The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) is holding a forum to discuss safety oversight of aircraft operated by nonmilitary government agencies with the goal of reducing accidents and improving overall safety.

The forum will be held over two days from Nov. 30- Dec. 1 in the NTSB Conference Center and Board Room in Washington D.C. Deborah Hersman, NTSB chairman and all five Board Members will participate. The forum is open to the public and is free to attend.

According to the NTSB, more aircraft are operated by nonmilitary government agencies than the nation’s largest commercial airlines; however, they are lacking the equivalent safety oversight — a key role in accidents according to federal investigators.

Government agencies use aircraft for police, medical and science industries owning or leasing some 2,400 aircraft. Leading commercial airlines operate fewer than 1,300 aircraft in comparison. FAA says the agency does not have the authority to apply the same regulations to government aircraft as they do commercially.