Air accident investigations are inextricably linked to the history of aviation. Long before a dedicated service was created, technical investigations were organized by the public authorities. In 1934, an interministerial circular (Ministries of the Interior and Air) addressed to prefects outlined the measures to be taken in the event of an aircraft accident. In 1945, a decree transferred civil aviation responsibilities—including accident investigations—from the Ministry of the air to the Ministry of public works. That same year, Maurice Bellonte—a renowned aviator and resistance fighter—was recruited to handle civil aviation accident investigations.
The name "BEA" - Bureau Enquêtes sur les accidents et Sécurité - emerged in 1946; the bureau was attached to the Directorate of air transport (DTA). At the same time, Maurice Bellonte continued to play a role in safety matters (for example the Azores accident on 28 October 1949—a major event at the time, as the boxer Marcel Cerdan was among the victims). In March 1951, the BEA was attached to the Civil aviation inspectorate general, headed by Marcel Girardot. A 1952 decree reorganizing the Civil aviation inspectorate general tasked it (under Article 1) with conducting investigations into civil aviation air accidents and drawing lessons from them. However, this decree did not explicitly mention the BEA by name. A 1953 ministerial decision stipulated that the remit for civil aviation technical investigations following an air accident was henceforth assigned to a central administrative office placed under the immediate authority of the Secretary general for civil and commercial aviation. Finally, the order of 20 June 1962, established the organization and remit of the BEA, placing it under the authority of the head of the Air safety and navigation section. This order repealed the 1953 decision.
Until October 1961, the BEA was headed by Maurice Bellonte. Upon his departure, he was not replaced, and the BEA was managed directly by the president of the Air safety and navigation section. To resolve internal operational issues arising from the lack of a direct manager, Paul Guillevic was appointed head of the BEA in 1972. Jean-Pierre Bonny succeeded him in 1980. In 1986, Robert Davidson was appointed head of the BEA. In 1990, Paul-Louis Arslanian was appointed head of the BEA, subsequently becoming the director of the BEA from 2001 until October 2009. Jean-Paul Troadec succeeded him in October 2009, followed by Rémi Jouty, who served as director of the BEA from January 2014 to December 2023. In January 2024, Pierre-Yves Huerre was appointed director of the BEA.
At the international level, on 11 April 1954, the ICAO Council adopted Annex 13 which had been drawn up during the "accident investigation" division meetings held in February 1946 and April 1947. The standards set out in this Annex took effect on 1 August 1951. In 1992, a proposal was made to extend the provisions in the Annex to cover serious incidents (incidents where the circumstances indicate that an accident nearly occurred). Since 1994, the title of Annex 13 is Aircraft Accident and Incident Investigation. At the European level, Directive 94/56/EC—which States were required to transpose into their national law—was succeeded by Regulation 996/2010; the latter remains in force and applies directly to Member States. At the national level, the BEA became the Bureau d’Enquêtes et d’Analyses pour la sécurité de l’aviation civile through the 1999 law transposing Directive 94/56 and its 2001 implementing decree.
