IIB 

111TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. R. 4714 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

SEPTEMBER 29, 2010 

Received; read twice and referred to the Committee on Commerce, Science, 

and Transportation 

AN ACT 

To amend title 49, United States Code, to authorize appropriations for the National Transportation Safety Board 

for fiscal years 2011 through 2014, and for other purposes. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 


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1 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE; TABLE OF CONTENTS. 

2 (a) SHORT TITLE.—This Act may be cited as the 

3 ‘‘National Transportation Safety Board Reauthorization 

4 Act of 2010’’. 

5 (b) TABLE OF CONTENTS.— 

Sec. 1. Short title; table of contents. 

Sec. 2. Amendments to title 49, United States Code. 

Sec. 3. Definitions. 

Sec. 4. General organization. 

Sec. 5. Administrative. 

Sec. 6. Disclosure, availability, and use of information. 

Sec. 7. Training. 

Sec. 8. Reports and studies. 

Sec. 9. Authorization of appropriations. 

Sec. 10. Accident investigation authority. 

Sec. 11. Marine casualty investigations. 

Sec. 12. Inspections and autopsies. 

Sec. 13. Discovery and use of cockpit and surface vehicle recordings and transcripts. 

Sec. 14. Family assistance. 

Sec. 15. Notification of marine casualties. 

Sec. 16. Use of board name, logo, initials, and seal. 

6 SEC. 2. AMENDMENTS TO TITLE 49, UNITED STATES CODE. 

7 Except as otherwise specifically provided, whenever in 

8 this Act an amendment or repeal is expressed in terms 

9 of an amendment to, or repeal of, a section or other provi10 sion of law, the reference shall be considered to be made 

11 to a section or other provision of title 49, United States 

12 Code. 

13 SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS. 

14 Section 1101 is amended to read as follows: 

15 ‘‘§ 1101. Definitions 

16 ‘‘(a) ACCIDENT DEFINED.—In this chapter, the term 

17 ‘accident’— 


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1 ‘‘(1) means an event associated with the oper2 ation of a vehicle, aircraft, or pipeline, which results 

3 in damage to or destruction of the vehicle, aircraft, 

4 or pipeline, or which results in the death of or seri5 ous injury to any person, regardless of whether the 

6 initiating event is accidental or otherwise; and 

7 ‘‘(2) may include an incident that does not in8 volve destruction or damage of a vehicle, aircraft, or 

9 pipeline, but affects transportation safety, as the 

10 Board prescribes by regulation. 

11 ‘‘(b) APPLICABILITY OF DEFINITIONS IN OTHER

12 LAWS.—The definitions contained in section 2101(17a) of 

13 title 46 and section 40102(a) of this title apply to this 

14 chapter.’’. 

15 SEC. 4. GENERAL ORGANIZATION. 

16 The last sentence of section 1111(d) is amended by 

17 striking ‘‘absent’’ and inserting ‘‘unavailable’’. 

18 SEC. 5. ADMINISTRATIVE. 

19 (a) GENERAL AUTHORITY.—Section 1113(a) is 

20 amended— 

21 (1) in paragraph (1)— 

22 (A) by inserting ‘‘and depositions’’ after 

23 ‘‘hearings’’; and 

24 (B) by striking ‘‘subpena’’ and inserting 

25 ‘‘subpoena’’; and 


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1 (2) in paragraph (2) by inserting before the 

2 first sentence the following: ‘‘In the interest of pro3 moting transportation safety, the Board shall have 

4 the authority by subpoena to summon witnesses and 

5 obtain evidence relevant to an accident investigation 

6 conducted under this chapter.’’. 

7 (b) ADDITIONAL POWERS.— 

8 (1) AUTHORITY OF BOARD TO ENTER INTO

9 CONTRACTS AND OTHER AGREEMENTS WITH NON10 PROFIT ENTITIES.—Section 1113(b)(1)(H) is 

11 amended by inserting ‘‘and other agreements’’ after 

12 ‘‘contracts’’. 

