Weather-related aviation accident investigations at the National Transportation Safety Board

The National Transportation Safety Board is an independent Federal agency that is tasked by Congress to investigate all civil aviation accidents in the United States. The agency employs a staff of meteorologists who serve as the Safety Board’s technical authority for all meteorological and environmental conditions related to an accident investigation. This paper examines the role and responsibilities of Safety Board meteorologists in Air Carrier and General Aviation accident investigations. In addition, data acquisition and analysis methods, interactions with the meteorological community, and weather-related Safety Board recommendations are described.