NTSB and its Materials Laboratory

The National Transportation Safety Board NTSB is one of the smallest agencies in the federal government but with a vital role - that is to impartially investigate transportation accidents for the good of the traveling public. The Board impartially and transparently determines the causes of the accident and makes recommendations based on lessons learned to prevent future accidents. The NTSB the Materials Laboratory is a 10 person group charged with performing failure analysis on physical evidence from these accidents using sound scientific principles to assist in identifying the cause and appropriate recommendations. An overview of the authority and workings of the Safety Board will be presented highlighting the Materials Laboratory with case histories to illustrate.