ATO Audit and Assessment Programs  Section 7  7.3  Safety Incident and Accident Reporting and Analysis  Evidence has shown that for every accident, there are many precursor events. Therefore,  accident prevention programs focus on the collection, analysis, and investigation of incident  data. Incident investigation is valuable because real-world occurrences are analyzed to prevent  or eliminate future occurrences. The Air Traffic Organization (ATO) fine-tunes incident  prevention measures by analyzing low-level indicators that may contribute to an incident or  accident.  Incident reporting prompts the ATO to conduct investigations. ATO employees who conduct the  investigations reconstruct and analyze the event. They identify contributing factors and  categorize them as either direct or indirect. They also identify factors that may have lessened  the effect of the occurrence. ATO employees use the information gained from an investigation as input to recommend risk  mitigation strategies and safety-enhancing measures to preclude similar events in the future.  Corrective actions can enhance safety at all levels, from national to local. They can include:  • Airspace and airport improvements, • Additional communication, navigation, and surveillance systems and/or automation systems, • Additional staffing, or • Other safety-enhancing changes. 7.3_SMSM_201509 Originally published September 2015 Uncontrolled copy when downloaded 1 03