Every aircraft accident (fig. 6-8) affects readiness to some degree, and with the cost of equipment rising steadily, the loss of one of our first-line aircraft represents a serious loss to the Navy and to the national economy.

Aircraft accident investigation is one of the fundamental elements in a program for the improvement of aviation safety. Photography plays a major role in an aircraft accident investigation. The evidence obtained through photographs will help determine steps to prevent similar occurrences.

To make the most useful photographs, you must clearly understand the purpose of photography in an aircraft accident investigation. It is NOT to assess blame, nor is it solely to establish a single or primary cause factor. Few accidents result from a single cause. In most of the accidents, a sequence of events occurs.

The elimination of any one of these events may have prevented the accident. Therefore, to prevent future occurrences, you must consider all possible cause factors and photograph them, if possible. An incomplete photographic record of the investigation may result in erroneous conclusions and nullify the only possible benefit that could have been derived from a costly accident. The photography surrounding an aircraft accident is a methodical accumulation of small bits and pieces of information that eventually form a pattern. The wreckage itself may contain valuable evidence that, if correctly photographed, may provide these certain cause factors.

Successful aircraft accident photographers have certain essential characteristics in common. You must apply the following essentials of good aircraft accident photography to your work:

1. Promptness-Get to the scene of the accident immediately-before the evidence is disturbed.

2. Thoroughness-Photograph all evidence in minute detail. Operate on the assumption that there is no limit to the amount of photography justified to prevent the recurrence of one aircraft accident or the loss of one life.

3. Organization-Conduct a planned photographic survey.

Jim Bryant 302.280

Figure 6-9. News reporters photograph damage incurred when a T-2C Buckeye crashed into the superstructure of the USS Lexington.

4. Accuracy Pictures that show half-truths are unacceptable in aircraft accident photography. Do not make pictures that hide detail or distort the scene. Remember, all photographic evidence must be accurate.

It is nearly always necessary to crawl around or under the aircraft wreckage to get pictures. You should arrive at the scene appropriately clothed in a complete, comfortable working uniform, which you do not mind soiling.