays down that its application to the airport of Gibraltar is understood to be without prejudice to the respective legal positions of the Kingdom of Spain and the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland with regard to the dispute over sovereignty over the territory in which the airport is situated.