This page is an essay on notability. It contains the advice and/or opinions of one or more WikiProjects on how notability may be interpreted within their area of interest. It has not been accepted as a Wikipedia policy or guideline, though it may be consulted for assistance during an AfD discussion or when considering creating a standalone article. The degree of consensus that went into creating this essay (a potential measurement of the reliability of the advice) can be judged by consulting the history and talk pages. WikiProjects are encouraged to write essays on notability. Please update the page as needed or discuss it on the talk page.

Contents 1 Establishing notability 2 Guidelines by subject 2.1 Aircraft 2.2 Accidents 2.2.1 Preamble 2.2.2 Principles 2.2.3 Definitions 2.2.4 Criteria 2.2.4.1 Aircraft and airlines (A) 2.2.4.2 Causes and outcomes (C) 2.2.4.3 Location (L) 2.2.4.4 Military (M) 2.2.4.5 People (P) 2.3 Airlines 2.4 Airports 2.5 Aerospace biography 3 Guidelines by article type 3.1 Lists

[edit] Establishing notability

As noted in Wikipedia:Notability, a topic is presumed to be notable if it has received significant coverage in reliable sources that are independent of the subject.

Previous guidance was at Wikipedia:Notability (aircraft) (now inactive). Wikipedia:Notability (Transportation)#Airlines. is a proposed guideline for discussion. This essay is the closest thing this project has to a current guideline.

In particular, the following types of topics will almost always have sufficient coverage to qualify:

• Recipients of a country's highest military decoration.
• Aviation accidents resulting an loss of life.
• All airline companies.

[edit] Guidelines by subject

[edit] Aircraft

Shortcuts: WP:AIRNOTE WP:AVIMOS#AIRNOTE

Aircraft types will almost always be notable. Aircraft subtypes and variants may rarely be so notable as to justify forking from the main article. Aircraft types currently or once under development may be notable. Individual aircraft will very seldom be notable.

[edit] Accidents

Shortcuts: WP:AIRCRASH WP:AVIMOS#DENTNOTE

Following discussion, the new guidelines below are being beta tested and comments are welcome on the talk page. The beta testing began at 11:13, 21 September 2009 (UTC), comments made prior to this time are most likely referring to the previous guidelines, which can be viewed here.

[edit] Preamble

Most accidents and incidents are not worthy of inclusion in Wikipedia, and of those that are only a few should have their own article, the remainder should be part of a larger article (with or without a redirect). The more criteria an article meets, the more likely it is to be notable. Articles that meet criteria in only a single section are less likely to be notable enough for a separate article than those that meet criteria in multiple sections. In all cases where there is a suitable article the accident/incident could be covered in, the presumption should be that it is best covered there unless it would overwhelm the article or there are other reasons for it to be separate.

[edit] Principles

• Wikipedia is not a news source: it takes more than just a short burst of news reports about a single event or topic to constitute sufficient evidence of notability (from Wikipedia:Notability)
• Articles about items in the news are only considered encyclopedic if they are verifiably of significant lasting and historical interest and impact. (from Wikipedia:News articles)
• Where a single news wire story or press release has been used by several news publications, this should only be counted as a single source in all notability discussions. Likewise, when reporters base their information off other news coverage (for example, "AP reported that ..."), the coverage is only a single source. However, if multiple mainstream news outlets do independent reporting on a single event, this is independent coverage. (from Wikipedia:News articles)
• Many editors will attach greater weight to primary reporting from organisations based further away from the location of an accident/incident than to reports from local news services.
• Events which involve a notable subject are not necessarily notable in themselves.
• Where an event is not independently notable, it may be appropriate for coverage to be a section on an article about the context it is in, for example the article about the airline, aircraft type, airport, or notable person involved.
• If an event is not significant enough to be mentioned in any of the article(s) about the people, places or organisations concerned then it will rarely be notable enough for its own article.

