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Factual reports and cessations of safety investigations on aviation
24.12.2025
For several years, numerous safety investigations have not been completed in a timely manner, which has reduced their preventive effect. For this reason, the STSB will in future give greater priority to the level of detail of individual safety investigations, in compliance with the national and international legal framework. The primary factor determining the scope of a safety investigation and the associated report will be the preventive potential that can be expected from an investigation. All accidents and serious incidents will, as required by law, be subject to a safety investigation consisting of at least a preliminary investigation and a timely publication of the facts in the Prevention Bulletin. If an investigation is opened because an incident has sufficient preventive potential, the usual procedure will be followed in accordance with Art. 47 OSITI. Investigations that have already been opened are periodically reviewed for their prevention potential and, if necessary, concluded with a presentation of facts if this is expected to have a sufficient preventive effect. This prioritisation and scaling of all safety investigations and reports with a focus on prevention should enable the majority of safety investigations to be completed in a timely manner in future.
New member of the Board
16.01.2025
The Federal Council elected Mr Tiziano Ponti (1958) as a member of the extra-parliamentary commission of the Swiss Transportation Safety Investigation Board (STSB). Mr Tiziano Ponti studied mechanical engineering at ETH Zurich before he embarked on a career in aviation. He has held a wide range of specialist and management roles in the Swiss Air Force. In addition to many years working as a technical expert in aviation accident investigations in the Swiss Air Force, he was a member of the Federal Aircraft Accidents Inquiry Board for twelve years.
Prevention bulletins on aviation
23.12.2024
The Swiss Transportation Safety Investigation Board is publishing prevention bulletins for the first time. These contain useful information in accordance with Art. 56 OSITI for the prevention of accidents and serious incidents. They were obtained as part of preliminary investigations into incidents for which an investigation is not opened for reasons of efficiency. The Prevention Bulletins are compiled in chronological order and include those incidents for which a preliminary investigation was completed by the end of the respective quarter. The information does not claim to be complete, is anonymised and is designed to contribute to the safety awareness of the public concerned.
Federal Council elects new president of the STSB
28.11.2024
On 27 November 2024, the Federal Council elected Mr Gery Balmer as the new president of the Swiss Transportation Safety Investigation Board (STSB). He succeeds Pieter Zeilstra, who has headed the commission since 2017. Gery Balmer studied science of forestry at ETH Zurich and has been working for the Federal Office of Transport (FOT) since 2002. He took over as head of the Policy Division in 2013 and has also been Deputy Director of the FOT since September 2023. He therefore has many years of management experience within the Federal Administration. For more than 20 years, he has been involved in the safe transport of people and goods and has extensive knowledge of the technical and operational requirements for the various modes of transport. Gery Balmer will end his employment with the FOT at the end of March 2025.
Partial revision of the Ordinance on the Safety Investigation of Transport Incidents (OSITI)
25.09.2024
The Federal Council has adopted the partially revised Ordinance on the Safety Investigation of Transport Incidents (OSITI). The changes will come into force on 1 January 2025.
New member of the Board
23.09.2024
On 23 September 2024, the Federal Council elected Mrs Ruth Häusler Hermann (1973) as a member of the extra-parliamentary commission of the Swiss Transportation Safety Investigation Board (STSB). Mrs Häusler Hermann studied psychology and business administration at the University of Basel and currently works as a lecturer at the ZHAW, among other things. There she heads the Human Factors research group at the Center for Aviation. She has extensive experience in the field of human factors in various industries (aviation, military, railways, medicine, nuclear industry).
SFAO report on the effectiveness of the STSB's quality assurance system
15.08.2024
On 14 August 2024, the Swiss Federal Audit Office (SFAO) published its report on the audit of the effectiveness of the quality assurance system of the Swiss Transportation Safety Investigation Board (STSB):
SFAO report on the effectiveness of the STSB's quality assurance system
Cable car study "Étude sur le retour d’expérience issu des enquêtes des bureaux d’enquête en Europe portant sur des accidents de remontées mécaniques"
19.06.2024
The cable car study “Étude sur le retour d’expérience issu des enquêtes des bureaux d’enquête en Europe portant sur des accidents de remontées mécaniques” was produced in collaboration with the Bureau d’Enquêtes sur les Accidents de Transport Terrestre (BEA-TT) (in French):
Agreement administrative with the Principality of Liechtenstein
01.06.2024
The Swiss Transportation Safety Investigation Board (STSB) assumes the tasks specified in Regulation (EU) No 996/2010 for the Principality of Liechtenstein in accordance with article 13 of the aviation law of Liechtenstein (LFG FL). For this purpose, the administrative agreement between the Office of Structural Engineering and Spatial Planning (AHR) and the Swiss Transportation Safety Investigation Board (STSB) came into force on 1 June 2024:
Investigation reports of aviation since 1959 available in digital form
09.12.2022
The digitisation of investigation reports since the founding of the Swiss Transportation Safety Investigation Board (STSB) – then known as Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau (AAIB) – has been completed. All reports on accidents and serious incidents of the aviation division since 1959 are now available in digital form: Search for aviation reports
Agreement on cooperation between the BEA-TT and the STSB
24.10.2022
The agreement on cooperation between the Bureau d'Enquêtes sur les Accidents de Transport Terrestre (BEA-TT) and the Swiss Transportation Safety Investigation Board (STSB) came into force on 22 September 2022:
Agreement on cooperation between the FOT and the STSB
01.09.2021
The agreement on cooperation between the Federal Office of Transport (FOT) and the Swiss Transportation Safety Investigation Board (STSB) came into force on 1 September 2021:
Study into the organisation and effectiveness of the civil aviation search and rescue (SAR) service in Switzerland
03.12.2016
The study into the organisation and effectiveness of the civil search and rescue (SAR) service in Switzerland is available as pdf document or as booklet (in German):