About the Safety Board
The organisation consists of a Board with five permanent members, in addition to a number of standing committees. Special guidance committees are set up for the purpose of conducting specific investigations. The Dutch Safety Board is supported by a bureau consisting of investigators and support staff. The Safety Board conducts independent investigations into the causes of incidents. Its investigations look for any systematic safety-related shortcomings and it issues appropriate reports to the parties involved and to the general public. Accordingly, investigations constitute our primary process, with the product being a report in all cases. The key goal of this investigation is to establish the truth rather than to apportion blame.
The purpose of the Dutch Safety Board’s work is to ‘prevent incidents or to limit their after-effects’. Accordingly, the Board’s investigation aims not only to uncover the actual causes of incidents but also – and in particular – to bring to light the underlying causes of the incident, so that any shortcomings in the applied system can be revealed. If the investigation reveals any systematic safety-related shortcomings then the Board can formulate recommendations so that these shortcomings can be put right. Any recommendations are usually addressed to the authorities but others may be intended for individuals, organisations or companies.
The Board would like to emphasise that it is no part of its remit to try to establish the blame, responsibility or liability attaching to any party. Information gathered during the course of an investigation – including statements provided by the Board, information that the Board has compiled, results of technical research and analyses and drafted documents (including the published report) – cannot be used as evidence in criminal, disciplinary or civil law proceedings. However, it is still possible that a (criminal) inquiry to apportion blame could be instituted, although any such inquiry would be quite separate from the Board’s own investigation.