BOARD OF INQUIRY AND TECHNICAL PANEL

Chairman of the Board of Inquiry, Mark V. Rosenker, Acting Chairman

Mark V. Rosenker of Virginia was sworn in as the 11th Chairman of the National Transportation Safety Board on August 11, 2006. His 2-year term as Chairman expired in August 2008. At that time, President Bush nominated Mr. Rosenker for a second 2-year term as Chairman and also appointed him Vice Chairman and as a result, Acting Chairman. He has been head of the agency, either as Chairman or Acting Chairman, since March 2005. He is currently serving his second 5-year term as Member, which expires December 31, 2010.

Beginning January 20, 2001, until the announcement of his nomination to the Board, Mr. Rosenker served as Deputy Assistant to the President and Director of the White House Military Office. In this capacity, he was responsible for policies, personnel, and plans that involved Department of Defense assets in direct support of the President.

Prior to his White House appointment, Mr. Rosenker was Managing Director of the Washington, DC, office for the United Network for Organ Sharing (UNOS), overseeing the development, implementation, and management of a national public information program dealing with all facets of organ transplants in the U.S. Before joining UNOS, Mr. Rosenker served 23 years as Vice President, Public Affairs, for the Electronic Industries Alliance.

Mr. Rosenker's interest and experience in transportation safety dates back more than 3 decades to his work at a major national public affairs organization. His clients there included the American Safety Belt Council, the Motorcycle Safety Foundation, and the Safety Helmet Council of America. He later served as Director of Communications for the American Moped/Motorized Bicycle Association.

Mr. Rosenker's professional experience also includes service in the federal government at the Department of Interior, the Federal Trade Commission, and the Commodity Futures Trading Commission. In 1990, he was appointed by President Bush a member of the American Battle Monuments Commission (ABMC). After serving 4 years, Mr. Rosenker received the Commission's highest honor, the ABMC Meritorious Service Medal.

A retired Major General in the Air Force Reserve, General Rosenker entered the Air Force in 1969 through the University of Maryland ROTC program. He is a graduate of the Air Command and Staff College and the Air War College. During his 37 ½ -year Air Force career, General Rosenker received a number of awards and decorations, including the Air Force Distinguished Service Medal with One Oak Leaf Cluster and the Legion of Merit.

For his leadership role in recreational boating issues, the National Safe Boating Council has twice presented Mr. Rosenker its highest honor, the Confluence Award. This award is traditionally given only to Members of Congress, and Mr. Rosenker is one of the few representatives of the Executive Branch to be so honored. In addition, in September 2007, the National Association of State Boating Law Administrators presented Mr. Rosenker with the NASBLA Award for his years of promoting boating safety.

Mr. Rosenker was the Board Member on scene for the following NTSB investigations:

Mr. Rosenker also was part of the NTSB's Go Team for the June 2003 capsizing of the charter fishing vessel Taki-Tooo, near Garibaldi, Oregon, which took the lives of 11 of the 19 people aboard. In April 2008, he chaired the NTSB's public hearing into the accident involving a cargo ship that struck the fendering system of the San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge.

Deborah A. P. Hersman, Board Member - Top of Page

Member Hersman was sworn in as the 35th Member of the National Transportation Safety Board on June 21, 2004. Since her appointment to the NTSB, Member Hersman has been the Board Member on scene at the following major transportation accidents:

Member Hersman has chaired a number of public events hosted by the NTSB. In October 2008, she chaired a 2-day public hearing on an accident in Victoria, Texas, involving a motorcoach that did not comply with the Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards. In September 2006, she chaired a 2-day public forum on motorcycle safety. In July 2006, she chaired a 2-day public hearing investigating the February 2006 fire on board UPS Airlines flight 1307. She also chaired a 3-day public hearing in June 2005, on the Jefferson City crash.

Member Hersman holds a commercial driver’s license with passenger, school bus, and air brake endorsements. She successfully completed a motorcycle basic rider course and holds a motorcycle endorsement. Member Hersman is a certified Child Passenger Safety Technician. She has also completed the 40-hour HAZWOPER (Hazardous Waste Operations and Emergency Response Standard) training course.

Before joining the NTSB, Member Hersman was a Senior Professional Staff Member of the U.S. Senate Committee on Commerce, Science ,and Transportation (1999 to 2004), where she was responsible for the legislative agenda and policy initiatives affecting surface transportation issues, including economic and safety regulation of railroads, trucks, buses, pipelines, and hazardous materials transportation. Prior to that appointment, she served as Staff Director and Senior Legislative Aide to Congressman Bob Wise of West Virginia (1992 to 1999).

