[6] Before the NTSB, the Federal Aviation Administration's (FAA; at the time the CAA/Civil Aviation Authority) independence was questioned as it was investigating itself and would be biased to find external faults, coalescing with the 1931 crash killing Notre Dame coach Knute Rockne[7] and the 1935 crash that killed Senator Bronson Cutting.

[6] On April 1, 1967, the Congress created a separate cabinet-level Department of Transportation, which among other things, established the Federal Aviation Administration as an agency under the DOT.

[16][15] This board is authorized by Congress under Chapter 11, Title 49 of the United States Code to investigate civil aviation, highway, marine, pipeline, and railroad accidents and incidents.

[17] This five-member board is authorized to establish and manage separate sub-offices for highway, marine, aviation, railroad, pipeline, and hazardous materials investigations.

[13] The current board members as of December 23, 2024[update]:[18] The NTSB is the lead agency in investigating a civil transportation accident or incident within its sphere.

[20] If the structure of an aircraft remains largely intact during a crash and does not transmit gravitational forces to occupants that a human cannot tolerate, the NTSB deems it a survivable incident.

[29] In 2000, Rand published its report, which concluded that the party system is "a key component of the NTSB investigative process" and that participant parties "are uniquely able to provide essential information about aircraft design and manufacture, airline operations, or functioning of [the National Airspace System] that simply cannot be obtained elsewhere".

[30]: 31  However, Rand also found conflicts of interest inherent in the party system, "may, in some instances, threaten the integrity of the NTSB investigative process".

[30]: 30  The Rand study recommended that the NTSB reduce its reliance on party representatives and make greater use of independent investigators, including from NASA, the Department of Defense, government research laboratories, and universities.

[35] The Board's determinations may be appealed to the federal court system by the losing party, whether it is the individual or company, on the one hand, or the FAA or the Coast Guard, on the other.

[36] The Safety Board maintains a training academy[5] in Ashburn, Virginia, where it conducts courses for its employees and professionals in other government agencies, foreign governments or private companies, in areas such as general accident investigation, specific elements of investigations like survival factors or human performance, or related matters like family affairs or media relations.

The facility houses for training purposes the reconstruction of more than 90 feet of the TWA Flight 800 Boeing 747,[37] which was recovered from the Atlantic Ocean after it crashed on July 17, 1996, following a fuel tank explosion.