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.
26. An Investigating Inspector has the power to—
(a)record a witness interview in any manner that the Investigating Inspector considers appropriate,
(b)take a statement from a witness and require the witness to make and sign a declaration of truth in relation to that statement, and
(c)retain any evidence which is produced by a witness or which the investigator-in-charge has access to or control over, by virtue of these Regulations, until completion of the safety investigation.
27.—(1) This regulation applies where property is held by SAIA in a hangar, or in any other facility which is being used by SAIA, for the purposes of a safety investigation.
(2) Subject to paragraph (5), where any such property is no longer required for the purposes of the safety investigation SAIA must inform the owner of the property, by serving a notice in writing, that it will be released to that owner at the place and date specified in the notice and in accordance with any other arrangements that are specified in the notice.
(3) An owner on whom such a notice is served must collect the property in accordance with the arrangements specified in the notice (or in accordance with any alternative arrangements that the owner agrees in writing with SAIA), failing which—
(a)SAIA may make arrangements for the destruction or disposal of the property, and
(b)the reasonable costs of such destruction or disposal will be recoverable from the owner as a debt due to the Secretary of State(1).
(4) Notice served pursuant to paragraph (2)—
(a)must not specify a date for collection of the property earlier than one month beginning with the date on which the notice was served, and
(b)must include a warning that a failure by the owner to collect the property on the date specified in the notice (or such other date that the owner agrees in writing with SAIA) will entitle SAIA to make arrangements for the destruction or disposal of the property and that the reasonable costs of destruction or disposal will be recoverable from the owner as a debt due to the Secretary of State.
(5) Where any property referred to in paragraph (1) is no longer required for the purposes of the safety investigation and SAIA is satisfied that a person, body or authority (other than the owner) is entitled (under statutory or common law powers that apply in any part of the United Kingdom) to collect that property for the purposes of another investigation and has confirmed their intention to do so—
(a)paragraph (2) does not apply to that property, and
(b)SAIA must release it to that person, body or authority and inform the owner of the property, by serving a notice in writing, that it has been so released.
See regulation 28(4).