As investigator in charge of the May 11 ValuJet crash in the Florida Everglades, he became a celebrity, standing behind a thicket of TV microphones to explain the findings of a 20-member NTSB team. Feith recently spoke to The Leader about his job and Embry-Riddle's influence on his career. We're promoting safety through accident investigations. That's the whole purpose.
Every accident has aspects that can lead to changes in regulations.
I've been fortunate in being in the right places at the right times. We were hard-hitting in looking for root causes of accidents, and we had enough evidence to make recommendations for change. We use the media to our advantage. Since we're not a regulatory body, we depend highly on them and on public support to generate change. We identify a situation and take it to the public, and the outcry puts pressure on the FAA and other regulatory agencies.