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The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) is an independent U.S. government investigative agency responsible for civil transportation
accident investigation Accident analysis is carried out in order to determine the cause or causes of an accident (that can result in single or multiple outcomes) so as to prevent further accidents of a similar kind. It is part of ''accident investigation or incident inv ...
. In this role, the NTSB investigates and reports on aviation accidents and incidents, certain types of highway crashes, ship and marine accidents, pipeline incidents, bridge failures, and
railroad accident Classification of railway accidents, both in terms of cause and effect, is a valuable aid in studying rail (and other) accidents to help to prevent similar ones occurring in the future. Systematic investigation for over 150 years has led to the r ...
s. The NTSB is also in charge of investigating cases of
hazardous materials Dangerous goods, abbreviated DG, are substances that when transported are a risk to health, safety, property or the environment. Certain dangerous goods that pose risks even when not being transported are known as hazardous materials ( syllabi ...
releases that occur during transportation. The agency is based in Washington, D.C. It has four regional offices, located in
Anchorage, Alaska Anchorage () is the largest city in the U.S. state of Alaska by population. With a population of 291,247 in 2020, it contains nearly 40% of the state's population. The Anchorage metropolitan area, which includes Anchorage and the neighboring ...
;
Denver, Colorado Denver () is a consolidated city and county, the capital, and most populous city of the U.S. state of Colorado. Its population was 715,522 at the 2020 census, a 19.22% increase since 2010. It is the 19th-most populous city in the Unit ...
; Ashburn, Virginia; and
Seattle, Washington Seattle ( ) is a seaport city on the West Coast of the United States. It is the seat of King County, Washington. With a 2020 population of 737,015, it is the largest city in both the state of Washington and the Pacific Northwest region ...
. The agency also operates a national training center at its Ashburn facility.


History

The origin of the NTSB was in the Air Commerce Act of 1926, which assigned the
United States Department of Commerce The United States Department of Commerce is an executive department of the U.S. federal government concerned with creating the conditions for economic growth and opportunity. Among its tasks are gathering economic and demographic data for bus ...
responsibility for investigating domestic aviation accidents. Before the NTSB, the
Federal Aviation Administration The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) is the largest transportation agency of the U.S. government and regulates all aspects of civil aviation in the country as well as over surrounding international waters. Its powers include air traffic ...
's (FAA; at the time the CAA) independence was questioned as it was investigating itself and would be biased to find external faults, coalescing with the 1931 crash killing Notre Dame coach Knute Rockne. The USA's first "independent" ''Air Safety Board'' was established in 1938: it lasted only fourteen months. In 1940, this authority was transferred to the Civil Aeronautics Board's newly formed Bureau of Aviation Safety. In 1967, Congress created a separate cabinet-level Department of Transportation, which among other things established the Federal Aviation Administration as an agency under the DOT. At the same time, the NTSB was established as an independent agency which absorbed the Bureau of Aviation Safety's responsibilities. However, from 1967 to 1975, the NTSB reported to the DOT for administrative purposes, while conducting investigations into the Federal Aviation Administration, also a DOT agency. To avoid any conflict, Congress passed the Independent Safety Board Act, and on April 1, 1975, the NTSB became a fully independent agency. , the NTSB has investigated over 140,000 aviation incidents and several thousand surface transportation incidents.


Organization

Formally, the "National Transportation Safety Board" refers to a five-manager investigative board whose five members are nominated by the President and confirmed by the
Senate A senate is a deliberative assembly, often the upper house or chamber of a bicameral legislature. The name comes from the ancient Roman Senate (Latin: ''Senatus''), so-called as an assembly of the senior (Latin: ''senex'' meaning "the el ...
for five-year terms. No more than three of the five members may be from the same political party. One of the five board members is nominated as the Chairman by the President and then approved by the Senate for a fixed 2-year term; another is designated as vice-chairman and becomes acting chairman when there is no formal chairman.The Board at NTSB
Retrieved June 18, 2014
This board is authorized by Congress under Chapter 11, Title 49 of the United States Code to investigate civil aviation, highway, marine, pipeline, and railroad accidents and incidents. This five-member board is authorized to establish and manage separate sub-offices for highway, marine, aviation, railroad, pipeline, and hazardous materials investigations. Since its creation, the NTSB's primary mission has been "to determine the probable cause of transportation accidents and incidents and to formulate safety recommendations to improve transportation safety (in the USA)". Based on the results of investigations within its jurisdiction, the NTSB issues formal safety recommendations to agencies and institutions with the power to implement those recommendations. The NTSB considers safety recommendations to be its primary tool for preventing future civil transportation accidents. However, the NTSB does not have the authority to enforce its safety recommendations.


Current board members

President Joe Biden nominated board member Jennifer Homendy to serve as the next Senate-confirmed chair on the retirement of Robert Sumwalt in 2021. She was sworn in as Chairwoman on August 13, 2021. On August 3, 2022, President Joe Biden nominated former Jacksonville Mayor
Alvin Brown Alvin Brown is an American politician from Florida who served as mayor of Jacksonville, Florida, from 2011 to 2015. He was the first African American to be elected to that position. Brown succeeded John Peyton as mayor after winning the 2011 ma ...
to the board for a term expiring December 31, 2026.


Accident and incident investigations

The NTSB is the lead agency in the investigation of a civil transportation accident or incident within its sphere. An investigation of a major accident within the
United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country Continental United States, primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 U.S. state, states, a Washington, D.C., ...
typically starts with the creation of a "go team," composed of specialists in fields relating to the incident who are rapidly deployed to the incident location. The "go team" can have as few as three people or as many as a dozen, depending on the nature of the incident. Following the investigation, the agency may then choose to hold public hearings on the issue. Ultimately, it will publish a final report which may include safety recommendations based on its findings. The NTSB has no legal authority to implement or impose its recommendations. Its recommendations are often implemented by regulators at the federal or state level, or individual transportation companies.


Jurisdiction over investigations

;Aviation: The NTSB has primary authority to investigate every civil aviation accident in the United States; the agency is also authorized to conduct investigations involving both civilian and military aircraft "with the participation of appropriate military authorities". For certain accidents, due to resource limitations, the Board will ask the FAA to collect the factual information at the scene of the accident; the NTSB bases its report on that information. ;Surface Transportation: The NTSB has the authority to investigate all highway accidents and incidents, including incidents at railway grade crossings, "in cooperation with a State". The NTSB has primary jurisdiction over railway accidents and incidents which result in death or significant property damage, or which involve a passenger train. ;Marine: For marine investigations, jurisdiction into investigations is divided between the NTSB and the U.S. Coast Guard. The division of investigative jurisdiction and responsibilities is prescribed in a detailed Memorandum of Understanding between the two agencies. ;Pipeline: The NTSB has primary jurisdiction over pipeline incidents (often the result of third-party excavation damage) which involve "a fatality, substantial property damage, or significant injury to the environment". ;Assistance to criminal investigations: The NTSB has primary jurisdiction over civil transportation investigations, but not criminal investigations. If the
Attorney General In most common law jurisdictions, the attorney general or attorney-general (sometimes abbreviated AG or Atty.-Gen) is the main legal advisor to the government. The plural is attorneys general. In some jurisdictions, attorneys general also have exec ...
declares the case to be linked to a criminal act, the NTSB must relinquish control of the investigation to the
Federal Bureau of Investigation The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) is the domestic intelligence and security service of the United States and its principal federal law enforcement agency. Operating under the jurisdiction of the United States Department of Justice ...
. The NTSB may still provide technical support to the FBI in such investigations. In two high-profile examples, the NTSB sent aviation accident investigators with knowledge of aircraft structures and flight recorders to assist the FBI's criminal investigation into the murder-suicide of Pacific Southwest Airlines Flight 1771 in 1987, and the
September 11, 2001, attacks The September 11 attacks, commonly known as 9/11, were four coordinated suicide terrorist attacks carried out by al-Qaeda against the United States on Tuesday, September 11, 2001. That morning, nineteen terrorists hijacked four commercia ...
fourteen years later. ;Assistance to other domestic agencies: In addition to assisting the Department of Justice in criminal investigations, the NTSB has also assisted the
National Aeronautics and Space Administration The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA ) is an independent agency of the US federal government responsible for the civil space program, aeronautics research, and space research. NASA was established in 1958, succeeding ...
(NASA) in its investigations of both the ''
Challenger Challenger, Challengers, or The Challengers may refer to: Entertainment Comics and manga * Challenger (character), comic book character * ''Challengers'' (manga), manga by Hinako Takanaga Film and TV * ''The Challengers'' (TV series), a 197 ...
'' and the ''Columbia'' Space Shuttle disasters. The NTSB also provides assistance on request to the U.S. military in its investigation of military incidents within the realm of the NTSB's expertise, such as the crash of an Air Force transport plane in former
Yugoslavia Yugoslavia (; sh-Latn-Cyrl, separator=" / ", Jugoslavija, Југославија ; sl, Jugoslavija ; mk, Југославија ;; rup, Iugoslavia; hu, Jugoszlávia; rue, label= Pannonian Rusyn, Югославия, translit=Juhoslavij ...
that took the lives of more than 30 Americans, including
Commerce Secretary The United States secretary of commerce (SecCom) is the head of the United States Department of Commerce. The secretary serves as the principal advisor to the president of the United States on all matters relating to commerce. The secretary rep ...
Ron Brown. ;Assistance to foreign governments: The NTSB may assist in incident or accident investigations occurring outside the United States under certain circumstances. These may include accidents or incidents involving American-registered or American-owned civil aircraft or aircraft with U.S. manufactured components in foreign air space. Officially, NTSB employees are prohibited from releasing information about "another country's investigation".


Use of the "party system"

In order to conduct its investigations, the NTSB operates under the "party system", which utilizes the support and participation of industry and labor representatives with expertise or technical knowledge specifically useful to its investigation. These individuals or organizations may be invited by the NTSB to become parties to the investigation, and participate under the supervision of the NTSB. The NTSB has discretion over which organizations it allows to participate. Only individuals with relevant technical expertise are allowed to represent an organization in an investigation, and attorneys and insurance investigators are prohibited by law from participating. The NTSB considers the party system crucial to the investigative process, as it provides the NTSB with access to individuals with specialized expertise or knowledge relevant to a particular investigation. However, use of the party system is not without controversy. The NTSB invited
Boeing The Boeing Company () is an American multinational corporation that designs, manufactures, and sells airplanes, rotorcraft, rockets, satellites, telecommunications equipment, and missiles worldwide. The company also provides leasing and ...
to participate as a party to the investigation of the crash of
TWA Flight 800 Trans World Airlines Flight 800 (TWA800) was a Boeing 747-100 that exploded and crashed into the Atlantic Ocean near East Moriches, New York, on July 17, 1996, at about 8:31pm. EDT, 12 minutes after takeoff from John F. Kennedy Internationa ...
, a
Boeing 747 The Boeing 747 is a large, long-range wide-body airliner designed and manufactured by Boeing Commercial Airplanes in the United States between 1968 and 2022. After introducing the 707 in October 1958, Pan Am wanted a jet times its size, ...
, in 1996. While the NTSB relied on Boeing's sharing of expertise, it was later determined that Boeing had withheld a study of military versions of the 747 that investigated flammable vapor combustion in the center fuel tank. Boeing had told the NTSB that it had no studies proving or disproving the vapor combustion theory. In response to political pressure after the Boeing incident, the NTSB commissioned the nonprofit
Rand Corporation The RAND Corporation (from the phrase "research and development") is an American nonprofit global policy think tank created in 1948 by Douglas Aircraft Company to offer research and analysis to the United States Armed Forces. It is finance ...
to conduct an independent study of the NTSB's aircraft investigation process. In 2000, Rand published its report, which concluded that the party system is "a key component of the NTSB investigative process" and that participant parties "are uniquely able to provide essential information about aircraft design and manufacture, airline operations, or functioning of
he National Airspace System He or HE may refer to: Language * He (pronoun), an English pronoun * He (kana), the romanization of the Japanese kana へ * He (letter), the fifth letter of many Semitic alphabets * He (Cyrillic), a letter of the Cyrillic script called ''He'' in ...
that simply cannot be obtained elsewhere". However, Rand also found conflicts of interest inherent in the party system, "may, in some instances, threaten the integrity of the NTSB investigative process". The Rand study recommended that the NTSB reduce its reliance on party representatives and make greater use of independent investigators, including from
NASA The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA ) is an independent agency of the US federal government responsible for the civil space program, aeronautics research, and space research. NASA was established in 1958, succeedin ...
, the
Department of Defense Department of Defence or Department of Defense may refer to: Current departments of defence * Department of Defence (Australia) * Department of National Defence (Canada) * Department of Defence (Ireland) * Department of National Defense (Philipp ...
, government research laboratories, and universities. , the NTSB has not adopted these recommendations and instead continues to rely on the party system.


Safety recommendations

, the NTSB has issued about 14,000 safety recommendations in its history, 73 percent of which have been adopted in whole or in part by the entities to which they were directed. Starting in 1990, the NTSB has annually published a "Most Wanted List" which highlights safety recommendations that the NTSB believes would provide the most significant — and sometimes immediate — benefit to the traveling public. Among transportation safety improvements brought about or inspired by NTSB recommendations: ;Aviation: Mid-air collision avoidance technology, ground proximity warning systems,
airborne wind shear detection and alert system The airborne wind shear detection and alert system, fitted in an aircraft, detects and alerts the pilot both visually and aurally of a wind shear condition. A reactive wind shear detection system is activated by the aircraft flying into an area w ...
s, smoke detectors in lavatories and fuel tank inerting. ;Highway: Graduated drivers license laws for young drivers, age-21 drinking laws, smart airbag technology, center high-mounted stop lights, commercial drivers licenses, and improved school bus construction standards. ;Rail: Positive train control, improved emergency exits for passenger rail cars, and
double-shelf coupler Janney couplers are a semi-automatic form of railway coupling that allow rail cars and locomotives to be securely linked together without rail workers having to get between the vehicles. They are also known as American, AAR, APT, ARA, MCB, knuckl ...
s for hazardous material rail cars. ;Marine: Recreational boating safety, improved fire safety on
cruise ship Cruise ships are large passenger ships used mainly for vacationing. Unlike ocean liners, which are used for transport, cruise ships typically embark on round-trip voyages to various ports-of-call, where passengers may go on tours known as ...
s, and lifesaving devices on fishing vessels. ;Pipeline: Excavation damage prevention, pipe corrosion protection, and remote shutoff valves. ;Multi-Modal: Alcohol and drug testing in all modes of transportation.


Other responsibilities

A less well-known responsibility of the NTSB is that it serves as a court of appeals for airmen, aircraft mechanics, certificated aviation-related companies and mariners who have their licenses suspended or revoked by the FAA or the Coast Guard. The NTSB employs administrative law judges which initially hear all appeals, and the administrative law judge's ruling may be appealed to the five-member Board. The Board's determinations may be appealed to the federal court system by the losing party, whether it is the individual or company, on the one hand, or the FAA or the Coast Guard, on the other. However, from ''
Ferguson v. NTSB ''Ferguson v. NTSB'', 678 F. 2d 821 (9th Cir. 1982) is a landmark aviation ruling by the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit handed down on June 2, 1982. On July 31, 1979 Lowell G. Ferguson was the captain of a Western Airlines ...
'', the NTSB's determinations are not overturned by the federal courts unless the NTSB abused its discretion, or its determination is wholly unsupported by the evidence. The Safety Board maintains a training academy in Ashburn,
Virginia Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern regions of the United States, between the Atlantic Coast and the Appalachian Mountains. The geography and climate of the Commonwealth are ...
, where it conducts courses for its employees and professionals in other government agencies, foreign governments or private companies, in areas such as general accident investigation, specific elements of investigations like survival factors or human performance, or related matters like family affairs or
media relations Media Relations involves working with media for the purpose of informing the public of an organization's mission, policies and practices in a positive, consistent and credible manner. It can also entail developing symbiotic relationships with med ...
. The facility houses for training purposes the reconstruction of more than 90 feet of the TWA Flight 800 Boeing 747, which was recovered from the
Atlantic Ocean The Atlantic Ocean is the second-largest of the world's five oceans, with an area of about . It covers approximately 20% of Earth's surface and about 29% of its water surface area. It is known to separate the " Old World" of Africa, Europe ...
after it crashed on July 17, 1996, following a fuel tank explosion. On February 22, 2021, the NTSB announced that the TWA Flight 800 recreation would be decommissioned on July 7, 2021. This decision comes as the lease for the Ashburn training center is due to expire in the near future. The NTSB indicated is moving away from large-scale reconstructions like was done with TWA Flight 800, and towards the use of 3D scans to reconstruct accidents. Under an agreement made with the families of the victims, when the reconstruction was retained as a training tool, the reconstruction was not allowed to be used as a public exhibit or put on display. For this reason, the NTSB is planning to dismantle and destroy the reconstruction.


