The National Transportation Safety Board ( NTSB ) is an independent U. S. government investigative agency responsible for civil transportation accident investigation.

When requested, the NTSB will assist the military and foreign governments with accident investigation.

The NTSB was established in 1967 as the federal government's primary accident investigation agency for all modes of transportation – aviation, highway, rail, marine and pipeline.

The NTSB is normally the lead organization in the investigation of a transportation accident within its sphere.

The NTSB has primacy in investigating every civil aviation accident in the United States ( the Federal Aviation Administration is always a party to these investigations, but the NTSB is the investigating agency ).

For certain accidents, due to resource limitations, the Board will ask the FAA to collect the factual information at the scene of the accident ; the NTSB bases its report on that information.

The NTSB may assist in incident or accident investigations occurring outside the United States under certain circumstances.

While accident investigators from the National Transportation Safety Board ( NTSB ) traveled to the scene, arriving the following morning, there was much initial speculation that a terrorist attack was the cause of the crash.

Tests carried out on the vertical stabilizers from the accident aircraft, and from another similar aircraft, found that the strength of the composite material had not been compromised, and the NTSB concluded that the material had failed because it had been stressed beyond its design limit, despite ten previous recorded incidents where A300 tail fins had been stressed beyond their design limitation in which none resulted in the separation of the vertical stabilizer in-flight.

NTSB investigation ruled the accident was probably due to low fuel.

The NTSB accident report commended " the exemplary manner in which the flight attendant briefed the passengers and handled the emergency ".

The NTSB in their after accident reported noted, " The performance of the flight attendants during the emergency was exceptional and probably contributed to the success of the emergency evacuation.

The NTSB concluded that the probable cause of the accident was Reid's " improper decision to take off into deteriorating weather conditions ( including turbulence, gusty winds, and an advancing thunderstorm and associated precipitation ) when the airplane was overweight and when the density altitude was higher than he was accustomed to, resulting in a stall caused by failure to maintain airspeed.

This was supported by the NTSB, which determined that the pressure induced by the intense media attention was a " contributing factor " in the accident.

The NTSB has since finished its investigation of the accident.

Congress, the Federal Bureau of Investigation ( FBI ), and the National Transportation Safety Board ( NTSB ) investigated the crash, and found it to be an accident caused by crew error.

The official NTSB accident report lists the probable cause as " The pilot's intentional flight into the ground for the purpose of suicide while impaired by alcohol.

The NTSB never determined the cause of the accident and the resort sold the airline.

The NTSB report showed that the plane had several instances of maintenance work related to cabin pressure in the months leading up to the accident.

The NTSB attributed the accident to lack of the ability to detect microbursts aboard aircraft-the radar equipment aboard aircraft at the time was unable to detect wind changes, only thunderstorms.

Three years after the accident the NTSB was compelled to re-open the investigation into the crash, after submissions were received that the person who was suspected of driving the " unauthorized vehicle " had actually left the airport about fifteen minutes before the aircraft crashed.

According to the National Transportation Safety Board ( NTSB ) accident report, they learned that the winds were changing direction and that a wind shear alert had sounded on the airport due to a thunderstorm nearby.

The official NTSB report of October 26, 2004 stated that the cause of the crash was the overuse of the rudder to counter wake turbulence.

Previous simulator training did not properly reflect " the actual large build-up in sideslip angle and sideloads that would accompany such rudder inputs in an actual airplane ", according to the NTSB final report.

The official NTSB report said that the probable cause was mechanical.

She is recognised in the NTSB report for this " unselfish act.

* Aircraft Incident and Accident report ( contains text of above NTSB report and a great deal more information )

* Famous People Who Died in Aviation Accidents, 1980s ( This ties Keith Green to the Aircraft Registration Number in the NTSB report )

* NTSB report LAX97GA205 detailing a BLM OV-10A fatal crash, archived on Landings. com

* NTSB report on crash

According to a USAF timeline, a series of military planes provided an emergency escort to the stricken Lear, beginning with an F-16 from Eglin Air Force Base, about an hour and twenty minutes ( 9: 33 EDT to 9: 52 CDT – see NTSB report on the crash ) after ground controllers lost contact.

* NTSB Aircraft Accident Report – probable cause investigation report on Munson's plane crash

* NTSB executive summary report

The Aeronáutica Civil prepared a final report of its investigation in September 1996, which was released through the U. S. NTSB.

Radar plot of the plane's flight path, from the NTSB report

Damage to the rear of the plane, from the NTSB report

Locations of passengers indicated by lack of injury, severity of injury, and reason of death from the NTSB report

* NTSB Accident report of United Airlines Flight 232

The investigation was carried out by the American National Transportation Safety Board ( NTSB ), and they released a 400-page report on their findings, which was not immediately published in the Gulf.

The National Transportation Safety Board's ( NTSB ) final report on the crash of TWA 747 concluded “ The fuel air vapor in the ullage of the TWA flight 800 CWT was flammable at the time of the accident .” NTSB identified “ Elimination of Explosive Mixture in Fuel tanks in Transport Category Aircraft ” as Number 1 item on its Most Wanted List in 1997.

After the crash site was located by a CBS News helicopter piloted by Bob Tur, investigators from the National Transportation Safety Board ( NTSB ) were joined by the Federal Bureau of Investigation ( FBI ).

* NTSB Report on the helicopter crash

* NTSB report on the helicopter accident

As the helicopter was manufactured in the United States, the U. S. National Transportation Safety Board ( NTSB ) has taken part into the investigation.