Getting Information at an Accident Scene

Please note:

• The NTSB will not announce the cause of an accident while on scene. Indeed, the cause may not be determined for 12 to 18 months after the accident. 
• The NTSB will not release the identities of victims or survivors of accidents. Such information will be released by the transportation company involved or from local medical facilities.

At a accident, the NTSB will send several public affairs officers (PAOs) to accompany the Go-Team and facilitate information dissemination. Often, one of the five Presidentially-appointed Board Members will accompany the team and serve as principal spokesperson. The Go-Team is led by a senior career investigator designated as Investigator-in-Charge (IIC).

While the Board's investigative team includes representatives from other agencies and organizations, only the Safety Board may release factual information on the investigation. Representatives of other organizations participating in our investigation risk removal and exclusion from the process if they release investigative information without NTSB permission.

The NTSB will establish a command post near the crash site, usually in a hotel. On-site public affairs operations will be organized from the Command Post. Local phone numbers for public affairs will be announced when they have been established.

Although not possible in every circumstance, the Safety Board strives to conduct two press conferences a day when on scene, one at mid- to late-afternoon and the other in the evening following the progress meeting held by the investigative team. The Board's spokespersons discuss factual, documented information. They do not analyze that information, nor speculate as to the significance of any particular piece of information.

If conditions permit, Safety Board PAOs will attempt to gain admittance for the news media, either in total or in a pool arrangement, to the accident scene itself, keeping in mind limitations posed by physical and biomedical hazards.

The Board will maintain a public affairs presence on scene for as long as circumstances warrant, usually 3 to 7 days.

After that, information will be released from the Public Affairs Office in Washington, D.C., (202) 314-6100.

Regional Accidents Investigations

The vast ity of the approximately 2,000 NTSB accident investigations every year are conducted by the Board's regional offices. Information is released to the news media on scene by the Safety Board's regional Investigator-in-Charge. He or she will designate a time during the day, usually late afternoon, to meet with and brief the media.

Once the on-scene investigation is completed, the regional investigator will remain the primary point of contact for reporters until the factual report is submitted to Washington. The factual report will appear on this web site and contain a narrative of factual information documented during the investigation; it will not contain a finding of cause. After the factual has been submitted by the regional office, reporters should contact the Public Affairs Office in Washington, D.C. for future updates on the investigation.

See and print our Regional Office Accident Investigation brochure. [PDF, 154 KB]