IPIAAM is a personalized service, rendered by the State, with a collective public legal personality, administrative, financial and property autonomy, that is responsible for the investigation of accidents and serious incidents, and the promotion of safety through the implementation of policies and programs for the prevention of aeronautical and maritime accidents.

 

IPIAAM is, therefore, the National Investigation Authority, whose mission is to investigate aeronautical and maritime accidents and incidents, with the sole purpose of determining their causes and/or factors, to formulate safety recommendations, in order to avoid its repetition. The main aim, thus, is not that of dictating blame or responsibility.

 

Historical Background

Formerly in Cabo Verde, the means in use for the prevention and investigation of accidents and incidents in air and maritime transport systems were provided for by two entities, namely the Commission for the Prevention and Investigation of Aircraft Accidents (CPIAA) and the Office for the Prevention and Investigation of Maritime Accidents (GPIAM), created, respectively, by Decree-Laws nº38 / 2009 and nº17 / 2016.

CPIAA was only effectively implemented in 2018, a year that marks the starting point for the implementation of an aviation accident prevention and investigation system.

With the emergence of the Institute for the Prevention and Investigation of Aeronautical and Maritime Accidents (IPIAAM), through the merger of CPIAA and GPIAM by Decree-Law N.º62 /2018, of 12 December, Cabo Verde took a significant step in the prevention of accidents in the areas of air and maritime transport, allowing the country to align with international good practices, on the one hand, and create conditions for greater efficiency and effectiveness in the use of available resources, on the other.