Grisly precision

What kind of person digs this job?

A pilot, obviously, one who likes to work puzzles. Flight experience is the first requirement for hire, and it's helpful to have a background in the hard sciences. And it's important not to be wigged by the occasional gristly bits hanging in trees. One NTSB manager who spent 18 years leading investigations said, "It wasn't a burnout-type job for me, but it bothers some people." One former investigator, who worked crashes for five years, says the turnover rate has recently increased, especially among the entry-level investigators analyzing the more frequent small plane wrecks.

Taking a year to file the final report is typical. On average, NTSB officials say, reports are finalized within 13 months, although the agency's online database reveals pages of non-finalized crash reports several years old.

The report summarizes the crash's probable causes and any resulting recommendations for change. Based on NTSB recommendations, the Federal Aviation Administration mandates all kinds of plane and flight operations requirements. Recently these have included anti-collision warning alarms, improved de-icing systems, better rudder design (for the Boeing 737) and design changes to those pesky thrust reversers (on the Boeing 767).

The FAA takes some heat for not responding promptly. Pilots complain that it's a "tombstone agency," one that adopts change only after people die in plane crashes. For example, the NTSB long advocated putting smoke detectors in aircraft cargo holds, but it was the ValuJet crash that made the FAA sit up and seriously consider the proposal. Currently, the NTSB wants all infants to fly in approved safety seats. But the FAA sits in an awkward position -- the agency is charged with both promoting and policing aviation. Since the airlines don't want child seats, the FAA isn't likely to approve them. Until more infants die in crashes, that is, and the NTSB files more reports.

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