Accident Investigation Course (AIC)

The four-day course trains ALPA safety investigators in NTSB/TSB procedures, accident-response plans, and documents, including hands-on practice at a mock crash site.

Course Content

ALPA pilot volunteers have assisted in the NTSB/TSB investigation of aircraft accidents for decades and have established a reputation for credibility in the use of scientific-based investigation techniques. This reputation is sustainable in part because of the superior training provided to ALPA members in the Accident Investigation Course (AIC).

The Accident Investigation Course (AIC) builds upon the foundation provided in the Accident Investigation module of the Safety 101 IST. This course equips the pilot safety volunteer to function efficiently, effectively and safely as the Chief Accident Investigator for their MEC Central Air Safety Committee, ALPA Party Coordinator, or Technical Group member on an accident investigation.

Accident Investigation training is accomplished in four days, and covers the following subject areas:

Accident notification and dispatch
ALPA staff capabilities
NTSB/TSB policies
ALPA coordinator responsibilities
Flight data recorders
Cockpit voice recorders
Field Phase procedures
Flight crew representation
Employment of CIRP
Bloodborne Pathogen Training (OSHA)
International investigations

Desired Knowledge and Skills upon Completion

Lead a team of ALPA Safety Representatives in an incident investigation
Function effectively on an NTSB/TSB aircraft accident investigation as a Technical Group member

Accreditation

The ALPA Accident Investigation Course is accredited by the International Air Line Pilots Association (IFALPA) for credit in continued studies in aircraft accident investigation.

Our Mission

The mission of the Accident Investigation Course is to equip the MEC Safety representative to represent the MEC in incident and NTSB/TSB accident investigations and serve as MEC Chief Accident Investigator.

Who Should Attend?

MEC Accident Investigation Go-Team members
MEC Chief Accident Investigators

Prerequisites

ALPA 101 FAST
Safety 101 IST
Demonstrated motivation to work on MEC Air Safety Team

Attendance Approval

Non-ALPA Pilot Groups
Use of ALPA training resources by IFALPA and non-ALPA pilot groups are authorized by using the following procedure:

IFALPA
The president of the requesting organization should send a letter to the ALPA president requesting authorization to participate in a specific course for specific individuals. Participation by non-ALPA members should result in no expense to the Association.

Other non-ALPA attendees
Please email Petra.Duran-Smith@alpa.org to start the approval process. Include in the email the requested course, dates, name, organization, email, and phone contact.

Expenses

Your MEC/CASC budget pays for all of your pilot expenses: travel, sleeping rooms, meals, and flight pay loss (if required). This includes no-shows for hotel rooms where reservations have been requested and NOT canceled 48 hours prior to arrival and/or if the attendee fails to notify the hotel, during check-in, of a different departure date than the reserved.