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Job Title:

NTSB-FAA Investigator

Related Job Title:

Accident Investigator, Air Traffic Management Investigator

Job Description:

This taxing position requires an individual to review large amounts of textual documents, numerical data, photographic images, audio tape data, computer data as well as crash site evidence before developing a report that synthesizes and evaluates the information explaining the cause of aviation accidents. This position sometimes requires travel to remote parts of the world, and always requires the slow and painstaking work of collecting evidence from a crash site (in any one of the aforementioned forms). This person must be able to emotionally and physically handle analysis of an aircraft crash site in a objective manner during prolonged workdays. Understanding of aircraft structure and function of its parts is essential as well as an understanding of the science of flight and weather's impact on flight. A complete understanding of the air traffic management system and pilot-to-controller communications is also important.

Areas of Expertise:

• Airframe structure and function
• Pilot-to-controller communications
• Air traffic management system
• Aviation weather
• Science of flight

Interest and Abilities:

• The challenge of solving difficult problems is gratifying.
• Extreme patience to sift through lots of data until connections are made.
• Aviation and the science of flight is always interesting.
• Ability to solve difficult puzzles and logic problems.
• Ability to stay focused on a task regardless of how much data must be read or how much time needs to be spent until the task is completed.

Suggested subjects to study in school:

• Mathematics: algebra and geometry
• Physics
• Aeronautics
• Law enforcement
• Meteorology
• Logic
• Basic computer training
• English composition

Education and Training Needed:

• 2-year or 4-year degree2-year or 4-year degree
• Air traffic management training
• Advanced computer training

You might want to further explore this career by checking out the web sites given below:

What can I do right now?
Spend time playing logic puzzles.
Spend time drawing maps from memory
Learn how to read all the different kinds of aeronautical charts
Take a ground school course
Join Civil Air Patrol (CAP) and participate in their activities
Practice your problem solving skills by engaging in some computer activities that have you review information and assess a situation in a short amount of time e.g. air traffic control simulation, flight simulation
Learn how to read all types of weather charts and maps.
Arrange a visit with an automobile insurance investigator or traffic officer accident investigator to see how they examine a car crash site.

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