Reporting an incident

Have you been involved in - or witnessed - an accident or incident? Please let USHPA know.

You and your friends are out flying and something doesn't go according to plan. After taking care of everyone involved, there is something else your fellow pilots, and USHPA, would like you to do:

 

Why? The Accident Review Committee collects information in order to identify patterns and alert other pilots to potential causes of accidents and ways they can be avoided. USHPA's insurance company needs to be notified in the event of our USHPA insurance comes into play as a result of the accident. Finally, the USHPA office collects information to meet the mandatory reporting requirements (per our SOPs) for instructors, tandem pilots, event and competition organizers, chapters, etc.

What does that mean? There are three different groups who need to know about all accidents and incidents. However, in most cases they can't directly share information - in order to protect those involved! Therefore, there are now three forms you need to fill out so that: all USHPA members can learn from what happened and fly more safely; to make sure pilots and the organization are legally protected; and to ensure the office is informed.

Overview of accident and incident reporting

Note that while all three forms listed below collect some of the same information, each is used and protected in different ways, which is why three different forms are required. 

Step 1 - Preliminary Incident Report

  • Use this form to notify USHPA that there has been an accident or incident
  • Fulfills mandatory reporting requirements described in the SOPs
  • Fulfills mandatory reporting requirements described in competition and event rules 
  • Information is not confidential or protected from discovery, but can be anonymous 
  • If you provide your email address, you will receive a copy of the report
  • If you provide your email address and check the appropriate boxes, you will be emailed links to the other forms

Step 2 - AIRS (Accident/Incident Reporting System) (AIRS website is experiencing technical issues - please check back soon)

  • Use AIRS to provide details about any accident or incident so that others may learn
  • All information is confidential and legally protected from discovery: only AIRS investigators and project personnel have access to the data
  • Reports may be anonymous
  • A Certificate of Confidentiality limits how that data may be used/disseminated in order to protect those reporting or involved in accidents/incidents 
  • After you "Finish" the report a link to the final form (aka Step 3) is provided on the "Thank you" page
  • Please note: If you wish to retain any information entered into AIRS, please be sure to copy the information into a separate document since a copy of the report will not be sent to you.

Step 3 - Insurance Notification of a Potential Claim Against You

  • Use this form  to notify our insurance company of an accident or incident that involved injury or property damage that you believe might result in claims against you relating to your flying activities.
  • Reports may not be anonymous
  • All information provided is confidential and legally protected as client-attorney communication
  • NOTE: If you are an instructor with a PASA-certified school you must report the incident using the Student Lesson Day logging system. You do not need to use this form.

 

The staff and volunteers working with this information are continually looking for ways to simplify and streamline the process. It is possible at some point in the future we may be able to share information between the various groups. For now, your privacy and legal protection are best protected using this system.

Have a compliment or complaint?

If you wish to file a compliment or complaint be sure to use the Online feedback form. No disciplinary actions will result from any information provided via any accident or incident report.