Since its creation in 1967, the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) has investigated more than 132,000 aviation accidents and thousands of surface transportation accidents. On call 24 hours a day, 365 days a year, NTSB investigators travel throughout the country and to every corner of the world to perform investigations. Thanks to this dedication, the NTSB has become recognized as the world's leading accident investigation agency.

The National Transportation Safety Board is an independent agency changed with determining the probable cause of transportation accidents and promoting transportation safety.

The National Transportation Safety Board is an independent federal agency charged with determining the portable cause of transportation accidents and promoting transportation safety, and assisting victims of transportation accidents and their families.

On Tuesday, July 11, 2006, about 5:06 p.m., central daylight time, the last car of northbound Chicago Transit Authority Blue Line train number 220 derailed in the subway between the Clark/Lake and Grand/Milwaukee stations in downtown Chicago, Illinois. About 1,000 passengers were on board the eight-car rapid transit train. Following the derailment, the train came to a stop, and electrical arcing between the last car and the 600-volt direct current third rail generated smoke. The single operator in the lead car received a number of calls on the train intercom. The operator exited the control compartment, stepped onto the catwalk, and walked beside the train to investigate.

In April 1999, the National Transportation Safety Board began a Truck/Bus Safety Initiative and to date has held four public hearings to obtain information from a variety of sources about the relevant safety issues regarding trucks and buses and on how to address them. Participating in these hearings were representatives from the truck and bus industries, vehicle and equipment manufacturers, labor unions, safety advocacy groups, and various State and Federal agencies.

On January 7, 2007, about 3:45 p.m. eastern standard time, northbound Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority Metrorail train 504 derailed one car as the train traversed a crossover from track 2 to track 1. The accident occurred in an underground tunnel on the Metrorail Green Line near the Mt. Vernon Square 7th Street-Convention Center station at chain marker E2 23+28. The train was traveling about 18 mph as it approached the station. The train consisted of six cars. The fifth car from the head end of the train derailed. About 80 passengers were on board at the time of the accident. Twenty-three passengers were transported to local hospitals for treatment and released. Emergency response personnel from Washington, D.C., provided the on-scene treatment and transportation of the injured passengers.

The National Transportation Safety Board is an independent agency charged with determining the probable cause of transportation accidents and promoting transportation safety. The Board investigates accidents, conducts safety studies, evaluates the effectiveness of other government agencies' programs for preventing transportation accidents, and reviews the appeals of enforcement actions involving airman and seaman certificates issues by the Federal Aviation Administration and the U.S. Coast Guard and civil penalty actions taken by the FAA.