13 (2) AUTHORITY OF BOARD TO ENTER INTO AND

14 PERFORM CONTRACTS, AGREEMENTS, LEASES, OR

15 OTHER TRANSACTIONS.—Section 1113(b) is amend16 ed— 

17 (A) by striking paragraph (1)(I) and in18 serting the following: 

19 ‘‘(I) negotiate, enter into, and perform con20 tracts, agreements, leases, or other transactions with 

21 individuals, private entities, departments, agencies, 

22 and instrumentalities of the Government, State and 

23 local governments, and governments of foreign coun24 tries on such terms and conditions as the Chairman 

25 of the Board considers appropriate to carry out the 


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1 functions of the Board and require that such entities 

2 provide appropriate consideration for the reasonable 

3 costs of any facilities, goods, services, or training 

4 provided by the Board.’’; and 

5 (B) by adding at the end the following: 

6 ‘‘(3) LEASE LIMITATION.—The authority of the 

7 Board to enter into leases shall be limited to the 

8 provision of special use space related to an accident 

9 investigation, or for general use space, at an average 

10 annual rental cost of not more than $300,000 for 

11 any individual property.’’. 

12 (3) AUTHORITY OF OTHER FEDERAL AGEN13 CIES.—Section 1113(b)(2) is amended to read as 

14 follows: 

15 ‘‘(2) AUTHORITY OF OTHER FEDERAL AGEN16 CIES.—Notwithstanding any other provision of law, 

17 the head of a Federal department, agency, or instru18 mentality may transfer to or receive from the Board, 

19 with or without reimbursement, supplies, personnel, 

20 services, and equipment (other than administrative 

21 supplies and equipment).’’. 

22 (c) CRITERIA ON PUBLIC HEARINGS.— 

23 (1) IN GENERAL.—Section 1113 is amended by 

24 adding at the end the following: 

25 ‘‘(i) PUBLIC HEARINGS.— 


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1 ‘‘(1) DEVELOPMENT OF CRITERIA.—The Board 

2 shall establish by regulation criteria to be used by 

3 the Board in determining, for each accident inves4 tigation and safety study undertaken by the Board, 

5 whether or not the Board will hold a public hearing 

6 on the investigation or study. 

7 ‘‘(2) FACTORS.—In developing the criteria, the 

8 Board shall give priority consideration to the fol9 lowing factors: 

10 ‘‘(A) Whether the accident has caused sig11 nificant loss of life. 

12 ‘‘(B) Whether the accident has caused sig13 nificant property damage. 

14 ‘‘(C) Whether the accident may involve a 

15 national transportation safety issue. 

16 ‘‘(D) Whether a public hearing may pro17 vide needed information to the Board. 

18 ‘‘(E) Whether a public hearing may offer 

19 an opportunity to educate the public on a safety 

20 issue. 

21 ‘‘(F) Whether a public hearing may in22 crease both the transparency of the Board’s in23 vestigative process and public confidence that 

24 such process is comprehensive, accurate, and 

25 unbiased. 


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1 ‘‘(G) Whether a public hearing is likely to 

2 significantly delay the conclusion of an inves3 tigation and whether the possible adverse ef4 fects of the delay on safety outweigh the bene5 fits of a public hearing.’’. 

6 (2) ANNUAL REPORT.—Section 1117 is amend7 ed— 

8 (A) by striking ‘‘and’’ at the end of para9 graph (5); 

10 (B) by striking the period at the end of 

11 paragraph (6) and inserting ‘‘; and’’; and 

12 (C) by adding at the end the following: 

13 ‘‘(7) an analysis of the Board’s implementation 

14 of the criteria established pursuant to section 

15 1113(i) during the prior calendar year, including an 

16 explanation of any instance in which the Board did 

17 not hold a public hearing for an investigation of an 

18 accident that has caused significant loss of life or 

19 property damage or that may involve a national 

20 transportation safety issue.’’. 

21 (d) ACCIDENTAL DEATH AND DISMEMBERMENT IN22 SURANCE.—Section 1113 is further amended by adding 

23 at the end the following: 

24 ‘‘(j) ACCIDENTAL DEATH AND DISMEMBERMENT IN25 SURANCE.— 


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1 ‘‘(1) AUTHORITY TO PROVIDE INSURANCE.— 

2 The Board may procure accidental death and dis3 memberment insurance for an employee of the 

4 Board who travels for an accident investigation or 

5 other activity of the Board outside the United States 

6 or inside the United States under hazardous cir7 cumstances, as defined by the Board. 

8 ‘‘(2) CREDITING OF INSURANCE BENEFITS TO

9 OFFSET UNITED STATES TORT LIABILITY.—Any 

10 amounts paid to a person under insurance coverage 

11 procured under this subsection shall be credited as 

12 offsetting any liability of the United States to pay 

13 damages to that person under section 1346(b) of 

14 title 28, chapter 171 of title 28, chapter 163 of title 

15 10, or any other provision of law authorizing recov16 ery based upon tort liability of the United States in 

17 connection with the injury or death resulting in the 

18 insurance payment. 