Member Hersman earned her Bachelor of Arts degrees in Political Science and International Studies from Virginia Tech in Blacksburg, Virginia, in 1992, and a Master of Science degree in Conflict Analysis and Resolution from George Mason University in Fairfax, Virginia, in 1999.

Kathryn O’Leary Higgins, Board Member - Top of Page

Kathryn O’Leary Higgins was sworn in as the 36th Member of the National Transportation Safety Board on January 3, 2006. Ms. Higgins’ term at the Safety Board expires December 31, 2009.

Member Higgins has served as the Board Member on scene for the following investigations:

Member Higgins also served as the Chairman of a public hearing on the September 2005 bus fire accident near Wilmer, Texas, which occurred during the emergency evacuation for Hurricane Rita, in which 23 of the 44 passengers were killed. She also chaired the June 2008 public forum, “The Safety of Unmanned Aircraft Systems,” and chaired the March 2009 public hearing on the fatal collision of the Metrolink commuter train and the UP freight train in Chatsworth, California.

Ms. Higgins brings 36 years of experience in the public and private sectors to her appointment. Before her term at the NTSB, she was President and CEO of TATC Consulting and served as Vice President for Public Policy at the National Trust for Historic Preservation from May 1999 to January 2004.

Member Higgins served as Deputy Secretary of the U.S. Department of Labor (1997 to 1999), Acting Chair of the National Endowment for the Arts, and Vice Chair of the Presidential Commission on U.S. Coast Guard Roles and Missions. In addition, Ms. Higgins served in the White House (1995 to 1997) as Assistant to the President and Secretary to the Cabinet. In that capacity she worked closely with the NTSB, the DOT Office of the Secretary, the FAA, and the U.S. Coast Guard on a number of matters, including the 1996 ValuJet 592 and TWA 800 accidents; formulation and implementation of hazardous materials regulations; increasing FAA inspector staffing; FAA reauthorization; and creation of the NTSB Office of Family Assistance. She was awarded Distinguished Service medals by the FAA and Coast Guard for her work.

Prior to this time, Ms. Higgins served as Chief of Staff to the Secretary of Labor (1993 to1995), Chief of Staff to Congressman Sander Levin (1986 to 1993), and Senior Legislative Associate and Minority Staff Director with the U.S. Senate Labor and Human Resources Committee (1981 to 1986). She also served as Assistant Director for Employment Policy with the White House Domestic Policy Council (1978 to 1981). She began her career in 1969 as a Manpower Specialist with the Employment and Training Administration, U.S. Department of Labor.

Ms. Higgins holds a Bachelor of Science degree from the University of Nebraska.

Robert L. Sumwalt was sworn in as the 37th Member of the National Transportation Safety Board on August 21, 2006, and was designated by President Bush as Vice Chairman for a 2-year term, ending August 2008. His term of office as Board Member runs until December 31, 2011.

Prior to joining the NTSB, Mr. Sumwalt was Manager of Aviation for the SCANA Corporation, a Fortune 500 energy-based company. He was also a pilot for 32 years, including 24 years as an airline pilot with Piedmont Airlines and then with US Airways. He logged over 14,000 flight hours and earned type ratings in five aircraft before retiring from the airline in 2005. He has extensive experience as an airline captain, airline check airman, instructor pilot, and air safety representative.

In addition to his service as a pilot, Mr. Sumwalt worked on special assignment to the US Airways Flight Safety Department from 1997 to 2004, where he was involved in the development of numerous airline safety programs, including an enhanced crew awareness program and a windshear training program. From 2002 to 2004, he also served on the US Airways Flight Operations Quality Assurance (FOQA) Monitoring Team.

Mr. Sumwalt served as a member of the Air Line Pilots Association (ALPA) Accident Investigation Board from 2002 to 2004, and also worked with ALPA’s Aviation Weather Committee on improving the quality of weather products available to pilots. He has chaired ALPA’s Human Factors and Training Group and was a co-founder of the ALPA Critical Incident Response Program, which provides guidance to airline personnel involved in traumatic events, such as accidents.

A trained accident investigator, Mr. Sumwalt participated in several NTSB investigations prior to joining the NTSB. From 1991 to 1999, he conducted aviation safety research as a consultant to NASA’s Aviation Safety Reporting System, studying various issues including flight crew performance and air carrier de-icing and anti-icing problems.

