How do I create a custom event (aviation accident) point? I do aviation accident investigations and would like to include OpenStreetMap designated locations in my reporting. Here is an example of what I’m trying to accomplish:
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There doesn’t seem to be OSM precedent for this, but that doesn’t mean you can’t be a pioneer!
The quick answer is to simply create a node and give it a sensible tag, like accident=aviation. However, that (nor anything like it, really) doesn’t exist in OSM presently, and when doing this sort of “coining” a new tag (called “any tag you like” or ATYL), it is both polite and correct to add a wiki entry for it. This can be a high barrier for some, though it isn’t wholly incorrect to simply ATYL and never wiki.
More-true to the spirit of OSM being a long-term project, it can be helpful to consider the longer-term consequences of you “seeding” a node with a tag like this by developing a richer syntax for it. For example, there may be an at-sea accident with watercraft it is wished to be mapped and so accident=seaborne or accident=naval (perhaps if military) would suffice. Think about the context(s), think about how the wording of the tag can be expanded into a future namespace that can make sense “in the direction” of a future of tagging similar things.
And, it may be that a node doesn’t suffice and you need a polygon to describe something like accident=aviation + hazard=crash_debris + area=yes. I’m merely offering off-the-cuff suggestions here, nothing hard-and-fast. Relation:site - OpenStreetMap Wiki might also serve your polygon / area needs with a richer sense of what is meant by “site.”
I’m aware of a fairly popular hiking trail in some mountains near where I grew up in Southern California where there is a World War II naval aviation crash site (I think) and while it’s many decades old (the engine and parts are rusted) and it isn’t too “strewn about,” it is distinctly different than what you may be describing. Or, once you’ve developed some smart tagging, such a site might only be additionally tagged historic=yes to distinguish it from something more recent.
Keep reading, thinking about it, discussing with others (like here) toss out ideas, refine them. I think you can make this work (somehow), though it’s sort of vague and hazy (only in my mind, likely not yours). Think about how such data will be used “downstream” by people making direct searches of OSM data, renderers, etc. This might influence how you decide to initially name your tag and further develop richer versions of it. It’s an interesting application for geographic data: good luck!
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Hi @AviatonSafetyX and welcome here!
If there’s something to see on the ground like in the example of @stevea
then mapping in OpenStreetMap is absolutely ok.
An alternative, especially if there’s nothing on the ground anymore (I think of start/landing crashes), would be the use of uMap.
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Yes, @Vinzenz_Mai is correct: if there truly isn’t anything (at all) on the ground, it shouldn’t be mapped in OSM. (Some exceptions for this, like political boundaries, do exist, but they are few).
However, there are also memorial sites where aviation accidents have occurred. I’m not sure if this applies to your use case(s).
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A small suggestion from taginfo=
historic=aircraft_wreck
The remains of the aircraft can still be seen in most satellite images.
A little help from OverPass-Ultra to see the remains with Alidade Satellite
And a little conversation about it=
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Awesome, a deep (-er) search is fruitful, thanks and I missed those in my sketch.
Super research, Felipe, ¡muchas gracias!
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Thanks for the reply, stevea. Here is a link to where OpenStreetMap is already being used by a site. This s all I’m trying to accomplish:
Ah. I don’t want to see such “events” in OSM. It isn’t the dataset for them. I believe others agree.
OpenHistoricalMap might be a place for singular events like this, I’m not sure.
I think you are referring to the Leaflet (brief code) that uses OSM data to “show where,” fine.
You, too can use Leaflet like this, if that’s what you are “trying to accomplish,” read about Leaflet.
Thank you, Vinzenz! Here is a link to where OpenStreetMap is already being used by a site. This is all I’m trying to accomplish:
As @stevea noted, that site is using a tool called Leaflet to display an OpenStreetMap map as a background. The accident point itself doesn’t need to be in OSM to to do that, all you need is the latitude and longitude. If you have control over the website where you want to display the points, using Leaflet directly is an option (as your example site does).
@Vinzenz_Mai also mentioned UMap, which is a kind of wrapper around Leaflet. Depending on your level of knowledge, it might be easier to get up and running quickly in UMap, e.g. if you have a csv or gpx file with all your points, you can upload it and generate a map very quickly. And you don’t need to host your own site to use it, although you can embed it in your own site if you want to.
There may be other options depending on exactly how you plan to host and manage your site.
With any of these options, you are not touching the public OSM database, so you don’t have to worry about issues such as verifiability of data or evidence on the ground. I think your reference to a “OSM designated locations” led people to think you were planning on modifying the database, so that’s why the first answers focused on those points.
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