Backcountry Pilot • After Accident checklist

After Accident checklist

Debrief, share, and hopefully learn from the mistakes of others.
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After Accident checklist

We have checklists for everything. But, after attending the WSPA Rust Remover at Kenmore Air, I Realized I don’t have an after accident checklist. 2 accidents were presented by their respective pilots. Both wished they had thought through what to do after an accident. Who to call? What to say to LLE? How to call NTSB? The attending insurance representative said to call your insurer right away. They know the process. Recovery is a whole other challenge.
So I went looking for an After Accident Checklist. Major aircraft operators have them but I didn’t find a generic GA version, even on AOPA.
If you guys, especially those “been there, done that” could add comments, I will attempt to create one and upload it.
So far I have the general checklist of what to preserve, who to call (owner, operator, insurance, and NTSB) and a clip of the CFR 830.5 on when reporting is required.
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Re: After Accident checklist

Man, I for once actually feel qualified to give advice, I’ve been there done that a few times so I have the experience to back it up haha. First thing is to get the hell away from the airplane, you might be having an adrenaline dump followed by shock, so you’ll have a tough time thinking straight and get tunnel vision on some minute task you want to accomplish. Take a good assessment of yourself and any injuries, then take a look at the plane and turn off the master and fuel. My first call would be to local law enforcement on their office line to notify them of the accident and only dispatch what services you need, calling 911 sends the cavalry and you don’t want that unless it’s a true emergency.

If you’re in a remote area and no law enforcement is dispatched, call FSDO yourself and get the ball rolling, they’ll take care of the .gov side from there and you’ll start getting plenty of emails and phone calls. In Texas if law enforcement is dispatched, the highway patrol will secure the scene and call FSDO for you, have your license ready for them to copy down. I’m not sure if other states do it the same way. Call a loved one and let them know you’re ok, and ask that they let others know you’re ok but don’t want any phone calls until you’re ready. Ask for a ride if you need it. After all that, give insurance a call and let them know what’s going on, they actually move really quick and weren’t bad to deal with in my experience.

By this point all the adrenaline and shock will have worn off, and the realization of what happened will set in. Even if it wasn’t your fault and you did everything you could, you’ll second guess every decision you made. Take some time for reflection and honest assessment of what happened, learn from it and figure out what you’ll do next time you put a mark in the experience column.
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Re: After Accident checklist

Since this is a backcountry forum, I'll offer some remote ops advice for a remote off-field incidenta in a remote area (Canadian North, Alaska, the mountain West). I'm a former paramedic, current SAR volunteer, and a survivor of an engine out over remote terrain in the North, so this reflects both my training and my personal experience.

Your mileage may vary, as every incident is different. Luck, training and the resources avail to you will play a huge factor in your success. Do what you can in advance to improve your odds by having the skills and equipment that you need on board. Double your odds by ensuring that anyone you fly with regularly is also trained and aware of the resources you have on board.

FIRST PRIORITY (initial 1-5 minutes) - IMMEDIATE NEEDS

- GET SAFE (this will be highly incident dependent, depending on whether it was a crash or forced landing, on water, in terrain, etc)
- PRIORITY CARE (deal with any major bleeds, airway, breathing) that can't wait 5 minutes resulting from the accident. Triage as required.
- COMMS (hopefully your 406 ELT is already pinging, but now is the time to establish comms with SAR. inReach devices are excellent where the cell bars don't shine for reaching Garmin's rescue centre. Know how to use your device, keep it on your person, and where applicable, have the SAR response contact details for your region in your device and ready to go). Your reporting at this stage should be focused on WHAT, WHERE, HOW MANY, and STATUS (ie [registry, type] [incident] at [location], [x] NUMBER ON BOARD, [any injuries, post impact fire, in the water, etc] so the right resources are dispatched and responders know what they are dealing with. Let your emergency contacts know, as SAR may have already called them.

SECOND PRIORITY (first hour) - MAINTAIN HEALTH + SAFETY

- SECONDARY CARE (address any other injuries, make sure you and your pax are warm and dry. Hypothermia + shock are bad things to have creep up on you in any environment, and a cold water/Northern winter scenario is a whole other challenge)
- FOOD, WATER (time to eat and hydrate, you need the energy and clarity)

THIRD PRIORITY (thereafter) IMPROVE YOUR ODDS/FACILITATE RESCUE

- SIGNALLING (make sure you can be seen when SAR shows up - signal mirrors are excellent, orange tarps are easy to see from the air, flares, smoky fires)
- SHELTER - you may be there for a while, you will need to be out of the weather, and establishing even basic shelter gives you and your pax useful things to do to maintain mission focus and morale)
- DOCUMENT (write down or better, record the scene and your recollection of the incident on your phone. "Who, What, When, Where, Why + How is an easy way to organize your thoughts". Have your pax make their own reports or recordings independently of your own for legal reasons. Once you're back in civilization, you'll be able to rely on the documents you've created on scene for reporting to the authorities.

IMMEDIATELY AFTER THE RESCUE/RESPONSE (same day)

The SAR and LEO folks will typically be first in line to interview you and your passengers. Everything you and your passengers say from your first contact with officials is on the record, so having your contemporaneous notes and recordings in order before they arrive is very helpful to all concerned. Consider (as appropriate to the circumstances) the need to involve legal counsel at this stage. The PIC is also required to report the incident to the appropriate national Transportation Safety Board as soon as possible.

Once you make those calls, contact your insurer (they can be very helpful at this stage, particularly if you need to recover the aircraft from a remote location). Aviation adjustors deal with accidents every day (unlike the rest of us who deal with them maybe once or twice in our careers) and can provide some very practical advice on how their work intersects with those of the authorities during the initial investigation/recovery stages.

DEBRIEF (days after the event)

Once all the dust has settled, debrief the incident with other pilots. I found this the best way to deal with the 'coulda-shoulda' tape that plays in your mind for weeks after the event. Learn the lessons that the incident teaches you, and you'll be better prepared for the next one.
Last edited by Boreal1 on Fri May 16, 2025 2:17 pm, edited 8 times in total.
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Re: After Accident checklist

The last two items on the "gear up landing" checklist:
put gear switch down
exit airplane
hotrod180 offline
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Re: After Accident checklist

Boreal! provided a good list. The ONLY thing that really matters after an accident is to ensure that everyone involved is safe and cared for.

Centerhill Ag says to call the FSDO. I would not call a FSDO on an accident.

We are required to report all accidents (and its important to understand the definition of "accident") to the NTSB, not to the FAA. NTSB (or I suspect the TSB in Canada) know how to notify the FAA. Besides, at least where I'm from, the FSDO doesn't answer their phones....I left a message five or six months ago for an inspector, and a secretary called and asked if I still needed an answer...... #-o

The regulation does say you can notify the FAA, who will then notify the NTSB. I cut out the middle man. I've been there a couple times, and the NTSB folks I've spoken with are extremely professional.
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