franklin_m

Read it for yourself, 49 USC 830.

§830.5 Immediate notification.The operator of any civil aircraft, or any public aircraft not operated by the Armed Forces or an intelligence agency of the United States, or any foreign aircraft shall immediately, and by the most expeditious means available, notify the nearest National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) office,1 when:

(a) An aircraft accident or any of the following listed serious incidents occur:"

The law provides the following in the "Definitions" section:

Aircraft accident means an occurrence associated with the operation of an aircraft which takes place between the time any person boards the aircraft with the intention of flight and all such persons have disembarked, and in which any person suffers death or serious injury, or in which the aircraft receives substantial damage. For purposes of this part, the definition of “aircraft accident” includes “unmanned aircraft accident,” as defined herein."


Unmanned aircraft accident means an occurrence associated with the operation of any public or civil unmanned aircraft system that takes place between the time that the system is activated with the purpose of flight and the time that the system is deactivated at the conclusion of its mission, in which:
(1) Any person suffers death or serious injury; or
(2) The aircraft has a maximum gross takeoff weight of 300 pounds or greater and sustains substantial damage

Serious injury means any injury which:
(1) Requires hospitalization for more than 48 hours, commencing within 7 days from the date of the injury was received;
(2) results in a fracture of any bone (except simple fractures of fingers, toes, or nose);
(3) causes severe hemorrhages, nerve, muscle, or tendon damage;
(4) involves any internal organ; or
(5) involves second- or third-degree burns, or any burns affecting more than 5 percent of the body surface."

[emphasis added]


If you can show me where "model aircraft" are exempted from this statute, then I'm all ears. Some may not like what it says, and some may choose to ignore it, but it, but that doesn't change what the law actually says.

So, in the case of the turbine crash that produced second degree burns:
- Aircraft accident (involving unmanned aircraft) as defined in 49 USC 830? - YES
- Did it result in a serious injury as defined in 49 USC 830? - YES
- Was reporting required? - YES

http://www.ecfr.gov/cgi-bin/text-idx...dno=49;cc=ecfr