To search the NTSB Aviation Accident Data Base, enter your selection criteria into one or more of the boxes on the search form. Some boxes (State, for example) contain a list of choices from which you may select. For other boxes, enter the text to search:

• use % as a wildcard to search on any character combination
• use _ as a wildcard to search on any single letter
• text searches are not case-sensitive
• a match may "contain" the specified text and does not necessarily begin with it
• embedded spaces may be considered as part of the text to match

Some text boxes (aircraft make and model, for example) include an auto-complete function that will display matching standardized values after typing the first three characters of the aircraft make and/or model name.

 

See additional search tips below. To be selected, a record must meet all of the criteria you have entered.

Select the display options you want to use and click on the [Submit Query] button. When the search is completed, you will see the number of records found at the top of the results table. Basic information about the matching records will be displayed, and may be spread over multiple pages. The left-most column of the table or list will contain links to accident synopses for most cases. The second column provides a link to extended information in specially-formatted PDF reports. Links in these columns are an indication of the type of information contained in the synopsis. Where the link is "Preliminary", the synopsis is based on the preliminary accident report and should be treated as preliminary information, subject to change. Where the link is "Factual", the synopsis contains information from the factual report. Where the link is "Probable Cause", the synopsis contains information from the final report and includes the probable cause. Synopses may not be available for dates before 1993, cases under revision, or accidents and incidents where the NTSB did not have primary investigation responsibility.

A link to a full, extended narrative is available following the synopsis under "Factual" or "Probable Cause" links selected from the first column.

You may download an XML file containing all query records by clicking the Download Query Data button on the bottom of the query page, or by clicking the Download XML link on the top of the results page.  You may also download a Text (CSV) file containing results of your query by clicking the Download Delimited Text button on the bottom of the query page, or by clicking the Download Delimited Text link on the top of the results page.

It is also possible to download an XML file or a Text file containing all database records by selecting the Download All (XML) or the "Download All (Text)" link at the top of the query page.

For assistance conducting searches of the aviation accident database, contact [email protected]. For a description of data in the XML or Text (CSV) download files please refer to the data dictionary.

Start and End Date Range

Use the Event Start Date and Event End Date fields to limit the search to the time period between two dates. Clicking in either fieldwill bring up a calendar control. Query start and end dates can be specified using the calendar control or by typing the date. . To limit the search to one specific date, enter that date in both boxes.

Month

You may also select accidents occurring in only one month. When used in conjunction with the Event Start and Event End Date fields you can select records occurring during the same month over several years.

City

You may type either the entire name or (preferably) only part of the name of a city or a place (such as Grand Canyon). The location you seek may be coded as the name of a nearby town or place; for example, Aliquippa rather than Pittsburgh. When looking for accidents near a town that is close to a State border, you may need to search for accidents in one State, then the other State.

State and Country

Each record in the NTSB data base contains codes identifying the State and Country location of an event. There are codes for all of the States in the USA, some bodies of water, US territories and possessions, foreign countries, a catch-all "other foreign country", and "Unknown". (Only a limited number of foreign accidents are included; see Foreign Investigations for further information.) The default selection is "Anywhere", but you may limit your search to records that contain only one of the specific codes.

Investigation Type

All investigations in the online aviation accident database are defined as either "Incident" and "Accident." An accident is defined as "an occurrence associated with the operation of an aircraft which takes place between the time any person boards the aircraft with the intention of flight and all such persons have disembarked, and in which any person suffers death or serious injury, or in which the aircraft receives substantial damage". An incident is defined as "an occurrence other than an accident, associated with the operation of an aircraft, which affects or could affect the safety of operations." The Safety Board investigates only selected incidents, including them in the database in the same form as accidents. Typically, incidents do not involve the level of injury or damage characteristic of an accident.

Injury Severity

You may use this field to limit the search to records matching the degree of severity you select. All "accidents" in the online aviation accident database are classified as either ""Non-Fatal" or "Fatal". (There is no injury severity classification for "incidents".)

Aircraft Category

You may use this field to limit the search to records involving aircraft of one of the categories listed. Note: some ultralights are listed as airplanes in the database.

Amateur Built

Selecting "All" will select records that involve manufactured and amateur built aircraft. Selecting "Yes" will limit the selected records only to those that involve amateur built aircraft.

Aircraft Make and Model

Enter text identification for make and/or model; order is not significant. After typing three or more characters in the make and model fields, an auto-fill will display matching standardized values. You may either select one of the standardized values, or specify you own text identification. The query will search against both the list of standardized make and model names, and the free text data entered for each case. To be most inclusive, do not be overly restrictive in specification. Examples:

Entering donne rather than selecting a specific make or model name returns records involving aircraft manufactured by McDonnell Douglas, as well as several variations of the correct spelling

Boeingreturns "Boeing 747" as well as "Boeing B-747-200"

[cessna] returns "Cessna 182A", "Cessna 182E", and similar aircraft

If your results are unexpected, compare your character strings with the selected records or try entering a partial name rather than selecting a specific make or model name.

