What is a principal drawback of accident analysis?

The principal drawback of accident analysis lies in the fact that it typically occurs after an incident has already taken place, which means it cannot prevent the accident from occurring in the first place. This reactive nature limits its effectiveness as a proactive safety measure. While analyzing accidents is essential for understanding the causes and preventing future occurrences, the timing of this analysis signifies a lost opportunity for real-time interventions that could have mitigated the risk before the accident happened.

The other choices indicate challenges associated with accident analysis, such as potential costs, data completeness, and time requirements, but they do not capture the fundamental limitation of being a post-incident review rather than a preventive measure. This underscores the importance of integrating proactive safety measures and hazard assessments into workplace safety strategies, rather than relying solely on analyzing past accidents for improvement.