Mr. Sumwalt has co-authored a book on aircraft accidents and has written extensively on aviation safety matters, having published over 85 articles and papers in aviation trade publications. He has broad experience in writing aircraft operations manuals and airline and corporate aviation policy and procedure guidelines. Before joining the NTSB, he was a regular contributor to Professional Pilot magazine.

In 2003, Mr. Sumwalt joined the faculty of the University of Southern California’s Aviation Safety and Security Program, where he was the primary human factors instructor.

In recognition of his contributions to the aviation industry, Mr. Sumwalt received the Flight Safety Foundation’s Laura Taber Barbour Award in 2003 and ALPA’s Air Safety Award in 2004.

Since joining the NTSB, Mr. Sumwalt served as the Chairman of the Board of Inquiry for the Safety Board’s February 2009 public hearing regarding emergency medical services (EMS) helicopters. In addition, he served as Board Member on scene for the following accidents:

Mr. Sumwalt also accompanied the NTSB Go-Team to Lexington, Kentucky, for the on-site investigation of the August 2006 crash of Comair flight 5191.

Mr. Sumwalt is a graduate of the University of South Carolina.

Mr. Haueter has been employed by the NTSB for 25 years and has, in addition to serving as office director, worked as an airworthiness investigator, an investigator-in-charge (IIC) of domestic aviation accidents, and the U.S. Accredited Representative for foreign aviation accidents. Before becoming office director, Mr. Haueter was the Deputy Director for the Office and the Chief of the Major Investigations Division. As Director of the Office of Aviation Safety, he is responsible for the investigation of all domestic aviation accidents and NTSB support of major foreign aviation accidents.

Mr. Haueter was the IIC for the USAir flight 427 investigation, which resulted in the redesign of the rudder system on the Boeing 737. He served as the U.S. Accredited Representative on the accident involving a COPA Airlines Boeing 737; as the IIC for the Atlantic Southeast Airlines Embraer 120 accident at Brunswick, Georgia, which claimed the life of Senator John Tower; and as the IIC for the midair collision at Philadelphia that claimed the life of Senator John Heinz. He was the lead NTSB investigator assisting the U.S. Air Force in the investigation of the CT-43A that crashed near Dubrovnik, Croatia, killing then-Commerce Secretary Ron Brown and 22 others. Additionally, Mr. Haueter was an advisor to the space shuttle Columbia Accident Investigation Board.

Prior to joining the NTSB, Mr. Haueter worked at Tracor Incorporated as a program manager for research and development. Before that, he was employed by Telcom Incorporated as an engineer in the design and application of composite aircraft structures and assessments of emerging technologies. Earlier, he was employed by Pratt & Whitney Aircraft as a structures engineer in gas turbine engine design.

Mr. Haueter holds an M.B.A. in Operations Research and International Business from George Mason University and a B.S. in Aeronautical and Astronautical Engineering from Purdue University. He holds a commercial pilot’s license with multi-engine and instrument ratings, and regularly flies a 1943 Stearman airplane that he restored.

Dr. Ellingstad joined the NTSB in June 1990 as Deputy Director, Office of Research and Engineering, and was promoted to Director in 1995. Dr. Ellingstad supervises the NTSB Materials Laboratory, Recorders Laboratory, and Vehicle Performance Laboratory, which provide scientific and engineering support for accident investigations in all modes of transportation. The Office also includes the Safety Studies and Statistical Analysis Division, which conducts transportation safety research and manages the NTSB’s Aviation Accident Database. Dr. Ellingstad is responsible for primary scientific and technical review of the NTSB’s accident reports, studies, and other major products. He also represents NTSB positions on technical issues to government and industry.

As chairman of the Psychology Department and Director of the Human Factors Laboratory and graduate program at the University of South Dakota (1969-1990), Dr. Ellingstad directed a variety of human performance, ergonomics, and transportation-related research in the areas of drug and fatigue effects on simulated driving performance. He also conducted studies of human factors issues in human-computer interaction, psychomotor, and cognitive performance; and large-scale evaluations of traffic safety programs.

Dr. Ellingstad earned a B.A. in Psychology (1965) from Wisconsin State University–Eau Claire, and an M.A. (1967) and Ph.D. (1969) in Human Factors Psychology from the University of South Dakota.

Ms. Ward joined the NTSB in 1998 as an aerospace engineer (structures) and has worked on the investigation of four major water recovery accidents, Swiss Air, EgyptAir, Alaska Airlines, and Gulf Air, as well as the investigation of numerous mid-air collisions and in-flight breakups. In 2001, she was promoted to investigator-in-charge (IIC) and in that capacity, supported the FBI at the Pentagon and at the World Trade Center following the events of September 11, 2001. She also assisted with the on-scene investigation of American Airlines flight 587. In addition, Ms. Ward was the public hearing officer for American Airlines flight 587, Air Midwest flight 5481, and the Helicopter Emergency Medical Services hearing.

