If the air carrier accident rate were the same today as it was in 1965, the United States would average a fatal airliner accident every 10 days,” said the National Transportation Safety Board in celebrating its 40th anniversart. “Except for the terrorist attacks of 2001 - which were deliberate criminal acts – no year since 1990 has seen more than four fatal scheduled air carrier accidents in the United States." It was those accidents that prompted the Commuter Rule, despite the fact all four occurred at airlines and regionals operating under Part 121. The increased costs that resulted spelled the end of air service to many communities including those that were unsubsidized. The annual number of general aviation crashes has dropped by two thirds in the last 40 years.
The NTSB opened its doors April 1, 1967 when the Bureau of Safety was removed from the Civil Aeronautics Board and became the foundation for the new accident investigation agency. Since then, the NTSB has investigated about 130,000 aviation accidents and thousands of accidents in the other modes of transportation: highway, rail, marine and pipeline.
"I have often said that the NTSB is one of the best bargains in government," NTSB Chairman Mark V. Rosenker said. "With fewer than 400 employees, the Safety Board is responsible for investigating more than two thousand transportation accidents a year. In our 40 years, our independent investigations have played an important part in improving the safety of every mode of transportation. As a result of the efforts of the Safety Board and other government agencies, manufacturers, operators and stakeholders, the United States enjoys a safe transportation system that is the envy of the world."
In its 40 years, the NTSB has issued some 12,600 safety recommendations, with an average acceptance rate of 82 percent.
The Board reviewed some of the investigatory advances since its inception including the advent of digital flight recorders with many hundreds of parameters, compared to old foil recorders which had only five and had to be read by hand. Equipment or operational problems can now be more readily and confidently identified, said the Board of the impact. It also pointed to the increased reliability of turbine engines to the point that twin-engine aircraft are now allowed to fly for thousands of miles over open water. It added that computers have led to the development of extremely realistic flight simulators, allowing pilots to be trained to handle virtually any conceivable flight condition. NTSB also cited systems developed and installed on airliners - resulting at least in part from its recommendations - have virtually eliminated mid-air collisions and controlled flight into terrain crashes for aircraft so equipped.