Aviation

All personnel on call should arrange their personal affairs such that they are able to
depart for the scene of an accident with a minimum of delay. Regardless of when they are notified
about an accident, Go Team members should be able to arrive at the airport within approximately
2 hours of being notified. For launches that occur during duty hours, Go Team members who live
too far to travel home and return to the airport within this timeframe should bring clothing and other
launch essentials to the office. Go Team members and their Division Chiefs should always ensure
that the information listed on the Go Team sheet concerning their phone/pager numbers is correct.
In addition, personnel should always ensure that they can be reached when on call. This includes
“testing” the pager for proper operation, forwarding alternate phone numbers to the Communication
Center, IIC, and supervisors in advance of expected travel, and maintaining contact with the NTSB
communication centers at the Safety Board. When changes to Go Team assignments are made, the
persons involved shall ensure that the IIC/duty officer, the Chief of the Major Investigations
Division, the OAS Director, and the Safety Board’s Communications Center are notified and
provided updated phone and pager numbers.
2. Notification And Initial Response
Early notification is essential to initiate and organize the investigation. Initial
information concerning the facts and circumstances of the occurrence will often be incomplete and
erroneous. For this reason, early factual information transmitted for alerting purposes must be
handled with considerable discretion. Parties notified are to be cautioned about the preliminary
nature of the data.
2.1 Headquarters Responsibilities and Procedures
2.1.1 Domestic Investigations
Initial notification of a major aviation accident will usually be received by the Safety
Board’s Communications Center. The Communications Center will advise the IIC on duty and
the Chief or Deputy Chief of the Major Investigations Division, who will inform the Director of
OAS or, in his absence, the Deputy Director. The OAS Director or Deputy Director, with input
from OAS Division Chiefs, will decide whether to launch a Go Team in consultation with the
Safety Board’s Chairman and/or the Executive or Managing Director.
Following a decision to dispatch the Go Team, the Chief of the Major Investigations
Division, the OAS Director, or the Deputy Director, will:
(1) notify the Chairman, the Executive or Managing Director, and the on-call Go
Team Board Member of the preliminary circumstances of the accident;
(2) obtain the Go Team Board Member's decision regarding travel; ascertain if
he/she will accompany the team, and notify the IIC accordingly;
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