Office of Aviation Safety ICAO Workshop About the NTSB June 3, 2013 Paul Cox NTSB Eastern Regional Office Ashburn, Virginia
Are all Accidents Preventable? (Or could a good pilot just have a bad day?)
Mission To identify and communicate the lessons learned from the careful, competent and independent investigation of transportation accidents in order to prevent loss of life, personal injury, property damage and harm to the environment.
Unofficially We re: The eyes and ears of the American public on the accident scene. And we do so with: Transparency, integrity and accountability.
NTSB Facts CAB to NTSB (under DOT) 1967 Independent Safety Board Act of 1974 On call 24/7/365 Annual Budget $98 million (FY2010) (About 380 employees) About.06% of FAA budget (15.9B) Run DoD for 1.5 minutes Cost to each citizen $0.32/year
Agency: Investigates all U.S. civil aviation accidents, significant aviation incidents, and Significant accidents in other modes. (railroad, highway, marine, pipeline, hazardous materials) Develops reports outlining facts, conditions, and circumstances of the event. Develops analysis; issues probable cause.
Issues safety recommendations, and documents safety accomplishments/results. Performs foreign accreditation under ICAO Annex 13. (State of Registry, State of the Operator, State of Design, State of Manufacture) Also provides services such as CVR/FDR readout, material analysis, etc. Provides Transportation Disaster Assistance. No enforcement or regulatory powers.
Five Board Members 400-Person Organization Office of Aviation Safety
Regions
Regional Investigators About 45 About 1,600 accidents/year
Investigation Participants Parties (49 CFR Part 831.5) Manufacturers, unions, operators, etc. Force multipliers Possess unique knowledge/technical expertise Participant specific Can effect positive change Cannot withhold information Responsive to NTSB personnel
May work for IIC or Group Chairman Release of factual information to outside by appropriate NTSB personnel Opportunity to review factual information and can submit proposed conclusions and safety recommendations Cannot be litigants, must be full time FAA always a party; others determined by IIC. Accredited Representatives Advisors
Priority of NTSB Investigations Has priority over all other federal investigations Other agencies can conduct investigations provided they do not interfere with Safety Board investigation No adverse parties
Types of Investigations Major Field Limited Collection
Major Accident Investigation Large aircraft High visibility Normally handled by HQ go team Regions may be part of investigation Regions may be in charge
Field Investigation Regional investigator and parties Typically involves a fatality
Limited Investigation FAA can act as the eyes and ears of the NTSB at the scene FAA 9 areas of responsibility Additional NTSB requests Probable cause by NTSB Is FAA asking as part of FAA investigation or NTSB investigation?
(Data) Collection Investigation One-time report Known circumstances No obvious safety issues No fatalities or critical serious injuries Not high public visibility No mechanical w/out clear cause
Incident Investigation An incident is an occurrence other than an accident, associated with the operation of an aircraft, which affects or could affect the safety of operations. Basically, if it s not an accident, it can be investigated as an incident.
Incident (IA) Investigations Gemini Air Cargo MD-11F, Overrun into EMAS
Public Use Accidents Public Law 103-411 Treat like any other operator
Foreign Accidents
Foreign Investigations U.S. Accredited Representative. Or may provide lesser assistance. Foreign Investigations will be covered later during this workshop.
26 Criminal Events
NTSB Facilitates Change Through. Accident Report Publications Data Base Maintenance Some Joint Efforts Outreach Safety Recommendations Safety Accomplishments Safety Results Safety Alerts
Where to Find These