National Transportation Safety Board- NTSB

AST 425

NTSB

• What is the NTSB?- It is an independent federal accident investigation agency responsible for the investigation of all transportation related accidents.

• The NTSB was formed in 1966 as a part of the DOT act and was placed under the DOT (Department of Transportation)

• NTSB was made independent in 1974 by the NTSB Act.

NTSB

• The NTSB mission is:– To determine the “probable cause” of

transportation accidents– To formulate safety recommendations designed

to improve transportation safety

NTSB

• Scope:• The NTSB is required to determine the probable

cause of the following types of accidents:– Civil Aviation Accidents

– Major Highway Accidents

– Passenger train accidents involving fatalities

– Major Marine Accidents

– Pipeline Accedents

NTSB

• Aviation Accidents Investigated:– Responsible for all aviation accidents but

typically are only directly involved in those involving fatalities- the rest are “delegated” by a letter of agreement (LOA) to the FAA- Based on workload and staffing and varies from year to year.

– FAA investigates all ag., homebuilt/experimental accidents

NTSB

• The NTSB investigates thousands of accidents annually

• All air carrier accidents• All in-flight collisions• All fatal general aviation accidents• All air-taxi accidents• All accidents involving large aircraft

(greater than 12,500 lbs.)

NTSB- Other Responsibilities

• The 1974 NTSB Act requires the NTSB to:-Conduct special studies on safety problems

-Mid-Air collisions-Runway Incursions-In-fight icing- regional airliners- AE 4184

Since NTSB’s creation accidents have gone down considerably (Chapter 2)

NTSB Other Responsibilities- Ctn.

• Evaluate the effectiveness of government agencies involved with transportation including:– FAA- over 90 % of the recommendations made

to the FAA by the NTSB are acted upon favorably- FAA is required by law to respond.

– NHTSA

NTSB Other Responsibilities Ctn.

• Evaluate the safeguards used in the transportation of hazardous materials

• Review appeals from:– Airman and merchant seamen whose

certificates have been suspended or revoked

Make an annual report to congress on the State of Transportation Safety

NTSB structure

• Made up of 5 members appointed by the president for a 5 year term- confirmed by the senate

• The chairman and vice chairman are appointed to serve for typically two years (although the last one, Jim Hall served for 5-6 years)

• 340 Total Employees Nationwide- only 75 dedicated to the “air mode”

NTSB structure ctn.

• Headquartered in Washington DC. With 5 regional and 4 field offices in:

• Chicago, Anchorage, Atlanta, Ft. Worth, Los Angeles, Miami, New York, Denver, and Seattle-These field offices investigate about 99% of the accidents under the NTSB’s jurisdiction

NTSB Structure

• The GO-Team in Wash. DC. Investigates an average of 10-12 accidents per year.– Headquartered in DC– On 24 hour alert- must go anywhere in the

world on 2 hours notice- fly in the NTSB G-IV– 8-12 member team- rotating duty- headed by

one of the 5 board members– Reserved for major carrier accidents

NTSB- GO TEAM

• Consists of various specialists- metallurgy, avionics, ATC, maintenance, flight, etc.

• Usually on site for one or two weeks or less

• “Jump Start” an investigation

• Send evidence for laboratory analysis- back in DC. Or where specialized services are offered- ie. Aeromedical- OK. City OK.

NTSB

• Laboratory analysis– Analyze “Black Boxes”- Flight Date Recorders

(FDR) and Cockpit Voice Recorders (CVR)– Analyzing wreckage for:– Inadequate design– Excessive loading– Fatigue/Corrision– Etc.

NTSB Recommendation

• The Recommendation- End product of the investigation:

• Recs. Are issued as soon as they are discovered- don’t await the final report which can take months

• Identifies person/s or agencies (FAA, manufacturers, etc.) that need to take action and describes the action which needs to be taken.

Chronology Ctn.

• States the safety need to be satisfied

• DOT (FAA) must respond within 90 days

Chronology Ctn.

• Public Hearing held to:– Collect more information– Air at a public forum the issues involved in an

accident

Chronology Ctn.

• Final Report- publication which gives accident details as well as a “probable cause” for the accident. Results have been used to make systemic improvements such as:– Pilot training

– Aircraft Maintenance

– ATC procedures

– Survival Equipment Requirements

Major Accident Chronology

• Go Team on site• Site Analysis• Public Hearing• Laboratory Analysis• Safety Recommendations• Public Hearing• Final Report• Publication Made Public

NTSB Ctn.

• NTSB investigates approx. 2400 aviation accidents per year.

• Each regional office investigates approximately 400 per year- 60 delegated to FAA- 12 – 13 employees each- huge workload!

• Go Team investigates approx 10-12 per year

The End!