She has worked on a number of other investigations, including the Edelweiss uncontained engine failure in Miami; the Era S76A++ helicopter crash in the Gulf of Mexico; the Executive Airlines ATR-72 that crashed on landing in Puerto Rico; Air Midwest flight 5481, which crashed shortly after takeoff in Charlotte, North Carolina; the Pinnacle Airlines CL-600 2B-19 accident in Jefferson City, Missouri; the Cirrus SR20 accident, which crashed into an apartment building in Manhattan, New York; the in-flight engine fire on American Airlines flight 1400 that occurred shortly after departure from St. Louis International Airport, St. Louis, Missouri; and the ABX Air ground fire that occurred at San Francisco International Airport. She has been the U.S. Accredited Representative for numerous foreign investigations and as such has traveled to Bahrain (structures), China, Germany, England, Finland, Estonia, India, and Malaysia. Before coming to the NTSB, Ms. Ward worked for the U.S. Navy at NADEP JAX in Jacksonville, Florida, where she worked on the EA-6B and F-14 programs. She received both her bachelor’s and master’s of aerospace engineering degrees from Auburn University. She received her private pilot’s license over 20 years ago and has attended the Civilian Flight Test School in Mojave, California.

Mr. Enns has been an investigator for the Transportation Safety Board (TSB) of Canada since January 1984. He began as an investigator in the Western Region, based in Edmonton, Alberta, responsible for investigations in Alberta, Yukon, and Northwest Territories. He transferred to the Toronto office in the Ontario Region in 1985 as Superintendant of Technical Investigators, and now is Regional Manager of the Ontario Region. Mr. Enns has 37 years of experience in aviation, 25 as an aircraft accident investigator. During his time with the TSB, he has been investigator-in-charge or team member on many investigations, including the1998 in-flight fire and crash of a Swissair MD11 at Peggy’s Cove, Nova Scotia; the 2004 icing accident of a Cessna Caravan at Pelee Island, Ontario; and the 2005 runway overrun of an Air France A340 at Toronto, Ontario. He is a member of the Canadian Society of Air Safety Investigators and is a recipient of the Canadian Head of the Public Service Award.

Kevin J. Renze, Ph.D., Aircraft Performance Group Chairman, Office of Research and Engineering - Top of Page

Dr. Renze joined the Safety Board in 2002, where he performs airplane simulations, video data analyses, and animation production. He has served as vehicle performance chairman for a number of aviation accident investigations, including the Lockheed C-130 in-flight breakup; the Air Midwest Beech 1900D takeoff pitch upset; the Sino-Swearingen SJ30-2 in-flight loss of control; the MK Airlines B747-200F takeoff impact (in which he served as a consultant to TSB); the Midwest Airlines B717-200 pitch upset; and the Southwest Airlines B737-700W landing overrun accident. He also served as group chairman for the Shuttle America ERJ-170 landing overrun; the Kalitta Air B747-200F rejected takeoff accident in Brussels, Belgium; the Kalitta Air B747-200F takeoff accident in Bogotá, Colombia; and the Mexico City Learjet approach accident.

Before joining the Safety Board, Dr. Renze was an aerodynamics engineer at Boeing Commercial Airplanes (1997-2002),where he developed, exercised, and validated numerous engineering and cab simulations including those used to support the NTSB investigation of EgyptAir flight 990, the AAIB investigation of Korean Airlines flight 8509, the Indian COI investigation of Alliance Air flight 7412, and the TSBC investigation of First Air flight 953. He also served as Research Associate at the Department of Energy Visualization Laboratory (19921995), and as Research Associate at the NASA Ames Research Center (1990-1992). Dr. Renze holds a B.S. (1990) and M.S. in (1992) in Aerospace Engineering from Iowa State University (1992) and a Ph.D. (1995) in Mechanical Engineering from Iowa State University.

