The Responsibilities of the National Transportation Board
Dennis AuBuchon
November 10, 2009
To begin with the National Transportation Safety Board began operations on April 1, 1967.It is an independent Federal agency which is charged with the task of investigating civil aviation accidents in the United States and significant other accidents in other modes of transportation. The NTSB is not part of DOT, or affiliated with any of its modal agencies. The organizational ties to the DOT were severed connection in 1975, under the Independent Safety Board Act. The exposure this agency gets has primarily been with airplane accidents but they do investigate others such as railroad accidents and marine accidents such as oil spills by ships.
http://www.ntsb.gov/
Some of the examples of accidents the safety board investigates to determine the cause is listed below:
all U.S. civil aviation accidents and certain public-use aircraft accidents
selected highway accidents
railroad accidents involving passenger trains or any train accident that results in at least one fatality or major property damage;
major marine accidents and any marine accident involving a public and a nonpublic vessel;
pipeline accidents involving a fatality or substantial property damage;
releases of hazardous materials in all forms of transportation; and
selected transportation accidents that involve problems of a recurring nature.
The creation of the safety board and its authority is derived from Title 49 of the United States Code, Chapter 11. The rules are located in Chapter VIII, Title 49 of the Code of Federal Regulations. Part of the responsibility of this board is to maintain the government´s database of civil aviation accidents and it also conducts special studies of transportation safety issues of national significance. One aspect of this board that surprised me but should not have is that it provides investigators to serve as U.S. Accredited Representatives as specified in international treaties for aviation accidents overseas involving either U.S. registered aircraft or involving aircraft or major components of U.S. manufacture. We have seen in the news where accidents involving U.S. aircraft overseas that representatives were sent to help in investigation efforts.
The NTSB also serves as the "court of appeals" for any airman, mechanic or mariner whenever certificate action is taken by the Federal Aviation Administration or the U.S. Coast Guard Commandant, or when civil penalties are assessed by the FAA. For more information about this NTSB function, see the pages regarding the Administrative Law Judges and General Counsel. With regards to the function of administrative law judges they conduct formal hearings and issue initial decisions on appeals by airmen filed with the safety board. The purpose of the general counsel is to advise, assist and represent the Safety Board in support of its activities relating to transportation safety, and as sole legal advisor has responsibility for determining legal policy for the agency.
There are a number of offices under the NTSB and they include the following list:
Human Resources - Provides employment information and job opportunities via the USAJobs online recruitment system. See the associated Web page for details.
Records Management Service – Serves as contact point for public inquiries, providing public docket material such as preliminary and final accident reports, aviation accident database research, safety recommendations, and general assistance locating products or information. At this time, only a few selected docket items are available online as exhibits for public hearings or Board meetings.
Office of Public Affairs - Provides press releases, speeches, post-meeting abstracts, and point-of-contact liaisons for news media representatives. See the website for News & Events and Resources for Journalists.
Office of Safety Recommendations and Advocacy - Coordinates correspondence on safety recommendations and status reports of pending recommendations, and develops the annual "Most Wanted" list of safety recommendations. See the associated Web page for details.
Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) Staff - Provides access to information not already publicly available (with certain exemptions). See the FOIA Web page for complete information.
Office of Transportation Disaster Assistance - Provides information on obtaining assistance for those affected by transportation disasters. Also available are speeches, presentations, and articles and legislation, reports, and other documents relating to transportation disaster assistance. See the associated Web page for details.
Office of Administrative Law Judges - Responds to inquiries about pending appeals of airmen, mechanics or mariners to certificate actions taken by the Department of Transportation. See the associated Web page for details. Law Judge hearings are open to the public.
Office of General Counsel - Provides information regarding status of full Board appeals & extensions of time to file briefs. Opinions and Orders issued by the Office of General Counsel are available online or from other publishing sources listed below. See the associated Web page for details.
Office of Equal Employment Opportunity - Encourages trust, respect, and open communication that will foster and promote a positive and productive work environment. See the associated Web page for details.
Office of the Chief Financial Officer - Manages and provides NTSB financial information. See the associated Web page for details.
Acquisition Division - Manages and provides NTSB contracting and procurement information. See the associated Web page for details.
NTSB Training Center - The NTSB Training Center is a major initiative of the Safety Board to improve the training and skills of its own employees, and make its safety expertise more widely available to the transportation community. The Academy's home is on the Virginia campus of The George Washington University in Ashburn. See the NTSB Training Center website for full details and a list of courses.
In addition to the above listings there are also offices for:
aviation safety
highway safety
marine safety
railroad, pipeline, and hazardous materials investigations
research and engineering
managing director
There are field offices for aviation which is established into four regions. They are: Eastern, Central, Western and Alaska. For railroad there are additional offices in Atlanta, Georgia; West Chicago and Gardena, California. As part of the highway part of the organization there are field offices in Atlanta, Denver and Arlington, Texas.