19 ‘‘(3) TREATMENT OF INSURANCE BENEFITS.— 

20 Any amounts paid under insurance coverage pro21 cured under this subsection shall not— 

22 ‘‘(A) be considered additional pay or allow23 ances for purposes of section 5536 of title 5; or 


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1 ‘‘(B) offset any benefits an employee may 

2 have as a result of government service, includ3 ing compensation under chapter 81 of title 5. 

4 ‘‘(4) ENTITLEMENT TO OTHER INSURANCE.— 

5 Nothing in this subsection shall be construed as af6 fecting the entitlement of an employee to insurance 

7 under section 8704(b) of title 5.’’. 

8 SEC. 6. DISCLOSURE, AVAILABILITY, AND USE OF INFORMA9 TION. 

10 (a) TRADE SECRETS, COMMERCIAL INFORMATION, 

11 AND FINANCIAL INFORMATION.—Section 1114(b) is 

12 amended— 

13 (1) by striking the subsection heading and in14 serting the following: ‘‘TRADE SECRETS, COMMER15 CIAL INFORMATION, AND FINANCIAL INFORMA16 TION’’; 

17 (2) in paragraph (1) in the matter preceding 

18 subparagraph (A)— 

19 (A) by inserting ‘‘submitted to the Board 

20 in the course of a Board investigation or study 

21 and’’ after ‘‘information’’; and 

22 (B) by inserting ‘‘, or commercial or finan23 cial information if the information would other24 wise be withheld under section 552(b)(4) of title 

25 5,’’ after ‘‘title 18’’; 


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1 (3) in paragraph (2) by striking ‘‘paragraph (1) 

2 of this subsection’’ and inserting ‘‘subparagraphs 

3 (A) through (C) of paragraph (1)’’; and 

4 (4) by adding at the end the following: 

5 ‘‘(4) ANNOTATION OF CONTROLLED INFORMA6 TION.—Each person submitting to the Board trade se7 crets, commercial information, financial information, or 

8 information that could be classified as controlled under the 

9 International Traffic in Arms Regulations shall appro10 priately annotate the information to indicate the restricted 

11 nature of the information in order to facilitate proper han12 dling of such materials by the Board. In this paragraph, 

13 the term ‘International Traffic in Arms Regulations’ 

14 means those regulations contained in parts 120 through 

15 130 of title 22, Code of Federal Regulations (or any suc16 cessor regulations). 

17 ‘‘(5) DISCLOSURES TO PROTECT PUBLIC HEALTH

18 AND SAFETY.—Disclosures of information under para19 graph (1)(D) may include disclosures through accident in20 vestigation reports, safety studies, and safety rec21 ommendations.’’. 

22 (b) SURFACE VEHICLE RECORDINGS AND TRAN23 SCRIPTS.—The second sentence of section 1114(d)(1) is 

24 amended by striking ‘‘that’’ after ‘‘information’’. 


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1 (c) VESSEL RECORDINGS AND TRANSCRIPTS.—Sec2 tion 1114 is amended— 

3 (1) in subsection (a)(1) by striking ‘‘and (f)’’ 

4 and inserting ‘‘(e), and (g)’’; 

5 (2) in subsection (d)(1) by striking ‘‘or vessel’’; 

6 (3) by redesignating subsections (e) and (f) as 

7 subsections (f) and (g), respectively; and 

8 (4) by inserting after subsection (d) the fol9 lowing: 

10 ‘‘(e) VESSEL RECORDINGS AND TRANSCRIPTS.— 

11 ‘‘(1) CONFIDENTIALITY OF RECORDINGS AND

12 TRANSCRIPTS.—The Board may not disclose publicly 

13 any part of a vessel’s voice or video recorder record14 ing or transcript of oral communications by or 

15 among the crew, pilots, or docking masters of a ves16 sel, vessel traffic services, or other vessels, or be17 tween the vessel’s crew and company communication 

18 centers, related to a marine casualty investigated by 

19 the Board. However, the Board shall make public 

20 any part of a transcript or any written depiction of 

21 visual information the Board decides is relevant to 

22 the marine casualty— 

23 ‘‘(A) if the Board holds a public hearing 

24 on the marine casualty, at the time of the hear25 ing; or 


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1 ‘‘(B) if the Board does not hold a public 

2 hearing, at the time a majority of the other fac3 tual reports on the marine casualty are placed 

4 in the public docket. 

5 ‘‘(2) REFERENCES TO INFORMATION IN MAKING

6 SAFETY RECOMMENDATIONS.—This subsection does 

7 not prevent the Board from referring at any time to 

8 voice or video recorder information in making safety 

9 recommendations.’’. 