Dan Bower, Ph.D., Chief, Vehicle Performance Division, Office of Research and Engineering - Top of Page

Dr. Bower joined the NTSB in 1995 and specializes in aircraft performance, aircraft icing, aerodynamics, and computational fluid dynamics (CFD). In addition to serving as Chief of the Vehicle Performance Division, he has served as aircraft performance group chairman on several major icing accident investigations, including the 1997 Comair 3272 EMB-120 accident in Monroe, Michigan; the 2004 Bombardier Challenger accident in Montrose, Colorado; and the 2005 Cessna Citation 560 accident in Pueblo, Colorado. He was also responsible for performance analysis for the ValuJet flight 592 accident and the Alaska Airlines flight 261accident. He also directed CFD analysis for the American Airlines flight 587 accident and flight-testing for the TWA flight 800 investigation. Dr. Bower has provided NTSB support to other agencies, including radar data and ballistic trajectory studies in support of the NASA investigation of the space shuttle Columbia accident, for which he was awarded the NASA Space Flight Awareness Team Award and a Lyndon B. Johnson Space Center Group Achievement Award. He also analyzed FDR and radar data in support of the FBI’s investigation of the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks. Dr. Bower received the NTSB’s Dr. John K. Lauber Award in 1998 for aircraft in-flight icing research programs conducted during the Comair 3272 investigation.

Before joining NTSB, Dr. Bower served as a research scientist/engineer at Calspan-University of Buffalo Research Center (1991 to 1995), analyzing hypersonic experimental test data from the Large Energy National Shock Tunnel (LENS) facility. From 1988 to 1993, he was an instructor in the Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering Department at the State University of New York at Buffalo, where he taught engineering classes at the undergraduate and graduate level. From 1986 to 1988, he worked as an aerospace engineer at Wright Patterson Air Force Base, performing ascent and re-entry analysis of National Aerospace Plane (NASP) design concepts. Dr. Bower received his B.S. and Ph.D. degrees in Aerospace Engineering from the State University of New York at Buffalo.

Roger Cox, Operations Group Chairman, Office of Aviation Safety - Top of Page

Captain Cox has been with NTSB’s Operational Factors Division since 2006. He recently served as the Operational Factors Investigator for the East Coast Jets accident in Owatonna, Minnesota; the Cessna Citation accident in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma; the DC-9 accident in Saltillo, Mexico; and the Excelaire-Gol Airlines mid-air collision in Brazil. He is a former airline pilot with 18,000 flight hours in worldwide operations. He served as a Safety Chairman and Master Executive Council Chairman with the Air Line Pilots Association. He is a graduate of Stanford University and earned an M.B.A. at Southern Illinois University.

Dr. Byrne joined the NTSB in 1996 and has served the Office of Aviation Safety as Acting Deputy Director, Division Chief, and Aviation Psychologist. He has served as human performance investigator in more than a dozen major NTSB investigations, including SilkAir flight 185 in Indonesia; American Airlines flight 1420 in Little Rock, Arkansas; FedEx flight 14 in Newark, New Jersey; Fine Airlines flight 101 in Miami, Florida; Emery Worldwide Airlines flight 017 in Sacramento, California; Delta Air Lines flight 1288 in Pensacola, Florida; Continental Airlines flight 1493 in Houston, Texas; the Sunjet Aviation Learjet 35 accident in South Dakota; the Air Midwest flight 5481 accident in Charlotte, North Carolina; the Pinnacle Airlines CRJ accident in Jefferson City, Missouri; and the Comair CRJ accident in Lexington, Kentucky.

Before joining the NTSB, Dr. Byrne was a research associate conducting NASA-sponsored research on automation at the Cognitive Science Laboratory at the Catholic University in Washington, DC. He earned his Ph.D. and M.A. at the University of Maryland–College Park in 1993, where he studied physiological measures of mental workload. He graduated with a B.S. in psychology in 1986 from the University of Wisconsin–Madison. He is an active instrument-rated private pilot and owner of a Cessna 172.

Jeff Marcus, Transportation Safety Specialist, Office of Safety Recommendations and Advocacy - Top of Page

Mr. Marcus has been with the NTSB’s Office of Safety Recommendations since 1999, where he evaluates responses to aviation safety recommendations and advocates for their implementation. Prior to the NTSB, Mr. Marcus was with the Federal Aviation Administration’s Civil Aerospace Medical Institute (CAMI) in Oklahoma City, where he was the Acting Manager of the Aeromedical Research Division, and the Manager of the Protection and Survival Laboratory. Before CAMI, Mr. Marcus worked for the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, where he ran the head injury research program, and where he performed research evaluating crash dummy design and interpreting impact signals in terms of injury potential. He holds an M.S. in Mechanical Engineering from Michigan State University and a B.S. in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Maryland–College Park. Mr. Marcus is the author or co-author of over 30 technical papers on biomechanics, transportation safety, and computer modeling. For over 20 years, Mr. Marcus has also taught computer science part time in the evening programs of several universities and community colleges.

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