While cotton, from the cotton plant, and linen, from the flax plant, are both natural plant fibers (cellulose), there are many differences between them. The term Linens can colloquially refer to any household good, but this should not be confused with linen fabric.
The NTSB defines an incident as an occurrence other than an accident, associated with the operation of an aircraft, which affects or could affect the safety of operations. While many incidents do not need to be reported to the NTSB, there are serious incidents that must be reported.
Furthermore, a misclassification of an incident as an accident during the reporting process could have the effect of wiping out the otherwise available Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) sanction protection typically provided under many voluntary disclosure programs.