10 (d) FOREIGN INVESTIGATIONS.—Section 1114(g) (as 

11 redesignated by subsection (c)(3) of this section) is 

12 amended— 

13 (1) in paragraph (1)(A) by striking ‘‘shall’’ and 

14 inserting ‘‘may’’; and 

15 (2) in paragraph (2) by inserting ‘‘, or other 

16 relevant information authorized for disclosure under 

17 this chapter,’’ after ‘‘information’’. 

18 (e) PARTY REPRESENTATIVES TO NTSB INVESTIGA19 TIONS.— 

20 (1) IN GENERAL.—Section 1114 is further 

21 amended by adding at the end the following: 

22 ‘‘(h) PARTY REPRESENTATIVES TO NTSB INVES23 TIGATIONS.— 

24 ‘‘(1) PROHIBITION ON DISCLOSURE OF INFOR25 MATION.—A party representative to an accident or 


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1 marine casualty investigation of the Board is prohib2 ited from disclosing, orally or in written form, inves3 tigative information, as defined by the Board, to 

4 anyone who is not an employee of the Board or who 

5 is not a party representative to such investigation, 

6 except— 

7 ‘‘(A) as provided in paragraph (2); or 

8 ‘‘(B) at the conclusion of the fact finding 

9 stage of an investigation, which the investi10 gator-in-charge shall announce by formal post11 ing of a notice in the publicly available inves12 tigation docket. 

13 ‘‘(2) EXCEPTION.—If the investigator-in-charge 

14 determines that a disclosure of information related 

15 to an accident or marine casualty investigation is 

16 necessary to prevent additional accidents or marine 

17 casualties, to address a perceived safety deficiency, 

18 or to assist in the conduct of the investigation, the 

19 investigator-in-charge may at any time authorize in 

20 writing a party representative to disclose such infor21 mation under conditions approved by the investi22 gator-in-charge. Such conditions shall ensure that, 

23 until the posting of a formal notice described in 

24 paragraph (1)(B), or until the information disclosed 

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1 able by any other means, neither the entity rep2 resented by the party representative nor any other 

3 person may use such information in preparation for 

4 the prosecution of any claim or defense in litigation 

5 in connection with the accident or marine casualty 

6 being investigated or to make or deny any insurance 

7 claim in connection with such accident or marine 

8 casualty. 

9 ‘‘(3) COMPLIANCE.—The Board shall require 

10 any individual who is a party representative to an 

11 investigation of the Board to sign a party agreement 

12 that includes language informing the individual of 

13 the prohibition in paragraph (1). 

14 ‘‘(4) REPRESENTATIVES OF FEDERAL AGEN15 CIES.—Paragraph (3) shall not apply to an indi16 vidual who is a representative of the Secretary of 

17 Transportation, the Secretary of the department in 

18 which the Coast Guard is operating, or any other 

19 Federal department, agency, or instrumentality par20 ticipating in the investigation and deemed by the 

21 Board to be performing a law enforcement or similar 

22 function. 

23 ‘‘(5) COMPLIANCE WITH FAA STATUTORY OBLI24 GATIONS.—Nothing in this subsection prohibits the 


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1 Federal Aviation Administration from fulfilling stat2 utory obligations to ensure safe operations. 

3 ‘‘(6) PARTY REPRESENTATIVE DEFINED.—In 

4 this subsection, the term ‘party representative’ 

5 means an individual representing a party to an in6 vestigation pursuant to section 831.11 of title 49, 

7 Code of Federal Regulations, as in effect on the date 

8 of enactment of this subsection.’’. 

9 (2) CIVIL PENALTY.—Section 1151 is amend10 ed— 

11 (A) in the section heading by striking 

12 ‘‘Aviation enforcement’’ and inserting 

13 ‘‘Enforcement’’; and 

14 (B) by inserting ‘‘1114(h),’’ before 

15 ‘‘1132,’’ in each of subsections (a), (b)(1), and 

16 (c). 

17 (3) CONFORMING AMENDMENT.—The analysis 

18 for chapter 11 is amended by striking the item relat19 ing to section 1151 and inserting the following: 

‘‘1151. Enforcement.’’. 

