Report an Accident to the NTSB
Federal regulations require operators to notify the NTSB immediately of aviation accidents and certain incidents. An accident is defined as an occurrence associated with the operation of an aircraft that takes place between the time any person boards the aircraft with the intention of flight and all such persons have disembarked, and in which any person suffers death or serious injury, or in which the aircraft receives substantial damage. An incident is an occurrence other than an accident that affects or could affect the safety of operations. (See 49 CFR 830.)
Contact the nearest NTSB regional office to file a report. A phone call is sufficient initially, but a written follow-up will be required. Should you be directed to complete Form 6120.1 - "Pilot/Operator Aircraft Accident/Incident Report", please do as follows:
Fill in Form 6120.1: Pilot/Operator Aircraft Accident/Incident Report
- Obtain the form from the requesting NTSB office or download a form-fillable PDF version.
- The form-fillable version can be edited and saved repeatedly, or simply printed and filled out manually using the free Adobe Acrobat Reader (or equivalent software).
- Sign the form and submit by FAX or mail.
- To submit by mail, print your choice of regional Business Reply Mail (BRM) cover page from the list below.
Should you have a question regarding which form you must use, please contact NTSB Headquarters or the NTSB regional office nearest to you.
NTSB Headquarters and Field Offices BRMs Cover Pages
Important Notes
Printing
- Each Business Reply Mail (BRM) includes a bar code. The bar code cannot be reduced in size or it will be rejected by the Postal Service. Therefore, you MUST print this page at 100%, without scaling.
