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An incident report describes an event such as a workplace accident, a health or safety emergency, or an equipment problem. (Specialized kinds of incident reports go by other names, such as accident reports or trouble reports.) The purpose of an incident report is to explain what happened, why it happened, and what the organization did (or is going to do) to follow up on the incident. Incident reports often contain a variety of graphics, including tables, drawings, diagrams, and photographs, as well as videos.

Incident reports can range from single-page forms that are filled out on paper or online to reports hundreds of pages long. Figure 12.4 shows an accident report form used at a university.

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Figure 12.5 is the executive summary of a National Transportation Safety Board accident report on a 2012 head-on collision between two freight trains in Oklahoma. Investigators spent many months researching and writing the full report.

The summary—two pages near the beginning of a 65-page report begins with the basic facts about the accident.

The writers discuss the probable cause of the accident and the resulting damage to the trains.

The writers explain the issues raised by this fatal accident.

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Finally, the writers list the results of the investigation.