![The NTSB has revamped CAROL to make it more user friendly and is asking the public to test-fly it. [Credit: Smithsonian Channel]](https://www.flyingmag.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/08/httpswww.flyingmag.comsitesflyingmag.comfilesalaska_aircrash_investigators-1.jpg)
The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) is asking for help to fine-tune its public search platform, known as Case Analysis and Reporting Online (CAROL). The new site is in beta testing, and the NTSB is asking for input from those who use the site.
The NTSB is tasked with investigating all accidents and incidents that involve all forms of transportation, be it on land, sea, rail, or sky. CAROL offers a basic search using criteria such as date, location, and transportation mode.
CAROL contains investigative data and safety recommendations compiled when the NTSB completes its investigation. The reports are available to the public.
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Pilots often use the information for educational purposes. In ground school, for example, the instructor will read an accident report aloud, and ask the class to identify the decision points or “note the holes in the Swiss cheese,” as most accidents are the result of several decisions that create a poor outcome.
How to Find an Accident Report
Accidents can be found by searching for aviation-specific criteria, such as type of aircraft, airport, category, and operation. Event details include approximate date, airport name and airport code, weather, injury level, and phase of flight. You can use keywords for a sentence search as well—for example, “midair” or “power lines.”
For those looking for information about the accident history of a particular aircraft make and model, there is a search function for that as well. You can also perform an aircraft registration search.
A search for an accident, incident, or occurrence that allegedly happened at your airport can be enlightening, as the stories that have been handed down at the flight school and FBO, or by those who live near the airport, can get twisted and exaggerated over time. You may be surprised to learn the story about the airplane that crashed into a house off the edge of the runway didn’t happen, since there is no mention of it in the database and there would be if it really occurred.
Easier to Use
The new CAROL boasts a customized search feature designed to be more intuitive for users, as it will have searchable data fields for more targeted research and analysis. For example, you can now search NTSB “findings”—the agency’s official determinations about factors that contributed to an event—across all modes.
The NTSB noted that during the beta test process users can still access the current version of CAROL to access investigative information, public dockets, and safety recommendations while the new version continues to be developed.
