Who is legally responsible for an airline accident?
Depending on the cause of the accident, aircraft owners and operators, pilots, aircraft designers, aircraft manufacturers, retailers, maintenance companies, fixed base operators (FBOs), or ground personnel may be potentially liable.
When an airplane accident occurs, who investigates the cause?
Most accident investigations are jointly undertaken by the NTSB, FAA, Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), and/or other agencies.
What is the FAA?
The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) is the U.S. governmental agency with primary responsibility for the safety of civil aviation.
What is the NTSB?
An independent federal agency, the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) investigates every civil aviation accident in the United States and issues safety recommendations, maintains a database on civil aviation accidents, and conducts special transportation safety studies of issues.
What is a “black box”?
A “black box” records information on speed, altitude, and cockpit voice communication. It actually consists of two black boxes–the flight data and cockpit voice recorders.
