Annual Salary
£72,500 to £82,000
Average UK salary in 2023 was £34,963
(source Office for National Statistics)
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Swap to Armed forces or Security or go back to all job sectors
Air accident investigators search for the causes of accidents and serious incidents, involving civilian aircraft.
Average UK salary in 2023 was £34,963
(source Office for National Statistics)
You could work: evenings / weekends / bank holidays; on call
There will be
2.9% more Air accident investigator jobs in 2027.
Depending on your role you could:
You may need to wear protective clothing.
You could work in remote rural areas, in an aircraft hangar, in a laboratory or in an office.
Your working environment may be physically and emotionally demanding and you'll travel often.
You can get into this job through:
You'll usually need a degree or postgraduate qualification in engineering or a related subject. Courses include:
You may be able to do a postgraduate course in safety and accident investigation, which covers air transport.
Some investigator roles look at the part played by human factors in an incident, and a degree and postgraduate qualification in psychology would be useful for these.
As well as a university qualification, you'll need several years experience of working in aircraft engineering.
A pilot's licence may also be required for some jobs, like an air accident operations inspector.
You'll usually need:
You can apply directly to become an air accident investigator.
If you want to work as an operations inspector, managing an accident response team, you’ll need a pilot’s licence and flying experience.
To be an engineering investigator or flight data recorder inspector, you’ll need a relevant degree or postgraduate qualification and several years’ recent experience in aerospace engineering.
You can also take short courses in accident investigation techniques, which may help broaden your knowledge of the role and skills required.
You'll need to:
You can find out more about how to become an investigator from the Air Accidents Investigation Branch.
If you work as an engineering or flight data recorder investigator, you could become an operations director, co-ordinating the investigation process. You could also progress to chief accident inspector.
You could use your experience to work as a consultant with aerospace manufacturers, safety regulators or aviation industry insurance companies.
You'll need: