The
National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) is
an
independent
U.S. Government
investigative agency responsible for civil
transportation accident investigation. In this role,
the NTSB investigates and reports on
aviation accidents and
incidents, certain types of
highway
crashes,
ship and marine
accidents,
pipeline incidents
and
railroad accidents. When
requested, the NTSB will assist the
military with accident investigation. The NTSB is
also in charge of investigating cases of
hazardous waste releases that occur during
transportation.
Deborah Hersman was
appointed as NTSB Chairman in July 2009.
Mark Rosenker was appointed as Vice Chairman
in 2003, and served as Acting Chairman from March, 2005 to January,
2009.
The
agency is based in Washington, D.C.
.
History
The NTSB was established as an independent organization in
1967 and took over the regulatory and investigative
functions of the
Civil Aeronautics Board, among other duties. Originally
established with strong ties to the
U.S. Department of
Transportation, these ties were later severed under the
Independent Safety Board Act of 1975. The organization receives its
authority from Chapter 11, Title 49 of the
United States Code. It has investigated
over 124,000 aviation incidents since its establishment.
Organization
The board has five members appointed by the President for five year
terms, one of whom is designated the chairman by the President and
then approved by the
Senate for
a fixed 2-year term. Another member is designated as vice chairman
and becomes acting chairman when there is no formal chairman.
No more than three of the five members can be from the same
political party.
Organization within the Board is composed of separate sub-offices
for highway safety, maritime safety, aviation safety, railroad,
pipeline, and hazardous material investigations, research and
engineering, recommendations and communications, academy and
administrative law judges. These sub-offices report to the Office
of the Managing Director.
Investigations
The NTSB is normally the lead organization in the investigation of
a transportation accident within its sphere. However, this power
can be surrendered to other organizations if the
Attorney General declares the
case to be linked to an intentional criminal act, although the NTSB
would still provide technical support in such investigations.
This
occurred during the investigation of the September 11, 2001,
attacks when the Department of
Justice
took over the investigation.
An investigation of an incident within the United States typically
starts with the creation of a "go team", composed of specialists in
fields relating to the incident. This is followed by the
designation of other organizations or corporations as parties to
the investigation. The Board may then choose to hold public
hearings on the issue. Finally, it will compose a final statement
and may issue safety recommendations. The Board has no legal
authority to implement, or impose, its recommendations, upon the
causative entities. That burden falls upon regulators of the
varying modalities, at either the federal or state level.
The NTSB may investigate incidents or accidents occurring outside
the United States under certain circumstances. These may
include:
- accidents or incidents occurring to American-registered or
American-owned aircraft (other than an aircraft operated by the
Armed Forces or by an intelligence agency of the United States) in
foreign airspace if the aircraft both departed and was scheduled to
land in the United States. This has happened on rare occasion with
respect to flights to and within Alaska that have crashed in
Canada.
- accidents or incidents occurring to American-registered or
American-owned aircraft in countries without a transportation
investigative board.
The NTSB, if asked, will also provide technical and other advice
for a fee to transportation investigative boards in countries that
do not have the equipment or specialized technicians available to
undertake all aspects of a complex investigation.
See also
References
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