NTSB Investigates Accidents With Drones

Drone pilot Michael Bauer collects vital information

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The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) is the government organization responsible for the investigation of major aircraft and ground vehicle accidents. As advances in technology have continued to develop, the NTSB has started to add aerial drones to its accident investigation toolkit. Cameras and sensors aboard drones are now being used for aerial terrain mapping at aircraft crash sites, including the October 2, 2019 crash of a vintage WW II B-17 bomber at Bradley International Airport in Connecticut. According to NTSB investigator Michael Bauer, drones have been used by the board since 2016. Bauer, a systems engineer and aerospace engineer, is a member of the NTSB team that was sent to the crash site at Bradley International Airport and has investigated dozens of accident scenes with the NTSB drone. He is both a certificated private pilot and a certificated remote pilot, having a Part 107 exemption to operate drones. The NTSB drone team includes a remote pilot in command and a visual observer for each flight who also monitored the local frequency for traffic.