20 (f) GAO STUDY OF PARTY PROCESS.— 

21 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Comptroller General 

22 shall conduct a study on the use of party representa23 tives in investigations conducted by the National 

24 Transportation Safety Board. 


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1 (2) CONTENTS.—In conducting the study, the 

2 Comptroller General shall examine, at a minimum— 

3 (A) whether the composition of the party 

4 representatives should be broadened to include 

5 on-going representatives from other entities 

6 that could provide independent, technically 

7 qualified representatives to a Board investiga8 tion; 

9 (B) whether the participation of party rep10 resentatives in a Board investigation results in 

11 any unfair advantages for the entities rep12 resented by the party representatives while the 

13 Board is conducting the investigation; 

14 (C) whether the use of party representa15 tives leads to bias in the outcome of a Board 

16 investigation; and 

17 (D) whether Board investigations would be 

18 compromised in any way absent the participa19 tion and expertise of party representatives. 

20 (3) REPORT TO CONGRESS.—Not later than 18 

21 months after the date of enactment of this Act, the 

22 Comptroller General shall submit to the Committee 

23 on Transportation and Infrastructure of the House 

24 of Representatives and the Committee on Commerce, 

25 Science, and Transportation of the Senate a report 


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1 on the results of the study conducted under this sub2 section, including any recommendations for improve3 ments in the Board’s use of the party representative 

4 process. 

5 SEC. 7. TRAINING. 

6 Section 1115(d) is amended— 

7 (1) by inserting ‘‘theory and techniques and on 

8 transportation safety methods to advance Board 

9 safety recommendations’’ before the period at the 

10 end of the first sentence; 

11 (2) by inserting ‘‘or who influence the course of 

12 transportation safety through support or adoption of 

13 Board safety recommendations’’ before the period at 

14 the end of the second sentence; and 

15 (3) by inserting ‘‘under section 1118(c)(2)’’ be16 fore the period at the end of the third sentence. 

17 SEC. 8. REPORTS AND STUDIES. 

18 (a) STUDIES AND INVESTIGATIONS.—Section 

19 1116(b) is amended— 

20 (1) in paragraph (1) by striking ‘‘carry out’’ 

21 and inserting ‘‘conduct’’; and 

22 (2) by striking paragraph (3) and inserting the 

23 following: 

24 ‘‘(3) prescribe requirements for persons report25 ing accidents, as defined in section 1101(a), that 


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1 may be investigated by the Board under this chap2 ter;’’. 

3 (b) URGENT SAFETY RECOMMENDATIONS AND IN4 TERIM MEASURES.—Section 1116 is amended by adding 

5 at the end the following: 

6 ‘‘(c) URGENT SAFETY RECOMMENDATIONS AND IN7 TERIM MEASURES.— 

8 ‘‘(1) LIMITATION ON STATUTORY CONSTRUC9 TION.—Nothing in this section shall restrict the 

10 Board from— 

11 ‘‘(A) making urgent safety recommenda12 tions, as identified by the Board during an on13 going safety investigation or study, to any de14 partment, agency, or instrumentality of the 

15 Federal Government, a State or local govern16 mental authority, or a person concerned with 

17 transportation safety; or 

18 ‘‘(B) recommending interim measures, as 

19 identified by the Board, to a department, agen20 cy, instrumentality, authority, or person de21 scribed in subparagraph (A) to mitigate risks to 

22 transportation safety pending implementation 

23 of more comprehensive responses by the depart24 ment, agency, instrumentality, authority, or 

25 person. 


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1 ‘‘(2) INCLUSION IN FINAL ACCIDENT RE2 PORTS.—If the Board makes an urgent safety rec3 ommendation or recommends an interim measure 

4 before completing a relevant final accident report, if 

5 any, the urgent safety recommendation or interim 

6 measure shall also be reflected in the final accident 

7 report.’’. 

8 (c) EVALUATION AND AUDIT.—Section 1138(a) is 

9 amended by striking ‘‘conducted at least annually, but 

10 may be’’. 

11 SEC. 9. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS. 

12 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 1118(a) is amended to 

13 read as follows: 

14 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—There is authorized to be appro15 priated for the purposes of this chapter— 

16 ‘‘(1) $107,583,000 for fiscal year 2011; 

17 ‘‘(2) $115,347,000 for fiscal year 2012; 

18 ‘‘(3) $122,187,000 for fiscal year 2013; and 

19 ‘‘(4) $124,158,000 for fiscal year 2014. 

