"Kyle Boatright" wrote in message
. ..

"Matt Barrow" wrote in message
...

Of course, a fatal accident is going to get priority over a
fender-bender.

It's also going to be MUCH MORE thorough. Major components are going to
be subject to forensic testing, records are going to be very closely
scrutinized. Quite likely depositions are going to be taken rather than
just witness statements. The accident scene will be highly scrutinized.

The document you read on the NTSB site will be a composite of perhaps a
couple/several thousand pages of investigative notes, from several
investigators.

NOTE: It ain't like on TV where they're done in 45 minutes with 15
minutes worth of commercials.

This is a true statement in the world of certified aircraft, but crashes
of experimentals do not typically benefit from in-depth investigations.


Fatal accidents do. Maybe not as much as certified, since much of the
forensics is left out, but note how many fatal accidents involving certified
aircraft took well over a year to a year and a half to reach a final
conclusion. This one that Jay mentioned has been going on seven months IIRC.

IIUC, the NTSB won't even come out for a non-injury accident involving a
home-built, and won't do much more than a cursory investigation for a HB
accident with minor injuries.

Two things the NTSB will look at are pilot error and mechanical failure. In
a HB, they don't really look at the mechanicals, but they will look at the
pilots actions. Is this not true?