{
  "url": "https://openlegislation.uk/eu-regulation-2010-996/article-11",
  "json_url": "https://openlegislation.uk/eu-regulation-2010-996/article-11.json",
  "legislation": "eur/2010/996",
  "legislation_title": "Regulation (EU) No 996/2010 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 20 October 2010 on the investigation and prevention of accidents and incidents in civil aviation and repealing Directive 94/56/EC (Text with EEA relevance)",
  "legislation_url": "https://openlegislation.uk/eu-regulation-2010-996",
  "path": "article/11",
  "kind": "article",
  "number": "11",
  "heading": "Status of the safety investigators",
  "text": "1. Upon his or her appointment by a safety investigation authority and notwithstanding any judicial investigation, the investigator-in-charge shall have the authority to take the necessary measures to satisfy the requirements of the safety investigation.\n2. Notwithstanding any confidentiality obligations under any relevant law, the investigator-in-charge shall in particular be entitled to:\n(a) have immediate unrestricted and unhampered access to the site of the accident or incident as well as to the aircraft, its contents or its wreckage;\n(b) ensure an immediate listing of evidence and controlled removal of debris, or components for examination or analysis purposes;\n(c) have immediate access to and control over the flight recorders, their contents and any other relevant recordings;\n(d) request, and contribute to, a complete autopsy examination of the bodies of the fatally injured persons and to have immediate access to the results of such examinations or of tests made on samples taken;\n(e) request the medical examination of the people involved in the operation of the aircraft or request tests to be carried out on samples taken from such people and to have immediate access to the results of such examinations or tests;\n(f) to call and examine witnesses and to require them to furnish or produce information or evidence relevant to the safety investigation;\n(g) have free access to any relevant information or records held by the owner, the certificate holder of the type design, the responsible maintenance organisation, the training organisation, the operator or the manufacturer of the aircraft, the authorities responsible for civil aviation, ... and air navigation service providers or aerodrome operators.\n3. The investigator-in-charge shall extend to his or her experts and advisers, as well as to the accredited representatives, their experts and advisers, the entitlements listed in paragraph 2, to the extent necessary to enable them to participate effectively in the safety investigation. Those entitlements are without prejudice to the rights of the investigators and experts designated by the authority in charge of the judicial investigation.\n4. Any person participating in safety investigations shall perform his or her duties independently and shall neither seek, nor accept instructions from anybody, other than the investigator-in-charge or the accredited representative.",
  "extent": "E+W+S+N.I.",
  "status": null,
  "version": "current",
  "annotations": [
    {
      "type": "F",
      "label": "F1",
      "text": "Words in Art. 11(2) substituted (31.12.2020) by The Aviation Safety (Amendment etc.) (EU Exit) Regulations 2019 (S.I. 2019/645), regs. 1, 45(a) (with Sch. 3) (as amended by S.I. 2019/1098, regs. 1(3), 12); 2020 c. 1, Sch. 5 para. 1(1)"
    },
    {
      "type": "F",
      "label": "F2",
      "text": "Word in Art. 11(2)(g) omitted (31.12.2020) by virtue of The Aviation Safety (Amendment etc.) (EU Exit) Regulations 2019 (S.I. 2019/645), regs. 1, 45(b) (with Sch. 3) (as amended by S.I. 2019/1098, regs. 1(3), 12); 2020 c. 1, Sch. 5 para. 1(1)"
    }
  ],
  "outstanding_effects": [],
  "provenance": {
    "source": "legislation.gov.uk",
    "source_url": "https://www.legislation.gov.uk/eur/2010/996/article/11",
    "retrieved_at": "2026-11-01T14:50:33.264948+00:00"
  },
  "licence": "Open Government Licence v3.0",
  "licence_url": "https://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/doc/open-government-licence/version/3/",
  "attribution": "Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Source: legislation.gov.uk, The National Archives."
}