20 Such sums shall remain available until expended.’’. 

21 (b) FEES, REFUNDS, REIMBURSEMENTS, AND AD22 VANCES.—Section 1118(c) is amended— 

23 (1) by striking the subsection heading and in24 serting the following: ‘‘FEES, REFUNDS, REIM25 BURSEMENTS, AND ADVANCES’’; 


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1 (2) in paragraph (1)— 

2 (A) by striking ‘‘and reimbursements’’ and 

3 inserting ‘‘reimbursements, and advances’’; and 

4 (B) by striking ‘‘services’’ and inserting 

5 ‘‘activities, services, and facilities’’; 

6 (3) in paragraph (2)— 

7 (A) in the matter preceding subparagraph 

8 (A) by striking ‘‘or reimbursement’’ and insert9 ing ‘‘reimbursement, or advance’’; and 

10 (B) in each of subparagraphs (A) and (B) 

11 by striking ‘‘activities’’ and all that follows be12 fore the semicolon and inserting ‘‘activities, 

13 services, or facilities for which the fee, refund, 

14 reimbursement, or advance is associated’’; 

15 (4) by redesignating paragraph (3) as para16 graph (4); 

17 (5) by inserting after paragraph (2) the fol18 lowing: 

19 ‘‘(3) ANNUAL RECORD OF COLLECTIONS.—The 

20 Board shall maintain an annual record of collections 

21 received under paragraph (2).’’; and 

22 (6) in paragraph (4) (as redesignated by para23 graph (4) of this subsection) by inserting ‘‘or ad24 vance’’ after ‘‘fee’’. 


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1 SEC. 10. ACCIDENT INVESTIGATION AUTHORITY. 

2 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 1131(a)(1) is amended— 

3 (1) in the matter preceding subparagraph (A) 

4 by striking ‘‘cause or probable cause’’ and inserting 

5 ‘‘causes or probable causes’’; 

6 (2) in subparagraph (C) by striking ‘‘a fatality 

7 or substantial property damage’’ and inserting ‘‘a 

8 fatality (other than a fatality involving a trespasser) 

9 or substantial property damage’’; 

10 (3) in subparagraph (E) by striking ‘‘and’’ at 

11 the end; 

12 (4) in subparagraph (F) by striking the period 

13 at the end and inserting ‘‘; and’’; and 

14 (5) by adding at the end the following: 

15 ‘‘(G) an accident in response to an international 

16 request and delegation under appropriate inter17 national conventions, coordinated through the De18 partment of State and accepted by the Board.’’. 

19 (b) AUTHORITIES OF OTHER AGENCIES.—The sec20 ond sentence of section 1131(a)(3) is amended by insert21 ing ‘‘or relevant to’’ after ‘‘developed about’’. 

22 (c) ACCIDENTS NOT INVOLVING GOVERNMENT MIS23 FEASANCE OR NONFEASANCE.—Section 1131(c) is 

24 amended by adding at the end the following: 

25 ‘‘(3) AUTHORITY OF BOARD REPRESENTA26 TIVE.—In the case of a delegation of authority 


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1 under paragraph (1), the Secretary, or a person des2 ignated by the Secretary, shall have the authority of 

3 the Board, on display of appropriate credentials and 

4 written notice of inspection authority, to enter prop5 erty where the aircraft accident has occurred or 

6 wreckage from the accident is located and to gather 

7 evidence in support of a Board investigation, in ac8 cordance with rules the Board may prescribe.’’. 

9 (d) INCIDENT INVESTIGATIONS.—Section 1131 is 

10 amended by adding at the end the following: 

11 ‘‘(f) INCIDENT INVESTIGATIONS.— 

12 ‘‘(1) MEMORANDUM OF UNDERSTANDING.—Not 

13 later than 90 days after the issuance of final regula14 tions under section 1101(a)(2), the Chairman of the 

15 Board shall seek to enter into a memorandum of un16 derstanding with the Secretary of Transportation 

17 and the head of each modal administration of the 

18 Department of Transportation that sets forth— 

19 ‘‘(A) an understanding of the conditions 

20 under which the Board will conduct an incident 

21 investigation that involves the applicable mode 

22 of transportation; and 

23 ‘‘(B) the roles and responsibilities of the 

24 parties to the memorandum when the Board is 

25 conducting an incident investigation. 


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1 ‘‘(2) UPDATES AND RENEWALS.—Each memo2 randum of understanding required under paragraph 

3 (1) shall be updated and renewed not less than once 

4 every 5 years, unless parties to the memorandum 

5 agree that updating the memorandum is unneces6 sary. 

7 ‘‘(3) BOARD AUTHORITY.—Nothing in this 

8 paragraph negates the authority of the Board to in9 vestigate an incident. 

10 ‘‘(4) INCIDENT DEFINED.—In this subsection, 

11 the term ‘incident’ means an incident described in 

12 regulations issued under section 1101(a)(2).’’. 