[edit] Definitions

• A notable person or group is one that has their own Wikipedia article.
• "Airport" includes airfields, heliports and other similar locations. It does not include aircraft carriers.
• "Significantly involved" relates to a person who played an active part in the incident or its aftermath. A passenger on a flight with engine trouble is not significantly involved, a passenger who overpowers a hijacker is.
• "Noteworthiness" and "newsworthiness" are different, lower standards than "notability". A "notable" accident/incident is "noteworthy" and was normally "newsworthy" at the time it happened, but a "noteworthy" accident/incident is not necessarily "notable".

[edit] Criteria

[edit] Aircraft and airlines (A)

If the accident or incident matches criteria only in this section, then coverage should normally be on the article about the aircraft or airline. In the case of operational military losses, a separate article will rarely be notable

1. First, deadliest, or most significant accident for the type (commercial or military aircraft only, including experimental aircraft).
   • Example of sections: Airbus A340#Accidents and incidents, Hughes XF-11#Operational history, 1999 NATO bombing of Yugoslavia#Air War
   • Example of article: British Airways Flight 38 (note this happened at a major airport and received very extensive media coverage)
2. Airworthiness Directives - the accident/incident resulted in one or more official bodies issuing an Airworthiness Directive (AD) or similar
   • Example of section: Grumman American AA-1#Safety record
   • Example of article: Air Transat Flight 236 (note this also involved the loss of both engines, a very long (19 minute) glide in a commercial aircraft, and led to the largest fine in Canadian history).
3. Airline - First, deadliest, or most significant accident for a particular airline
   • Example of section: All Nippon Airways#Incidents and accidents
   • Example of article: TAP Portugal Flight 425 (also the deadliest accident in Portugal at the time, still the deadliest at the airport)
4. Grounding - An entire type of commerical aircraft is grounded as a result of the accident/incident. This does not apply to military or general aviation, experimental aircraft or where fewer than 10 airworthy examples exist.
   • Example of section:
   • Example of article: American Airlines Flight 191 (also the deadliest single airliner accident on US soil and deadliest incident at the airport)
5. Suspension - all or a significant proportion of activities by an airline are suspended, or part or all of their fleet is grounded.
   • Example of section: Chanchangi Airlines#Incidents
   • Example of article: LANSA Flight 502 (also the deadliest at the time in Peruvian history, and the deadliest to date at the airport).
6. Legislation - the accident/incident directly resulted in changes to legislation, national or international commercial aviation rules, including the closing of national airspace to an airline or type of aircraft. If the changes are themselves notable, then consider covering the incident on that article, particularly in the case of general aviation.
   • Example of section:
   • Example of article: Bashkirian Airlines Flight 2937 & DHL Flight 611 mid-air collision#TCAS and Conflicting orders (also involved the failure to learn from a prior incident, the murder of an air traffic controller)

[edit] Causes and outcomes (C)

If the accident or incident matches criteria only in this section, then coverage will frequently be most apropriate on the article about the cause.

1. First, deadliest or otherwise most significant example of a type of accident/incident. Incidents that are classed as routine, lead to no serious injuries and/or of which passengers are unaware are only occasionally worthy of coverage anywhere on Wikipedia.
   • Example of section: Bird strike#Incidents
   • Example of article: Japan Airlines Flight 123 (also the deadliest single-aircraft accident in history)
2. Military or terrorist action, including hijacking, against civilian aircraft in flight, or on the ground prior to or following a flight. This criterion applies from when the first person boards the aircraft with the intention of flying on that aircraft until the last person who flew on that aircraft has disembarked.
   • Example of section: Operation Entebbe#Hijack (The hijacking and military operation are notable as a single event)
   • Example of article: Iran Air Flight 655
3. Series of incidents - If a series of incidents with similar cause or consequence or other common factors occur, then a single article covering all the incidents is usually most appropriate
   • Examples: Dash 8 landing gear incidents, 2002 airtanker crashes

[edit] Location (L)

If the accident or incident matches criteria only in this section, then coverage shoud normally be on the article about the location. In the case of operational military losses, a separate article will rarely be notable.

