Probable Cause
The authority's formal statement of what caused the accident. The exact wording matters, and the archive quotes it rather than paraphrasing it.
Different authorities use different formulations. The US NTSB states a "probable cause" with contributing factors; many European and ICAO-aligned authorities list "causes" and "contributing factors" separately. Neither is a legal finding of fault.
Because the wording is the product of a long analytical process, small paraphrases change the meaning — "the crew failed to" is a different claim from "the crew were not provided with". Case files attribute the statement to the authority that reached it.
Related terms
The investigating authority has published its concluding report, with findings, causes and safety recommendations. This is the authoritative account.
A formal proposal from the investigators to a regulator or operator. Recommendations are not binding — the regulator decides what to mandate.
The international standard governing aircraft accident investigation. It defines who investigates, what an accident is, and that the sole objective is prevention — not blame.
A crew action or omission was a causal factor. Modern investigators treat it as a starting point, not a verdict — the useful question is why the action made sense at the time.