To find out more about the various offices and activities of the National Transportation Safety Board you can visit their web site at www.ntsb.gov. This agency serves a vital purpose and it is right that it be independent from other departments in the federal government. While the work they do is important and takes weeks and sometimes months to resolve issues with incidents that occur it is important to do it right and not rush into conclusions. Many times we want to know the answers to accidents that are investigated by this board but investigations take time. We as citizens do not want conclusions to be rushed for in so doing it can have an impact on actions by the board and/or Congress in relation to the causes of accidents being investigated.
http://www.ntsb.gov/
Some of the examples of accidents the safety board investigates to determine the cause is listed below:
all U.S. civil aviation accidents and certain public-use aircraft accidents
selected highway accidents
railroad accidents involving passenger trains or any train accident that results in at least one fatality or major property damage;
major marine accidents and any marine accident involving a public and a nonpublic vessel;
pipeline accidents involving a fatality or substantial property damage;
releases of hazardous materials in all forms of transportation; and
selected transportation accidents that involve problems of a recurring nature.
The creation of the safety board and its authority is derived from Title 49 of the United States Code, Chapter 11. The rules are located in Chapter VIII, Title 49 of the Code of Federal Regulations. Part of the responsibility of this board is to maintain the government´s database of civil aviation accidents and it also conducts special studies of transportation safety issues of national significance. One aspect of this board that surprised me but should not have is that it provides investigators to serve as U.S. Accredited Representatives as specified in international treaties for aviation accidents overseas involving either U.S. registered aircraft or involving aircraft or major components of U.S. manufacture. We have seen in the news where accidents involving U.S. aircraft overseas that representatives were sent to help in investigation efforts.
The NTSB also serves as the "court of appeals" for any airman, mechanic or mariner whenever certificate action is taken by the Federal Aviation Administration or the U.S. Coast Guard Commandant, or when civil penalties are assessed by the FAA. For more information about this NTSB function, see the pages regarding the Administrative Law Judges and General Counsel. With regards to the function of administrative law judges they conduct formal hearings and issue initial decisions on appeals by airmen filed with the safety board. The purpose of the general counsel is to advise, assist and represent the Safety Board in support of its activities relating to transportation safety, and as sole legal advisor has responsibility for determining legal policy for the agency.
There are a number of offices under the NTSB and they include the following list:
Human Resources - Provides employment information and job opportunities via the USAJobs online recruitment system. See the associated Web page for details.
Records Management Service – Serves as contact point for public inquiries, providing public docket material such as preliminary and final accident reports, aviation accident database research, safety recommendations, and general assistance locating products or information. At this time, only a few selected docket items are available online as exhibits for public hearings or Board meetings.
Office of Public Affairs - Provides press releases, speeches, post-meeting abstracts, and point-of-contact liaisons for news media representatives. See the website for News & Events and Resources for Journalists.
Office of Safety Recommendations and Advocacy - Coordinates correspondence on safety recommendations and status reports of pending recommendations, and develops the annual "Most Wanted" list of safety recommendations. See the associated Web page for details.
Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) Staff - Provides access to information not already publicly available (with certain exemptions). See the FOIA Web page for complete information.
Office of Transportation Disaster Assistance - Provides information on obtaining assistance for those affected by transportation disasters. Also available are speeches, presentations, and articles and legislation, reports, and other documents relating to transportation disaster assistance. See the associated Web page for details.
Office of Administrative Law Judges - Responds to inquiries about pending appeals of airmen, mechanics or mariners to certificate actions taken by the Department of Transportation. See the associated Web page for details. Law Judge hearings are open to the public.
Office of General Counsel - Provides information regarding status of full Board appeals & extensions of time to file briefs. Opinions and Orders issued by the Office of General Counsel are available online or from other publishing sources listed below. See the associated Web page for details.
Office of Equal Employment Opportunity - Encourages trust, respect, and open communication that will foster and promote a positive and productive work environment. See the associated Web page for details.
Office of the Chief Financial Officer - Manages and provides NTSB financial information. See the associated Web page for details.
Acquisition Division - Manages and provides NTSB contracting and procurement information. See the associated Web page for details.
NTSB Training Center - The NTSB Training Center is a major initiative of the Safety Board to improve the training and skills of its own employees, and make its safety expertise more widely available to the transportation community. The Academy's home is on the Virginia campus of The George Washington University in Ashburn. See the NTSB Training Center website for full details and a list of courses.
In addition to the above listings there are also offices for:
aviation safety
highway safety
marine safety
railroad, pipeline, and hazardous materials investigations
research and engineering
managing director
There are field offices for aviation which is established into four regions. They are: Eastern, Central, Western and Alaska. For railroad there are additional offices in Atlanta, Georgia; West Chicago and Gardena, California. As part of the highway part of the organization there are field offices in Atlanta, Denver and Arlington, Texas.
To find out more about the various offices and activities of the National Transportation Safety Board you can visit their web site at www.ntsb.gov. This agency serves a vital purpose and it is right that it be independent from other departments in the federal government. While the work they do is important and takes weeks and sometimes months to resolve issues with incidents that occur it is important to do it right and not rush into conclusions. Many times we want to know the answers to accidents that are investigated by this board but investigations take time. We as citizens do not want conclusions to be rushed for in so doing it can have an impact on actions by the board and/or Congress in relation to the causes of accidents being investigated.