National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB)

The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) is an independent federal agency responsible for investigating all civil aviation accidents and other significant accidents in railroad, highway, marine, and pipeline transportation. The NTSB's mission is to improve transportation safety. Its accident investigation findings are used to make safety recommendations and improvements that will make transportation safer.

The NTSB was established by Congress and began operation on April 1, 1967. It became a completely independent agency on April 1, 1975. To maintain impartiality, it is not affiliated with any other agency or organization, although it works with other agencies and organizations in accident investigations. Since its founding, the NTSB has investigated more than 124,000 aviation accidents and more than 10,000 surface transportation accidents. The NTSB does not have regulatory or enforcement powers. It makes recommendations based on the facts arising from investigations. Recommendations from accident investigations are based on thorough investigation and may address deficiencies that do not directly pertain to what is ultimately determined to be the cause of the accident. To maintain impartiality, the board's analysis of facts and determination of probable cause cannot be used as evidence in a court of law nor can persons in legal or litigation positions be assigned to accident investigation teams.

The NTSB is governed by a five-person board of directors, who are each nominated by the president and confirmed by the Senate. They serve 5-year terms. One member is designated by the president as chair and another as vice chair for 2 years. The chair requires separate Senate confirmation.

Accident investigations are carried out by the NTSB's “Go Team.” The team's goal is to begin investigating major accidents at the scene as quickly as possible. A team consists of anywhere from three to more than a dozen specialists from the board's headquarters staff in Washington, D.C. Each team is supervised by an Investigator-in-Charge and made up of separate investigators who are specialists in each clearly defined portion of the accident investigation. In aviation, these areas include operations, structures, [Page 1478]powerplants, systems, air traffic control, weather, human performance, and survival factors.

If it is determined that an investigation involves criminal activity, the attorney general, in consultation with the chair of the NTSB, will notify the board. The NTSB will then surrender lead status on a transportation accident to another agency such as the FBI or the Justice Department.

Since 1990, the NTSB has maintained a “most wanted” list of safety improvements. Because of the agency's reputation for impartiality and thoroughness, more than 82% of its recommendations have been adopted by those in a position to effect change. Examples of items on the current list include improving child occupant protection in automobiles, eliminating hard core drinking and driving, reducing dangers to aircraft flying in icing conditions, and improving audio and data recorders in aircraft.