The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) is an independent Federal agency charged with determining the probable cause of transportation accidents and promoting transportation safety, and assisting victims of transportation accidents and their families. The NTSB investigates accidents, conducts safety studies, evaluates the effectiveness of other government agencies' programs for preventing transportation accidents, and reviews the appeals of enforcement actions involving aviation and mariner certificates issued by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) and the U.S. Coast Guard (USCG), as well as the appeals of civil penalty actions taken by the FAA.
To help prevent accidents, the NTSB develops safety recommendations based on our investigations and studies. These are issued to federal, state, and local government agencies and to industry and other organizations in a position to improve transportation safety. Recommendations are the focal point of the NTSB's efforts to improve the safety of the nation's transportation system.
The NTSB has issued more than 13,000 recommendations in all transportation modes to more than 2,200 recipients. Since 1990, the NTSB has highlighted some issues on a Most Wanted list of safety improvements. Although the NTSB does not regulate transportation equipment, personnel or operations, and the NTSB does not initiate enforcement action, its reputation for impartiality and thoroughness has enabled the NTSB to achieve such success in shaping transportation safety improvements that more than 82 percent of its recommendations have been adopted by those in a position to effect change. Many safety features currently incorporated into airplanes, automobiles, trains, pipelines and marine vessels had their genesis in NTSB recommendations.
In accordance with NTSB’s Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) Improvement Plan and in support of ongoing efforts to make Government information and data more readily available, Accident Dockets released on or after June 1, 2009 are available online.
If you encounter information quality issues, please follow the Information Quality process to ensure your request is properly addressed.
Senior Accountable Official
Open Government and Financial Quality, Steven Goldberg, Chief Financial Officer
Email: pubinq@ntsb.gov
Phone: (202) 314-6551
(800) 877-6799
Mail: NTSB
490 L'Enfant Plaza, SW
Washington, DC 20594
Hours: 8:30AM – 5:00PM
Monday - Friday
Additional Contact Info
About Us
Board Members
Organization Chart
Sunshine Act Meeting and
Notice of Proposed Rulemaking
Available at Regulations.gov
