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Title 10 — Armed ForcesRelease 119-73

§2254 Treatment of reports of aircraft accident investigations

Title 10 › Subtitle Subtitle A— - General Military Law › Part PART IV— - SERVICE, SUPPLY, AND PROPERTY › Chapter CHAPTER 134— - MISCELLANEOUS ADMINISTRATIVE PROVISIONS › Subchapter SUBCHAPTER II— - MISCELLANEOUS ADMINISTRATIVE AUTHORITY › § 2254

Last updated Apr 6, 2026|Official source

Summary

When a military department looks into a military aircraft accident, the investigation files and report follow special rules. A "safety investigation" means an inquiry done only to find the cause and help prevent future accidents. If someone asks, the Secretary must make unclassified recordings, scientific reports, and other factual material about the accident public before the final report comes out — but only if the Secretary decides those items would be part of the final report and if sharing them would not hurt the investigation or national security. People running the safety investigation cannot be the ones to make that public release. If investigators have enough evidence, the final report must say what they think caused the accident. If evidence is not enough, the report must describe factors the investigators believe substantially contributed to or caused the accident. In any civil or criminal case about the accident, those investigator opinions in the report cannot be used as evidence and are not a statement that the United States or any person is legally liable. Each military department must write rules to carry out these requirements.

Full Legal Text

Title 10, §2254

Armed Forces — Source: USLM XML via OLRC

(a)(1)Whenever the Secretary of a military department conducts an accident investigation of an accident involving an aircraft under the jurisdiction of the Secretary, the records and report of the investigations shall be treated in accordance with this section.
(2)For purposes of this section, an accident investigation is any form of investigation of an aircraft accident other than an investigation (known as a “safety investigation”) that is conducted solely to determine the cause of the accident and to obtain information that may prevent the occurrence of similar accidents.
(b)(1)The Secretary concerned, upon request, shall publicly disclose unclassified tapes, scientific reports, and other factual information pertinent to an aircraft accident investigation, before the release of the final accident investigation report relating to the accident, if the Secretary concerned determines—
(A)that such tapes, reports, or other information would be included within and releasable with the final accident investigation report; and
(B)that release of such tapes, reports, or other information—
(i)would not undermine the ability of accident or safety investigators to continue to conduct the investigation; and
(ii)would not compromise national security.
(2)A disclosure under paragraph (1) may not be made by or through officials with responsibility for, or who are conducting, a safety investigation with respect to the accident.
(c)Following a military aircraft accident—
(1)if the evidence surrounding the accident is sufficient for the investigators who conduct the accident investigation to come to an opinion (or opinions) as to the cause or causes of the accident, the final report of the accident investigation shall set forth the opinion (or opinions) of the investigators as to the cause or causes of the accident; and
(2)if the evidence surrounding the accident is not sufficient for those investigators to come to an opinion as to the cause or causes of the accident, the final report of the accident investigation shall include a description of those factors, if any, that, in the opinion of the investigators, substantially contributed to or caused the accident.
(d)For purposes of any civil or criminal proceeding arising from an aircraft accident, any opinion of the accident investigators as to the cause of, or the factors contributing to, the accident set forth in the accident investigation report may not be considered as evidence in such proceeding, nor may such information be considered an admission of liability by the United States or by any person referred to in those conclusions or statements.
(e)The Secretary of each military department shall prescribe regulations to carry out this section.

Legislative History

Notes & Related Subsidiaries

Statutory Notes and Related Subsidiaries

Effective Date

Pub. L. 102–484, div. A, title X, § 1071(c), Oct. 23, 1992, 106 Stat. 2508, provided that: “Section 2254 of title 10, United States Code, as added by subsection (a), shall apply with respect to accidents occurring on or after the date on which

Regulations

are first prescribed under that section.”

Regulations

Pub. L. 105–261, div. A, title X, § 1065(c), Oct. 17, 1998, 112 Stat. 2134, provided that: “The Secretary of Defense shall prescribe

Regulations

, which shall be applied uniformly across the Department of Defense, establishing procedures by which the military departments shall provide to the family members of any person involved in a military aviation accident periodic update reports on the conduct and progress of investigations into the accident.” Pub. L. 102–484, div. A, title X, § 1071(b), Oct. 23, 1992, 106 Stat. 2508, provided that: “

Regulations

under section 2254 of title 10, United States Code, as added by subsection (a), shall be prescribed not later than 180 days after the date of the enactment of this Act [Oct. 23, 1992].”

Reference

Citations & Metadata

Citation

10 U.S.C. § 2254

Title 10 — Armed Forces

Last Updated

Apr 6, 2026

Release point: 119-73