2009 National Transportation Safety Board Annual Report to Congress

The National Transportation Safety Board is an independent agency charged with determining the probable cause of transportation accidents and promoting transportation safety. The Board investigates accidents, conducts safety studies, evaluates the effectiveness of other government agencies' programs for preventing transportation accidents, and reviews the appeals of enforcement actions involving airman and seaman certificates issues by the Federal Aviation Administration and the U.S. Coast Guard and civil penalty actions taken by the FAA.