Occurrence linked to the operation of an aircraft in which someone is fatally or seriously injured, the aircraft suffers major structural damage or it goes missing.
What it is
The definition used by most authorities comes from ICAO Annex 13. An accident is an occurrence associated with the operation of an aircraft, between the moment anyone boards with the intention of flight and the moment everyone has disembarked, in which at least one of three things happens: a person is fatally or seriously injured through being in the aircraft or in direct contact with it, including exposure to jet blast; the aircraft sustains damage or structural failure that affects its strength, performance or flight characteristics and would normally need major repair; or the aircraft is missing or completely inaccessible.
The definition deliberately leaves out damage that does not threaten the aircraft’s integrity, such as failure of a single engine, a burst tyre, small dents in the skin, or minor damage from hail or bird strikes.
It also produces some counter-intuitive cases. If severe turbulence leaves a cabin crew member with a broken ankle, that is an accident, even though the aircraft lands without a scratch. Accidents must be reported and investigated by the independent authority of the country where they happen, with the sole aim of preventing a repeat.
On Vuelopedia
Vuelopedia’s Accidents section covers 120 occurrences that shaped civil aviation and what they changed, and an aircraft record lists the accidents on file in its event history.
Related terms
Cite
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This page was last updated on October 9, 2026
APA
Vuelopedia. (2026, October 9). Accident. Retrieved October 16, 2026, from https://vuelopedia.org/en/glossary/accident
MLA
“Accident.” Vuelopedia, Fundación Poderia, 9 Oct. 2026, vuelopedia.org/en/glossary/accident. Accessed 16 Oct. 2026.
Chicago
Vuelopedia. “Accident.” Fundación Poderia. Last modified October 9, 2026. https://vuelopedia.org/en/glossary/accident.
Harvard
Vuelopedia (2026) Accident. Available at: https://vuelopedia.org/en/glossary/accident (Accessed: 16 October 2026).
BibTeX
@misc{vuelopedia_en_glossary_accident,
author = {{Vuelopedia}},
title = {{Accident}},
publisher = {Fundación Poderia},
year = {2026},
date = {2026-10-09},
url = {https://vuelopedia.org/en/glossary/accident},
howpublished = {\url{https://vuelopedia.org/en/glossary/accident}},
urldate = {2026-10-16},
note = {Accessed 2026-10-16}
}Wikipedia
{{cite web |url=https://vuelopedia.org/en/glossary/accident |title=Accident |website=Vuelopedia |publisher=Fundación Poderia |date=2026-10-09 |access-date=2026-10-16 |language=en}}