The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) is an independent U.S. government investigative agency responsible for civil transportation accident investigation. In this role,the NTSB investigates and reports on aviation accidents and incidents,certain types of highway crashes,ship and marine accidents,pipeline incidents,bridge failures,and railroad accidents. The NTSB is also in charge of investigating cases of hazardous materials releases that occur during transportation. The agency is based in Washington,D.C. It has four regional offices,located in Anchorage,Alaska;Denver,Colorado;Ashburn,Virginia;and Seattle,Washington. The agency also operates a national training center at its Ashburn facility.
A self-driving car,also known as an autonomous car,driverless car,or robotic car (robo-car),is a car that is capable of traveling without human input. Self-driving cars use sensors to perceive their surroundings,such as optical and thermographic cameras,radar,lidar,ultrasound/sonar,GPS,odometry and inertial measurement units. Control systems interpret sensory information to create a three-dimensional model of the vehicle's surroundings. Based on the model,the car then identifies an appropriate navigation path and strategies for managing traffic controls and obstacles.
Marion Clifton Blakey is an American businesswoman and former government official who served as president and CEO of Rolls-Royce North America. Prior to joining Rolls-Royce,she served as the eighth full-time chief executive of the Aerospace Industries Association,an American defense industry trade association from 2007 to 2015. Before this,she served a five-year term as the 15th Administrator of the Federal Aviation Administration. Blakey was the second woman to hold the position,serving as a successor to Jane Garvey,the first woman to hold the Administrator title. She was the second Administrator who was not a licensed pilot. She was awarded the Wright Brothers Memorial Trophy in 2013.
Mary Louise "Missy" Cummings is an American academic who is a professor at Duke University and director of Duke's Humans and Autonomy Laboratory. She was one of the United States Navy's first female fighter pilots. In November 2021,Dr. Cummings joined the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA).
Nancy A. Lynn was an aerobatic pilot,flight instructor,and air show performer. She owned and operated Lynn Aviation,an aerobatic flight school located at Bay Bridge Airport in Stevensville,Maryland,with her husband Scott Muntean and son Pete.
Mark Victor Rosenker was an American aviation official who served as the 11th chairman of the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) from August 2006 through August 2008. He was nominated by President George W. Bush and unanimously confirmed by the U.S. Senate. Chairman Rosenker was renominated by President Bush for a second term as chair and was going through the Senate confirmation process,which basically ended when President Obama was elected in November 2008. He served as acting chair starting in March 2005 to August 2006 and then again from August 2008 until his resignation from the board in August 2009,when he returned to private life. He died on September 26,2020,from brain cancer at the age of 73.
The National Transportation Library (NTL) maintains and facilitates access to information necessary for transportation decision-making in government and coordinates with public and private transportation libraries and information providers to improve information sharing among the transportation community. It is currently under the administration of the Bureau of Transportation Statistics (BTS).
Robert Llewellyn Sumwalt III is an American academic,aviator,government official and writer. He was a board member of the National Transportation Safety Board for over 15 years,from August 2006 to June 30,2021,serving as the agency's chairman from 2017 to 2021. He currently serves as the executive director of Embry-Riddle's Boeing Center for Aviation and Aerospace Safety.
A New Car Assessment Program is a government car safety program tasked with evaluating new automobile designs for performance against various safety threats.
9,907 wildfires burned at least 601,625 acres (2,434.69 km2) of land in the state of California during 2013. The wildfires injured at least 125 people and killed at least 1. They also caused over $218.15 million in damage. These included several large,notable wildfires,including the Rim Fire,which became California's 3rd largest wildfire. Another wildfire was ignited by the plane crash of the Asiana Airlines Flight 214 on July 6,2013,which burned around 1 acre of land.
Asiana Airlines Flight 214 was a scheduled transpacific passenger flight originating from Incheon International Airport near Seoul,South Korea. On the morning of July 6,2013,the Boeing 777-200ER operating the flight stalled and crashed on final approach into San Francisco International Airport in the United States. Of the 307 people on board,3 died;another 187 were injured,49 of them seriously. Among the seriously injured were four flight attendants who were thrown onto the runway while still strapped in their seats when the tail section broke off after striking the seawall short of the runway. It was the first fatal crash of a Boeing 777 since the aircraft type entered service in 1995.
In rail transport,the U.S. DOT-111 tank car,also known as the TC-111 in Canada,is a type of unpressurized general service tank car in common use in North America. Tank cars built to this specification must be circular in cross section,with elliptical,formed heads set convex outward. They have a minimum plate thickness of 7⁄16 inch (11.1 mm) and a maximum capacity of 34,500 US gallons. Tanks may be constructed from carbon steel,aluminum alloy,high alloy steel,or nickel plate steel by fusion welding.
Christopher A. Hart is an American lawyer,government official,and pilot. He served as the 13th chairman of the National Transportation Safety Board. He served as Acting NTSB Chairman beginning April 26,2014,and in June 2014 was nominated by President Barack Obama to serve as Chairman of the NTSB. He was confirmed to serve as Chairman on February 5,2015. Robert Sumwalt succeeded him as chairman in August 2017.
Mark Rosekind served as the 15th Administrator of the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA). He was appointed by President Obama and sworn in in December 2014,replacing David L. Strickland who resigned in January 2014. NHTSA was run by David J. Friedman,the deputy administrator,in the intervening time.
Isabel Andrews Burgess was an American politician and public official from Phoenix,Arizona who is known for her contributions to transportation safety at the federal level,including her tenure on the National Transportation Safety Board.
Tesla Autopilot is a suite of advanced driver-assistance system (ADAS) features offered by Tesla that amounts to SAE International Level 2 vehicle automation. Its features are lane centering,traffic-aware cruise control,automatic lane changes,semi-autonomous navigation on limited access freeways,self-parking,and the ability to summon the car from a garage or parking spot. With all of these features,the driver is responsible and the car requires constant supervision. The company claims the features reduce accidents caused by driver negligence and fatigue from long-term driving. Collisions and deaths involving Tesla cars with Autopilot engaged have drawn the attention of the press and government agencies.
The National Child Passenger Safety Board, managed by the National Safety Council,maintains the quality and integrity of the National Child Passenger Safety Certification Training Program in the United States. The program is used to train and certify child passenger safety technicians and instructors in order to assist caregivers in safe transportation of children. Three of the most common issues that put children at risk:improperly used or installed safety seats,hot cars,and teen drivers. The Board is not limited to keeping kids safe in cars in the U.S. The work of Dr. Marilyn J. Bull to help shape automobile safety law in Chile was highlighted in March 2017 by AAP News.
Heidi R. King served as acting Administrator of the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.
Jennifer L. Homendy is an American government official who is the chair of the National Transportation Safety Board in the Biden administration. Homendy has been the 44th member of the NTSB as of 2018. She has been chairwoman since August 13,2021.
