1677. To ask the Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport the role of the Air Accident Investigation Unit's Inspector on Call; the response time for the position in attending scenes of air accidents for each county; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [38270/13]

Leo Varadkar (Dublin West, Fine Gael)
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The Air Accident Investigation Unit (AAIU) of my Department is subject to the provisions of Annex 13 to the Convention on International Civil Aviation, Regulation (EU) No. 996/2010 and S.I. 460 of 2009. A core element of theAAIU response to notification of an occurrence is the 24 hour/365 day Inspector-on-Call (IOC) duty roster. After due consideration of information provided and following consultation with the Chief Inspector of Air Accidents (CIAA) or his designate, the decision to investigate and the level of response is determined through specific definitions provided in legislation.

Following an aviation accident and mindful of the priority for the preservation of life by the Emergency Services, an Garda Síochána will secure and preserve the immediate area of the accident site, pending the arrival of theAAIU. Every effort is made to arrive on-site as soon as possible. The response times will be dependent on the circumstances of the event, location of the accident site (land/sea), light conditions, the terrain and weather conditions. As such it is not possible to be definitive on response times for attending scenes of air accidents for each county.