A forensic engineering investigation may well take months to complete, especially if it forms part of a major court case or is the principal evidence at a government inquiry into a disaster. However, it is common for the essential features of the failure to be discovered quickly in a matter of a few days with detail being filled in over a longer period. This will be important where there is a need, for safety reasons, to ground aircraft or close similar bridges.

For example, in the 25 July 2000 crash of Concorde, the French BEA issued a preliminary report with essential details on 30 August 2000, and interim reports on 15 December 2000, 23 July 2001, before the final report came out on 16 January 2002. Even before the 30 August report, the French investigators released statements at regular intervals as soon as significant features of the incident had been determined.

Discover how forensic engineers investigated three very different disasters: Challenger, Concorde and Hatfield.