What Is the NTSB?

What is the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB)?The NTSB is an independent U.S. federal agency responsible for investigating and determining the probable cause of every U.S. civil aviation accident. The NTSB also investigates significant accidents involving other modes of transportation, including highways, railroads, marine and pipeline.How are NTSB investigators trained?The NTSB has its own training facility in suburban Washington. Its curriculum is designed to train investigators who can produce, the agency says, “independent, objective, and technically advanced accident investigations that will enhance the safety of all modes of transportation.”Does the NTSB investigate foreign accidents?The NTSB’s Aviation Go Teams respond only to accidents that occur on U.S. territory or in international waters. Elsewhere, the investigator is the government in whose territory the accident occurs, usually assisted by a U.S. “accredited representative” from the NTSB’s staff of investigators if a U.S. carrier or U.S. manufactured plane is involved.Are there NTSBs in other countries?Several countries, among them Australia, Canada and the Netherlands, have established their own NTSBs. The formation of some foreign NTSBs has been inspired by the U.S. agency.Other major NTSB investigations?NTSB investigators have participated in a variety of national and international investigations, including the disappearance in 2014 of a Malaysia Airlines flight from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing. Recently, the NTSB released a report about a California helicopter crash whose passengers included basketball legend Kobe Bryant and his daughter.
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