The Spaceflight Activities (Investigation of Spaceflight Accidents) Regulations 2021

Inspectors’ powers to call and examine a witness

25.—(1) An Investigating Inspector has the power to call and examine a witness without delay and to require a witness to furnish or produce information or evidence relevant to the safety investigation.

(2) The power conferred by paragraph (1) must be exercised by the service of a summons signed by an Investigating Inspector and requiring any individual (“witness”) to attend a witness interview at a time and place stated in the summons, in order to—

(a) answer any question, or

(b) produce any document, record, information or other evidence,

which is, in the opinion of that Inspector, relevant to the safety investigation.

(3) A witness called for examination by an Investigating Inspector may nominate a person to be present at the examination.

(4) The investigator-in-charge may at any time exclude any person from being present at an examination of a witness if—

(a) that person is not a solicitor or other professional legal adviser acting solely on behalf of the witness being interviewed,

(b) both the Inspector and Chief Inspector have substantial reason to believe that the person’s presence would hamper the investigation with the result that the objective in regulation 11 is likely to be hindered and future safety thereby endangered, and

(c) the Chief Inspector is satisfied, having regard to all the circumstances, that it is proper to exclude that person.

(5) Where a person nominated to be present has been excluded in accordance with paragraph (4), the witness required to attend may nominate another person to be present at the witness interview in place of the excluded person and paragraph (4) applies to that other person.

(6) A witness must be allowed the expenses of attending a witness interview, payable by SAIA.