See also

* Aviation safety *
Federal Bureau of Investigation The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) is the domestic intelligence and security service of the United States and its principal federal law enforcement agency. Operating under the jurisdiction of the United States Department of Justice ...
*
List of pipeline accidents The following is a worldwide list of pipeline accidents. Belgium * 2004: A major natural gas pipeline exploded in Ghislenghien, Belgium near Ath ( southwest of Brussels), killing 24 people and leaving 122 wounded, some critically on July 30 ...
* Operation Lifesaver * School bus safety *
U.S. Chemical Safety and Hazard Investigation Board The U.S. Chemical Safety and Hazard Investigation Board (USCSB), generally referred to as the Chemical Safety Board or CSB, is an independent U.S. federal agency charged with investigating industrial chemical accidents. Headquartered in Washing ...
* Vehicle inspection in the United States * Work-related road safety in the United States * Transportation safety in the United States


Other countries

*
Australian Transport Safety Bureau The Australian Transport Safety Bureau (ATSB) is Australia's national transport safety investigator. The ATSB is the federal government body responsible for investigating transport-related accidents and incidents within Australia. It covers air ...
– Australia (ATSB) *
Air Accidents Investigation Branch The Air Accidents Investigation Branch (AAIB) investigates civil aircraft accidents and serious incidents within the United Kingdom, its overseas territories and crown dependencies. It is also the Space Accident Investigation Authority (SAIA ...
– United Kingdom (AAIB) * Taiwan Transportation Safety Board – Taiwan (TTSB) * German Federal Bureau of Aircraft Accident Investigation – Germany * Bureau d'Enquêtes et d'Analyses pour la Sécurité de l'Aviation Civile – France * Agenzia Nazionale per la Sicurezza del Volo – Italy (ANSV) * Transport Accident Investigation Commission – New Zealand (TAIC) * Transportation Safety Board of Canada – Canada (TSB) *
National Transportation Safety Committee The National Transportation Safety Committee (NTSC, id, Komite Nasional Keselamatan Transportasi, KNKT; literally "Transportation Safety National Committee") is an Indonesian government agency charged with the investigation of air, land, rail, ...
– Indonesia (NTSC) * Swedish Accident Investigation Authority - Sweden (SHK) * European Network of Civil Aviation Safety Investigation Authorities - European Union (ENCASIA) *
Accident Investigation Board Denmark Accident Investigation Board Denmark (AIB, da, Havarikommissionen for Civil Luftfart og Jernbane, HCLJ) is the aviation accidents and incidents and railway accident and incident investigation board of the Denmark government. The agency is headquar ...
- Denmark (HCLJ) *
Japan Transport Safety Board The is Japan's authority for establishing transportation safety. It is a division of the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism (MLIT). It is housed in the in Kasumigaseki, Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo, Japan. The agency formed on Octob ...
- Japan (JTSB)


References


External links

*
NTSB Most Wanted ListNational Transportation Safety Board
on USAspending.gov
National Transportation Safety Board
in the Federal Register
Records Management Oversight Inspection Report 2014; National Transportation Safety Board Records Management Program; National Archives and Records Administration; Issued December 19, 2014
* Rimson P.E., Ira J
Investigating "Causes"
International Society of Air Safety Investigators, ISASI '98, Barcelona, Spain; October 20, 1998. {{Authority control Rail accident investigators
United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country Continental United States, primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 U.S. state, states, a Washington, D.C., ...
Aviation in the United States Government agencies established in 1967 Transport safety organizations Organizations based in Washington, D.C. 1967 establishments in Washington, D.C.