Supporting Statement B ROCIS

SUPPORTING STATEMENT B

National Transportation Safety Board

NTSB Form 6120.1: Pilot/Operator Aircraft Accident/Incident Report

1. Sampling Universe, Sampling Methods, and Expected Response Rate.

The agency has conducted this information collection for several years and plans to send one form to either an operator or surviving pilot (respondent) involved in an aircraft accident or serious incident that the agency intends to investigate. In recent years, the number of forms the agency annually collected has decreased to about 1,350. But based on the unpredictable nature of aviation accidents and incidents, and in the interest of including a broad approximation, the agency is rounding up that estimate to approximately 1,400 responses.

Under 49 C.F.R. § 830.15, completing the form is mandatory. The agency plans to e-mail the form to all pilots or operators for whom the agency has e-mail addresses. In most cases, pilots and operators use the fillable PDF version of the form that is available on the NTSB website. Given 49 C.F.R. § 830.15, the NTSB expects a response rate of almost 100 percent.

2. Procedures for Collection of Information.

The agency obtains contact information for pilots and operators from several sources, including self-reporting or reports from witnesses, airports, and the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA). If the NTSB determines that it will commence an investigation, the NTSB instructs the pilot or operator to complete the form. Additionally, a fillable portable document format (PDF) copy of the form is available by e-mail or on the agency website, which the agency will encourage respondents to use and submit via e-mail.

3. Methods to maximize response rates and deal with issues of non-response.

Under 49 C.F.R. § 830.15, pilots or operators are required to complete the form; otherwise, the agency may pursue a civil penalty action. See 49 U.S.C. § 1155. Overall, the agency is generally successful in receiving completed, accurate forms. However, if the agency receives an intentionally inaccurate response(s) or a partially completed form, the agency may make additional inquiries to the respondent.

To assess the data provided in the forms, the NTSB’s Office of Aviation Safety uses multiple techniques, which include comparing the feedback on the forms with other investigative information that the agency obtained.

4. Tests of procedures or methods.

The circumstances of this information collection do not lend themselves to tests of procedures or methods by which the agency will obtain information in this collection. The agency does not plan to test formally the procedures or methods it will use in obtaining the information, but will compare the feedback it receives on the forms to other sources of data, as described above.

5. Name and telephone number of individual(s) consulted; name of person who will collect and/or analyze information collected.

The agency has not consulted with anyone concerning distribution of the form. Various agency investigators from the Office of Aviation Safety will distribute and receive completed copies of the forms. Each investigator in charge enters the data from the forms associated with their investigations into the agency database, which are subsequently analyzed by Chief Data Scientist Loren Groff, from the agency’s Office of Managing Director, who performs analysis of the data collected on the forms.

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