13 SEC. 11. MARINE CASUALTY INVESTIGATIONS. 

14 (a) IN GENERAL.—Chapter 11 is amended by insert15 ing after section 1132 the following: 

16 ‘‘§ 1132a. Marine casualty investigations 

17 ‘‘(a) DELEGATION OF AUTHORITY TO COAST

18 GUARD.— 

19 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—In an investigation of a 

20 major marine casualty under section 1131(a)(1)(E), 

21 the Board, with the consent of the Secretary of the 

22 department in which the Coast Guard is operating, 

23 may delegate to the Commandant of the Coast 

24 Guard full authority to obtain the facts of the cas25 ualty. In the case of such a delegation, the ComVerDate Mar 15 2010 01:00 Oct 01, 2010 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00023 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H4714.RFS H4714

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1 mandant, acting through the Commandant’s on2 scene representative, shall have the full authority of 

3 the Board. 

4 ‘‘(2) REQUIRED TRAINING, EXPERIENCE, AND

5 QUALIFICATIONS.—The Board may not make a dele6 gation under paragraph (1) unless the Board deter7 mines that the Commandant’s on-scene representa8 tives have sufficient training, experience, and quali9 fications in investigation, marine casualty recon10 struction, evidence collection and preservation, 

11 human factors, and documentation to act in accord12 ance with the best investigation practices of Federal 

13 and non-Federal entities. 

14 ‘‘(b) PARTICIPATION OF COMMANDANT IN MARINE

15 INVESTIGATIONS.—The Board shall provide for the par16 ticipation of the Commandant of the Coast Guard in an 

17 investigation by the Board of a major marine casualty 

18 under section 1131(a)(1)(E) if such participation is nec19 essary to carry out the duties and powers of the Com20 mandant, except that the Commandant may not partici21 pate in establishing the probable cause of the marine cas22 ualty (other than as provided in section 1131(b)).’’. 

23 (b) CONFORMING AMENDMENT.—The analysis for 

24 chapter 11 is amended by inserting after the item relating 

25 to section 1132 the following: 

‘‘1132a. Marine casualty investigations.’’. 


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1 SEC. 12. INSPECTIONS AND AUTOPSIES. 

2 (a) ENTRY AND INSPECTION.—Section 1134(a) is 

3 amended in the matter preceding paragraph (1)— 

4 (1) by striking ‘‘officer or employee’’ and in5 serting ‘‘officer, employee, or Federal designee’’; and 

6 (2) by inserting ‘‘in the conduct of any accident 

7 investigation or study’’ after ‘‘National Transpor8 tation Safety Board’’. 

9 (b) INSPECTION, TESTING, PRESERVATION, AND

10 MOVING OF AIRCRAFT AND PARTS.—Section 1134(b) is 

11 amended to read as follows: 

12 ‘‘(b) INSPECTION, TESTING, PRESERVATION, AND

13 MOVING OF AIRCRAFT AND PARTS.— 

14 ‘‘(1) INSPECTION AND TESTING.—In inves15 tigating an aircraft accident under this chapter, the 

16 Board may— 

17 ‘‘(A) inspect and test, to the extent nec18 essary, any civil aircraft, aircraft engine, pro19 peller, appliance, or property on an aircraft in20 volved in an accident in air commerce; 

21 ‘‘(B) seize or otherwise obtain any record22 ing device and recording pertinent to the acci23 dent; and 

24 ‘‘(C) require specific information only 

25 available from the manufacturer to enable the 

26 Board to read and interpret any flight paramVerDate Mar 15 2010 01:00 Oct 01, 2010 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00025 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H4714.RFS H4714

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1 eter or navigation storage device or media on 

2 board the aircraft involved in the accident. 

3 ‘‘(2) MOVING OF AIRCRAFT AND PARTS.—Any 

4 civil aircraft, aircraft engine, propeller, appliance, or 

5 property on an aircraft involved in an accident in air 

6 commerce shall be preserved, and may be moved, 

7 only as provided by regulations of the Board. 

8 ‘‘(3) TRADE SECRETS, COMMERCIAL INFORMA9 TION, AND FINANCIAL INFORMATION.—The provi10 sions of section 1114(b) shall apply to materials pro11 vided under paragraph (1)(C) and properly identi12 fied as trade secrets, commercial information, or fi13 nancial information.’’. 

