Expert: D. Norkus - 10/11/2011

Question
Hello! I am a Riddle Alumni as well! I got a degree in Aero Engineering. Currently with about 2 years of flight test experience and I have my private pilots license as well. The field of accident investigation sounds appealing. Especially if I can get out onto the field.

It is really hard to find information online though. Any information would be much appreciated. Would it be worth it to apply? Thanks!

Answer
George

Due to some sort of awful revamping of the NTSB website, it is more difficult than ever to get information. All their formerly useful pages are now dead links as the career info has been moved. Most frustratingly, their "NTSB Vacancies" link from their careers page is broken!

These links should provide you basic info you need about the training and hiring process for NTSB investigator. Beyond that, I suggest you contact a real person at their office:

Coursework/education-

Online learning for investigators is offered via the Southern California Safety Institute/SCSI, specializing in Accident Investigation training and Safety Management Systems. Get more information here-
http://www.scsi-inc.com/AAI.php

The Accident Investigation course at University of Southern California is supposed to be one of the foremost programs in the world for training investigators. Many different countries and airlines send their safety board members through this program.

http://viterbi.usc.edu/aviation/

The NTSB FAQ page once stated:  
What about employment opportunities with the NTSB?

"The NTSB generally hires investigators who have specific qualifications and/or previous safety work experience in transportation. We have hired current FAA air traffic controllers, airline transport category pilots, hazardous material experts, maritime experts, and aerospace engineers  just to name a few of the disciplines. We also have an intern and co-op program. Several of our senior investigators and managers started out as student interns and have risen through the ranks over many years."

Therefore I would expect the job requirement to be much the same. Here is an old example of a job listing that may also give you an idea of who they want to hire-
http://www.avianation.com/aviation_jobs/jobDetail.cfm?jobid=7192846754

Most notably, these pilot certificates are prerequisites:
QUALIFICATION REQUIREMENTS (4):

1. SPECIALIZED WORK EXPERIENCE:

GS-11: One year of specialized experience is required equivalent to the GS-9 level in the Federal service in conducting aircraft accident investigations and writing accident investigation reports.

2. PILOT-IN-COMMAND FLIGHT HOURS:

MINIMUM FLIGHT HOURS REQUIRED AS PILOT-IN-COMMAND
(Please See "Special Note" Below)
Total Small Airplane Multiengine
Grade Flying Single Engine* Airplane
GS-11 1500 500 500

*Small Airplane: Single engine driven fixed-wing aircraft with gross takeoff weight of 12,500 pounds or less. Multiengine fixed-wing aircraft weighing 12,500 pounds or less may also be included if the aircraft is designed with centerline thrust.

3. REQUIRED CERTIFICATES AND RATINGS: 1)Possession of a valid commercial pilot certificate with an instrument airplane rating or airline transport pilot certificate. 2)Possession of ASEL and AMEL Ratings. 3)Possession of a first or second class Airman's Medical Certificate which must be current at the time the application is submitted.

Their Human Resources office can be reached at (800) 573-0937 or (202) 314-6239.

Office of Employment Opportunity
National Transportation Safety Board
490 L' Enfant Plaza S.W.
Washington D. C. 20594
ph. (202) 314-6190
fax (202) 314-6260

FAQ employment page- http://www.ntsb.gov/about/employment.html
All government jobs, including NTSB, are filled via - http://www.usajobs.gov/

I think this is a great bit of background info on what they really do -
http://www.ntsb.gov/investigations/process.html
It also includes links to .pdfs of several NTSB manuals.

Other agencies may have similar openings that interest you if the NTSB doesn't currently have any openings.

FAA Office of Accident Investigation & Prevention-
The OAI promotes safety by investigating aviation accidents and incidents so as to detect unsafe conditions and trends in the National Airspace System and to coordinate the corrective action process, performs accident and incident data analysis, acts as the primary point of contact between the FAA and the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB), manages the NTSB Recommendations Program, the FAA Safety Recommendations Program, and operates the FAA Flight Data Laboratory.

http://www.faa.gov/about/office_org/headquarters_offices/avs/offices/avp/

Other links of interest-
http://www.airlinepilotforums.com/hangar-talk/37711-accident-investigator.html

Here is a career summary description from AvJobs that may be of interest-
http://www.avjobs.com/careers/detail.asp?RecID=123

International Society of Air Safety Investigators
Their 'Reachout Workshop' may be of interest-
http://www.isasi.org/reachout_tp.html

Part of a report that has some interesting info-
"Staffing, Workload & Training at the NTSB"
http://www.rand.org/content/dam/rand/pubs/monograph_reports/2005/MR1122.1.pdf

This related airline position may be of interest. They are accepting resumes as of Oct 1, 2011-
http://www.americasjobexchange.com/?wicket:bookmarkablePage=:com.americasjobexch

Good luck!
Dottie