Engineering accidents in society: A comparison of Chinese and American railway accident investigation

•There are major differences in railway accident investigation between China and the United States.•China's investigation mode is the administratively coordinated one with the objective of cause-tracing for accountability.•The US’ investigation mode is the independent one with the objective of cause-tracing for learning.•Social factors are responsible for such differences, and learning from accidents is a socially institutionalized process.•China's investigation has drawbacks in terms of engineering learning, and some improvements might be made.

Based on the investigation reports for two major railway accidents in China and the USA, as well as the analysis of related systems, this paper compares the differences between Chinese and American railway accident investigation modes along different dimensions. The four aspects attended to are the investigation purpose, institutional basis, scope and process, and type of conclusion. The results reveal the role of social factors in shaping the investigation pattern of engineering accidents, and show engineering accidents can serve as a window to understanding a society and the ways that learning from engineering accidents is a socially institutionalized process. A final discussion considers possible improvements that might be introduced into the Chinese mode of engineering accident investigation.