NTSB Accomplishments (1993-2000)

Safety Accomplishments

Removed from Most Wanted List

• Administrative license revocation (40 States have)
• School bus safety (tougher bus construction standards)
• Toxicological testing in all transportation modes
• Wake vortex turbulence (new FAA separation standards)
• Commuter airline safety (one level of safety)
• Safety of passengers in railroad cars (new emergency egress rules implemented)
• Airplane cargo compartment smoke detectors/fire suppression (after almost a decade of recommendations)
• Mode C intruder conflict alert (FAA exceeded recommendation, installing it in more sites)

Other Safety Accomplishments

• Focused vehicle manufacturers' and States' attention on child passenger safety
• Airbag safety: After our public forum and safety study, manufacturers agreed to depower bag to protect children and small-statured adults
• Fitting stations: Following our recommendations, automakers and some States agreed to support fitting stations nationwide
• 737 rudders are being redesigned by Boeing in response to concerns raised in our investigations
• Aviation industry is looking at aircraft wiring in new way following our TWA 800 investigation
• Locally sounding smoke alarms on cruise ships (have received industry commitment to retrofit ships)
• Windshear detection devices are in place at airports and pilots are receiving additional training
• Upgraded flight data recorders being installed on 737 aircraft
• One level of aviation safety established
• Tentative agreement with the Food and Drug Administration to place warning labels on over-the-counter and prescription drugs

Other Major Accomplishments

• Established Family Affairs Office
• Selected training academy site
• Conducted four major aviation crash underwater recoveries
• Improved coordination with the Federal Bureau of Investigation and other governmental agencies
• Established 24-hour Communications Center
• Assisted 46 foreign countries in their investigations of transportation accidents

Safety Studies

• Commuter Airline Safety, 11/94
• Fatigue in Heavy Truck Accidents, 1/95
• Aviation Safety in Alaska, 11/95
• Air Bags and Child Restraints, 9/96
• Excavation Damage Prevention, 12/97
• Personal Watercraft Safety, 5/98
• Passive Grade Crossings, 7/98
• Operator Fatigue in All Modes, 5/99
• Emergency Evacuation of Commercial Airplanes, 6/00

Major Safety Symposia/Hearings

• Fatigue in Transportation, 11/95
• Air Bags and Child Passenger Safety, 3/97
• Family Assistance Symposium, 9/98
• Heavy Truck/Motorcoach Safety, 4/99
• Transportation Recorders, 5/99
• Automobile Child Restraints Roundtable, 6/99
• Child Safety in Aviation, 12/99
• Commercial Driver Oversight, 1/00
• Transportation Safety and the Law, 4/00
• Pipeline Safety, 11/00
• Providing Booster Seats for Lap-only Seat Belts

Significant Accident Investigations

Aviation

• USAir DC-9, Charlotte NC (34 fatalities), 7/94 (windshear)
• USAir 737, Aliquippa PA (132), 9/94 (737 rudders)
• American Eagle ATR-72, Roselawn IN (68),10/94 (icing)
• American Eagle Jetstream, Raleigh/Durham NC (15), 12/94 (CRM)
• ASA EMB-120, Carrollton GA (8), 8/95 (maintenance)
• American Airlines 757, Cali, Colombia (160), 12/95 (pilot performance, enhanced GPWS)
• Ron Brown 737, Croatia (35), 4/96 (assisted military investigation)
• ValuJet DC-9, Everglades (110), 5/96 (cargo compartment smoke/fire detection)
• TWA 747, East Moriches NY (230), 7/96 (fuel tank flammability)
• United Express Flight 5925/Beechcraft King Air A90, Quincy IL (14), 11/96 (non-controlled airports)
• Comair EMB-120, Monroe MI (29), 1/97 (icing)
• Korean Airlines 747, Guam (229), 7/97 (pilot performance)
• American Airlines MD-82, Little Rock AR (11), 6/99
• Egyptair 767, Atlantic Ocean (217), 10/99
• Alaska Airlines DC-9, Port Hueneme CA (88), 1/00

Celebrity crashes:

• Jessica Dubroff, Casper WY (3), 4/96 (child pilot)
• John Denver, Monterey CA (1), 10/97 (pilot inattention, medical certification)
• Admiral Don Engen, Minden NV (2), 7/99
• John F.Kennedy, Jr, Vineyard Haven MA (3), 7/99 (spatial disorientation)
• Payne Stewart, Aberdeen SD (6), 10/99 (depressurization)

Significant foreign investigations:

• Silk Air 737, Indonesia (104), 12/97
• Cebu Pacific DC-9, Philippines (104), 2/98
• Swissair MD-11, Canada (229), 9/98
• LAPA 737, Argentina (65), 8/99

Highway

• Fox River Grove IL, (7) school bus/train, 10/95 (grade crossing safety)
• Normandy MO, (4) transit bus, 6/97 (driver training)
• Yonkers NY, (1) tanker, 10/97 (wet lines)
• Burnt Cabins PA, (7) motorcoach, 6/98 (fatigue)
• Old Bridge NJ, (8) casino motorcoach, 12/98
• New Orleans LA, (22) casino motorcoach, 5/99 

Pipeline

• San Juan PR, (33) 11/96
• Bellingham WA, (3) 6/99
• Carlsbad NM, (12) 8/00

Marine

• Universe Explorer (5), Alaska, 7/96 (local sounding smoke alarms)
• Bright Field (0), New Orleans LA, 12/96 (protection of waterside structures/vessels)
• Morning Dew (4), Charleston, SC, 12/97 (Coast Guard search & rescue)
• Ecstasy (0), Miami FL, 7/98
• Miss Majestic (13), Hot Springs AR, 5/99

Rail

• Secaucus NJ (3), 2 commuter trains, 2/96 (driver qualifications)
• Silver Spring MD (11), commuter/Amtrak, 2/96 (placement of signals, passenger egress standards)
• Bourbonnais IL (11), Amtrak, 3/99