We often see people advocating that one shouldn't speculate about
accident causes until the official NTSB investigators see the accident
and later produce a report. Well in many cases the NTSB investigator
didn't see the accident either.

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NTSB Goes to Fewer Crashes Washington Post 2/8/06

Strapped with a backlog of cases and a tight budget, the National
Transportation Safety Board is sending investigators to fewer and fewer
fatal airplane crashes -- particularly those involving small planes. And
that has safety experts worried.

Last year, the agency's accident investigators showed up at 62 percent
of all fatal plane crashes, compared with 75 percent of all fatal
crashes in 2001, according to NTSB numbers. But data from the Federal
Aviation Administration -- which is required to send an investigator to
every accident and take note of whether the NTSB is on the scene --
indicate that NTSB investigators showed up less than half the time last
year.

The NTSB chafed at the FAA numbers, calling them inaccurate. After a
back-and-forth between the agencies, the FAA backed down, acknowledging
that its numbers may be unreliable.

Whether the NTSB showed up at 62 percent or less than half of all fatal
crashes last year, the downward trend since 2001 has alarmed former
accident investigators.

Most of the nation's 1,700 crashes last year involved small planes, such
as turboprops owned by individuals. About 350 of those accidents caused
at least one fatality.

"The consequences are, you're going to miss some things," said Gene
Doub, a former NTSB accident investigator who teaches at University of
Southern California. "Every one of these are not just dumb pilots. Some
are airspace-system or training issues or airworthiness issues."

Full Article:

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn...701764_pf.html

or http://tinyurl.com/ch3gn