14 (c) AVOIDING UNNECESSARY INTERFERENCE; PRE15 SERVING EVIDENCE.—Section 1134(c) is amended to read 

16 as follows: 

17 ‘‘(c) AVOIDING UNNECESSARY INTERFERENCE; PRE18 SERVING EVIDENCE.— 

19 ‘‘(1) INSPECTION AND TESTING.—In carrying 

20 out subsection (a)(1), an officer or employee may— 

21 ‘‘(A) examine or test any vehicle, vessel, 

22 rolling stock, track, or pipeline component; 

23 ‘‘(B) seize or otherwise obtain any record24 ing device and recording pertinent to the acci25 dent; and 


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1 ‘‘(C) require the production of specific in2 formation only available from the manufacturer 

3 to enable the Board to read and interpret any 

4 operational parameter or navigation storage de5 vice or media on board the vehicle, vessel, or 

6 rolling stock involved in the accident. 

7 ‘‘(2) TRADE SECRETS, COMMERCIAL INFORMA8 TION, AND FINANCIAL INFORMATION.—The provi9 sions of section 1114(b) shall apply to materials pro10 vided under paragraph (1)(C) and properly identi11 fied as trade secrets, commercial information, or fi12 nancial information. 

13 ‘‘(3) CONDUCT OF EXAMINATIONS AND

14 TESTS.—An examination or test under paragraph 

15 (1)(A) shall be conducted in a way that— 

16 ‘‘(A) does not interfere unnecessarily with 

17 transportation services provided by the owner 

18 or operator of the vehicle, vessel, rolling stock, 

19 track, or pipeline component; and 

20 ‘‘(B) to the maximum extent feasible, pre21 serves evidence related to the accident, con22 sistent with the needs of the investigation and 

23 with the cooperation of that owner or oper24 ator.’’. 


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HR 4714 RFS

1 SEC. 13. DISCOVERY AND USE OF COCKPIT AND SURFACE 

2 VEHICLE RECORDINGS AND TRANSCRIPTS. 

3 Section 1154(a)(1)(A) is amended by striking ‘‘; 

4 and’’ and inserting ‘‘; or’’. 

5 SEC. 14. FAMILY ASSISTANCE. 

6 (a) FAMILY ASSISTANCE IN COMMERCIAL AVIATION

7 ACCIDENTS.—Section 41113(b)(7) is amended by insert8 ing before the period at the end the following: ‘‘, and that 

9 at least 60 days before the planned destruction of any un10 claimed possession of a passenger a reasonable attempt 

11 will be made to notify the family of the passenger’’. 

12 (b) FAMILY ASSISTANCE IN COMMERCIAL AVIATION

13 ACCIDENTS INVOLVING FOREIGN CARRIERS.—Section 

14 41313(c)(7) is amended by inserting before the period at 

15 the end the following: ‘‘, and that at least 60 days before 

16 the planned destruction of any unclaimed possession of a 

17 passenger a reasonable attempt will be made to notify the 

18 family of the passenger’’. 

19 SEC. 15. NOTIFICATION OF MARINE CASUALTIES. 

20 Not later than 6 months after the date of enactment 

21 of this Act, the National Transportation Safety Board and 

22 the Secretary of the department in which the Coast Guard 

23 is operating shall jointly prescribe regulations to ensure 

24 the prompt notification and reporting of marine casualties 

25 by the Coast Guard to the Board. 


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1 SEC. 16. USE OF BOARD NAME, LOGO, INITIALS, AND SEAL. 

2 Section 709 of title 18, United States Code, is 

3 amended— 

4 (1) by inserting ‘‘or’’ at the end of the para5 graph immediately preceding the paragraph that be6 gins ‘‘Shall be punished as follows:’’; and 

7 (2) by inserting the following before the para8 graph that begins ‘‘Shall be punished as follows:’’: 

9 ‘‘Whoever, except with the written permission of the 

10 Chairman of the National Transportation Safety Board, 

11 knowingly uses the words ‘National Transportation Safety 

12 Board’, the logo of the Board, the initials ‘NTSB’, or the 

13 official seal of the Board, or any colorable imitation of 

14 such words, logo, initials, or seal, in connection with any 

15 advertisement, circular, book, pamphlet, or other publica16 tion, or any play, motion picture, broadcast, telecast, or 

17 other production, in a manner reasonably calculated to 

18 convey the impression that such advertisement, circular, 

19 book, pamphlet, or other publication, or such play, motion 

20 picture, broadcast, telecast, or other production, is 


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1 approved, endorsed, or authorized by the National Trans2 portation Safety Board;’’. 

Passed the House of Representatives September 28, 

2010. 

Attest: LORRAINE C. MILLER, 

Clerk. 


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