Originally Posted by
Hacker15e
Where do the specific definitions of these words live?
In the Air Force (perhaps the entire DOD) "mishap" and "accident" are virtually interchangable.
There is a distinction between the two types of investigations in the USAF, but they differ by the titles:
Safety Investigation Board (the internal/priviledged investigation)
...and
Accident Investigation Board (the legal/publically-releasable investigation)
Perhaps the NTSB uses these terms differently.