1. Airshows - incidents at airshows are rarely notable outside the context of the show, so the coverage should normally be combined. See also List of airshow accidents
   • Example of section: Royal International Air Tattoo#1993 MiG-29 accident
   • Example of article: Ramstein airshow disaster (67 spectators and three pilots died.)
2. Airport - It is the first, deadliest, or most significant accident at a major airport.
   • Example of section: Birmingham International Airport, West Midlands#Incidents and accidents
   • Example of article: American Airlines Flight 191 (also the deadliest single airliner accident on US soil, and resulted in the grounding of all DC-10s)
3. Country, nation, etc - the deadliest or most significant accident to take place in a country, nation, or major (typically 1st-level) sub-national area. In this context, "country" not be interpreted too strictly, e.g. accidents in Croatia should be treated as being in the same area regardless of whether they happened pre- or post-independence from Yugoslavia. Major bodies of water also come under this criterion
   • Example of section:
   • Example of article: LANSA Flight 502 (deadliest at the time in Peruvian history, also led to the suspension of the airline's operation for 90 days)

[edit] Military (M)

If the accident or incident matches criteria only in this section, then coverage should normally be on the article about the air force, conflict or operation.

1. Air force - deadliest or most significant accident of the nation's air force. Incidents solely involving training flights or which are operational losses during conflict or peacekeeping operations are rarely notable enough for their own article.
   • Example of section: Hellenic Air Force#Accidents and incidents
   • Example of article: 2006 People's Liberation Army Air Force KJ-200 crash (resulted in nearly a dozen high-ranking military officers being demoted or censured, peacetime accident resulting in the death of 35 passengers)
2. Miltary procedures - The accident/incident directly resulted in changes to military operating procedures.
   • Example of section:
   • Example of article:
3. Peacetime loss of life - An accident/incident in peacetime or outside a theatre of conflict that results in a loss of life to occupants other than the flight crew and/or uninvolved civilians. See also the Airshow criteria in the Location section.
   • Example of section: Belgian Air Component#Recent Operations
   • Example of article: Mirosławiec air accident (also the first serious accident for the type of aircraft, and resulted in the dismissal of five air force personell)

[edit] People (P)

If the accident or incident matches criteria only in this section, then coverage should normally be on the article about the person or group

1. Notable person or group - a notable person or group is killed, seriously injured or otherwise significantly involved. A standalone article will normally only be appropriate if more than just the notable person or group is significantly involved.
   • Examples of sections: John Denver#Death, Zambia national football team#Gabon air disaster
   • Examples of articles: The Day the Music Died (involved the death of three individually notable people), Munich air disaster (involved the death of 12 notable footballers and former footballers; 10 other notable people survived)
2. Awards - one or more of the people involved receives a prestigious national, international or industry award for their actions directly related to the accident/incident.
   • Example of section: Arthur Dwight Ross#George Cross award
   • Example of article: US Airways Flight 1549 (entire crew awarded medals, also involved "the most successful ditching in aviation history.")
3. Criminal prosecution - one or more of the aircrew, maintenance workers, or other professionals involved (including executives) are subject to criminal prosecution or military discharge.
   • Example of section:
   • Example of article: 2001 Japan Airlines mid-air incident (two controllers prosecuted, also resulted in Japanese authorities requesting changes in ICAO procedures, had the collision not been avoided it would have been the deadliest civil aviation accident)

[edit] Airlines

[edit] Airports

Shortcut: WP:AVIMOS#PORTNOTE

[edit] Aerospace biography

[edit] Guidelines by article type

[edit] Lists

• List-class articles are exempt from notability requirements. Entries listed inherit notability from their own articles. Some particularly long lists have specific added notability requirements in order to keep lists to a manageable length, for example WP:ADL excludes general aviation and military aviation accidents.