Registration

Enter all or part of the registration number. Include hyphens (or wildcard) when appropriate. For example, searching for "HI6" and "HI-6" registration numbers returns different results. A leading "N" for US-registered aircraft is not necessary but can be used for differentiation.

Aircraft Damage

You may use this field to limit the search to records matching the degree of aircraft damage you select. Options include Minor, Substantial, and Destroyed. Refer to Title 49 Code of Federal Regulations 830.2 for definitions of aircraft damage.

Number of Engines and Engine Type

Use the Number of Engines and Engine Type fields to limit the selected records to events involving aircraft with a specified number and/or type of engine(s). The engine type field includes a dropdown box specify options such as reciprocating, turbo fan, or turbo prop.

Operation

Use this field to limit the selected records to specific types of revenue air carrier operations, all revenue air carrier operations, or general aviation (which includes non-revenue air carrier operations). Briefly stated, Part 121 applies to air carriers operating large transport category aircraft. Part 135 applies to air carrier operations of smaller aircraft. Part 129 refers to air carrier operations of foreign air carriers.

Purpose of Flight

For operations other than air carrier, use this field to specify the purpose of flight. Examples include personal, instructional, or business flying. The list of options was expanded in 2005 to include additional categories such as firefighting, and parachute drop that were not used for cases that occurred during earlier years.

Scheduled

Use this field to specify scheduled or nonscheduled Part 135 and Part 121 air carrier operations. Scheduled Part 121 includes most passenger airline operations, and Nonscheduled Part 121 includes cargo operations in large aircraft. Scheduled Part 135 is commonly referred to as "commuter", whereas Nonscheduled, or On-Demand Part 135 are sometimes referred to as "air taxi" or charter operations.

Air Carrier

Use this field to narrow the selection to air carrier records that contain your specific character string. To improve your chances of finding all records of interest, do not be more restrictive than necessary; for example, do not enter delta airlines when delta will suffice. The airline names are not presently standardized, so entering a character string that contains only a portion of the airline name is more likely to yield the record(s) you seek than would a character string that attempts to make an exact match.

NTSB Accident Number

Each investigation is assigned a unique 10- or 11- character "accident number" by the NTSB. It begins with the designator of the investigating office (for example, LAX), followed by the two-digit fiscal year, followed by a code for the type of investigation. The remainder of the string is usually a sequence number. Although some offices have been consolidated over the years (e.g. SEA and LAX into WPR), the location designator used at the time the case was initially created is still in effect.

Report Status

You may use this field to limit the search to records matching the report status. Briefly stated, Preliminary synopsis is based on the preliminary accident report and should be treated as preliminary information, subject to change. Factual, the synopsis contains information from the factual report. Probable Cause, the synopsis contains information from the final report and includes the probable cause.

Start and End Probable Cause Issue Date Range

Use the Probable Cause Issue Start Date and End Date fields to limit the cases completed between two dates. Clicking on the box will bring up a calendar control. Query start and end dates can be specified using the calendar control or by typing the date.. To limit the search to one specific date, enter that date in both boxes.

Airport Name and Airport Code

Use these fields to do text search for events occurring on or near a particular airport. Enter text identification or a partial name for the airport name or code.

After typing three or more characters in the airport code field, an auto-fill will display the matching airport code and name. The standardized code lookup includes most airports in the United States. You may either select one of the standardized values, or specify you own text identification.

String Search

Use this field to do a keyword search of the narrative text fields.

Text Search Tips

 

Weather Condition

Use this field to limit the query based on the prevailing weather conditions at the time of the event. Options include Visual Meteorological Condition (VMC) and Instrument Meteorological Conditions (IMC).

Broad Phase of Flight

You can limit the query to only those event occurring during a particular phase of flight. Most accident and incident events involve several notable events that may occur during different phases of flight. This field limits the query based on events occurring during the first accident phase.

Latitude and Longitude Search

Since 2002, NTSB records of accidents and incidents occurring in the United States include Latitude and Longitude information. However, in some cases the latitude/longitude coordinates are estimated from the nearest town or airport rather than the precise location of the accident or incident site. After entering the latitude and longitude of a point of interest, use the within _miles drop down to find cases within 25, 50, or 100 miles of that point. Values should be entered in a degrees.decimal-degrees format (e.g. 77.3778).