CARIIS
Former Member
- Joined
- Jun 8, 2012
- Messages
- 25,470
- Reaction score
- 10,693
The NTSB was formed by The Independent Safety Board Act of 1974. The NTSB was designed to be an independent agency not susceptible to the influence of other parts of government.
The Board is managed by five "Members" appointed by the President, each for a five-year term.
The NTSB investigates and reports on all U.S. air carrier accidents, commuter and air taxi crashes, mid-air collisions, serious mishaps involving public use (government) aircraft and all fatal general aviation accidents. The NTSB also investigates accidents involving both civilian and military aircraft and crashes involving military aircraft where the functions of the FAA are at issue.
In order to enable the NTSB to determine the probable cause of accidents and improve aviation safety, its investigators are given more legal power than many governmental agencies. NTSB investigators have the right to interrogate witnesses on demand, inspect files, enter facilities and aircraft, examine the processes and computer data of any party involved in an air crash. Besides these Congressionally-authorized powers, the NTSB can obtain subpoenas and court orders
Another important power bestowed on the NTSB by Congress is the right to take exclusive custody of the wreckage, cargo and records of the accident aircraft.
Major accidents are handled by a "Go Team" from NTSB Headquarters in Washington, D.C. The "Go Team" is made up of an Investigator In Charge (IIC) along with a panel of technical specialists put together to address the primary issues arising out of any particular crash
Groups" handle specialized components of the investigation, such as an Operations Group, Structures Group, Maintenance Group, Air Traffic Control Group, Weather Group Chairman, Witness Group,
In a major air crash investigation, each of the groups and parties involved, have daily meetings to review the ongoing developments in the investigation.
The NTSB traditionally relies on manufacturers and air carriers to cooperate and provide them with all relevant information pertinent to the product or operation being investigated. (And in this country they do!)
NTSB regulations specifically exclude lawyers for the victims and representatives of insurance companies from participating in the NTSB Investigation (49 CFR 831.11
Air crash litigation often involves millions of dollars of exposure. The insurance companies who pay for the defense of almost every major air crash case in the United States often have a real incentive to prove that somebody else's insured bears substantial responsibility for the crash. Indemnity laws require that all culprits pay their proportionate share of multimillion dollar settlements for plane loads of deceased business travelers and multimillion dollar hulls. The insured value pay out, for the hull loss alone, of an MD-11 cargo plane, which crashed in New Jersey a few years ago, was $115 Million dollars. (Note! Swiss Air was a MD-11)
Major accident investigations led by NTSB "Go Teams" are more heavily documented. Each group chairman prepares a report and submits it to the Investigator In Charge. The Investigator In Charge in turn, prepares a draft NTSB Report and submits it to the Board for review. The Board in major airline disaster cases, and other accidents of great public interest, may conduct public hearings wherein witnesses are called and interrogated. The Board will then meet and deliberate to determine probable cause.
Representative items that can be found in a public docket from a major accident, include, weather data, witness statements, cockpit voice recorder transcripts, air traffic control tape transcripts, ground track plots created from FAA radar raw data, engine tear down reports, diagrams, specifications, photographs, computer recreations, transcripts of public hearings, etc.
One of the most commendable policies of the NTSB is its practice of placing all of its final investigative materials in the public docket for anyone to study
http://www.avweb.com/news/avlaw/181884-1.html?redirected=1
The Board is managed by five "Members" appointed by the President, each for a five-year term.
The NTSB investigates and reports on all U.S. air carrier accidents, commuter and air taxi crashes, mid-air collisions, serious mishaps involving public use (government) aircraft and all fatal general aviation accidents. The NTSB also investigates accidents involving both civilian and military aircraft and crashes involving military aircraft where the functions of the FAA are at issue.
In order to enable the NTSB to determine the probable cause of accidents and improve aviation safety, its investigators are given more legal power than many governmental agencies. NTSB investigators have the right to interrogate witnesses on demand, inspect files, enter facilities and aircraft, examine the processes and computer data of any party involved in an air crash. Besides these Congressionally-authorized powers, the NTSB can obtain subpoenas and court orders
Another important power bestowed on the NTSB by Congress is the right to take exclusive custody of the wreckage, cargo and records of the accident aircraft.
Major accidents are handled by a "Go Team" from NTSB Headquarters in Washington, D.C. The "Go Team" is made up of an Investigator In Charge (IIC) along with a panel of technical specialists put together to address the primary issues arising out of any particular crash
Groups" handle specialized components of the investigation, such as an Operations Group, Structures Group, Maintenance Group, Air Traffic Control Group, Weather Group Chairman, Witness Group,
In a major air crash investigation, each of the groups and parties involved, have daily meetings to review the ongoing developments in the investigation.
The NTSB traditionally relies on manufacturers and air carriers to cooperate and provide them with all relevant information pertinent to the product or operation being investigated. (And in this country they do!)
NTSB regulations specifically exclude lawyers for the victims and representatives of insurance companies from participating in the NTSB Investigation (49 CFR 831.11
Air crash litigation often involves millions of dollars of exposure. The insurance companies who pay for the defense of almost every major air crash case in the United States often have a real incentive to prove that somebody else's insured bears substantial responsibility for the crash. Indemnity laws require that all culprits pay their proportionate share of multimillion dollar settlements for plane loads of deceased business travelers and multimillion dollar hulls. The insured value pay out, for the hull loss alone, of an MD-11 cargo plane, which crashed in New Jersey a few years ago, was $115 Million dollars. (Note! Swiss Air was a MD-11)
Major accident investigations led by NTSB "Go Teams" are more heavily documented. Each group chairman prepares a report and submits it to the Investigator In Charge. The Investigator In Charge in turn, prepares a draft NTSB Report and submits it to the Board for review. The Board in major airline disaster cases, and other accidents of great public interest, may conduct public hearings wherein witnesses are called and interrogated. The Board will then meet and deliberate to determine probable cause.
Representative items that can be found in a public docket from a major accident, include, weather data, witness statements, cockpit voice recorder transcripts, air traffic control tape transcripts, ground track plots created from FAA radar raw data, engine tear down reports, diagrams, specifications, photographs, computer recreations, transcripts of public hearings, etc.
One of the most commendable policies of the NTSB is its practice of placing all of its final investigative materials in the public docket for anyone to study
http://www.avweb.com/news/avlaw/181884-1.html?redirected=1
, otherwise what you said.
