Getting into Accident Investigation

JeppUpdater said:
Having seen the carnage of a fatal accident and been through the investigative portion of it, I cannot emphasize this enough. It's mentally and emotionally draining to do. It might be different when it's not someone you're familiar with (such as being a full time investigator), but it's not an experience for the faint of mind/heart/stomach.
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I remember the final turning point for me... My boss and I were in a meeting with several other investigators, and they were joking about some of the more infamous trauma events they've encountered. At first I was outraged, thinking what heartless monsters. But they weren't (my boss was a very good and caring person), this was just how they deal with it, somehow depersonalizing the experience. It it a necessary frame of mind for that business, or else I think you'd end up a real mental basket case by the time you retire.
 
Sol Rosenburg said:
I have a friend that "investigates" accidents for an insurance company. Looks at plane ascertain wether it was hangar rash or something stupid. Seems like a good job for the most part.
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Could you contact this friend and have him send me some information on how to get into that?
 
GypsyPilot said:
I remember the final turning point for me... My boss and I were in a meeting with several other investigators, and they were joking about some of the more infamous trauma events they've encountered. At first I was outraged, thinking what heartless monsters. But they weren't (my boss was a very good and caring person), this was just how they deal with it, somehow depersonalizing the experience. It it a necessary frame of mind for that business, or else I think you'd end up a real mental basket case by the time you retire.
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This is a normal response for many many incidents. Sometimes, it's the only thing one can do to cope is to find something funny about it. Vets in combat, EMT's, Nurses, ME Office Body Snatchers and Investigators. All of the same cloth in those situations. As you found out, you either find some way to deal with it, or it will consume you.
 
It's the cycle of life. One we do not know how it will end for all. Either natural or not. I think though you become immune to what you see. We could not do this if it effected us.
 
FlybyLaw said:
It's the cycle of life.
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Not sure what kind of accident scenes you are going to.
:)
 
So no one knows what could be a good stepping stone for getting into Accident Investigation? Perhaps I should try getting in contact with someone currently working for the NTSB as an investigator.
 
saria19 said:
So no one knows what could be a good stepping stone for getting into Accident Investigation? Perhaps I should try getting in contact with someone currently working for the NTSB as an investigator.
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If you can make an internship with NTSB work; don't know your work/life situation and how that would fit in for you, but that is a good one. As well as if you happen to be in the airline route, working for the safety side of your operation and getting started with program management, which will lead to or open the doors for actual field investigation work down the road. Those are two of the more common routes. Military would be out unless you became a military aviator of some sort.
 
MikeD said:
If you can make an internship with NTSB work; don't know your work/life situation and how that would fit in for you, but that is a good one. As well as if you happen to be in the airline route, working for the safety side of your operation and getting started with program management, which will lead to or open the doors for actual field investigation work down the road. Those are two of the more common routes. Military would be out unless you became a military aviator of some sort.
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So I should approach my company about possibly moving me into the safety department instead of the flight department?
 
saria19 said:
So I should approach my company about possibly moving me into the safety department instead of the flight department?
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It's an option, however can you do both? Be in the flight department, but do safety duties as an additional duty? (I don't know how your company operates). If they are indeed separate, that may not be an option. However, having that experience on your resume definitely doesn't hurt if that's a direction you're serious about going. That can open doors to insurance companies, etc, or even federal work with FAA or NTSB doing investigations. FAA does accident investigations too, namely those delegated to them from the NTSB, often light aircraft, smaller accidents that the NTSB doesn't have time to take.
 
MikeD said:
It's an option, however can you do both? Be in the flight department, but do safety duties as an additional duty? (I don't know how your company operates). If they are indeed separate, that may not be an option. However, having that experience on your resume definitely doesn't hurt if that's a direction you're serious about going. That can open doors to insurance companies, etc, or even federal work with FAA or NTSB doing investigations. FAA does accident investigations too, namely those delegated to them from the NTSB, often light aircraft, smaller accidents that the NTSB doesn't have time to take.
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I'm trying to get out of Flight Ops at the moment and get my Masters in Aviation Safety so that wouldn't bother me. What concerns me is what if my company has no room for me there currently. I'm not well enough to fly the line anymore but that hasn't stopped them from trying to convince me to continue.
 
saria19 said:
I'm trying to get out of Flight Ops at the moment and get my Masters in Aviation Safety so that wouldn't bother me. What concerns me is what if my company has no room for me there currently. I'm not well enough to fly the line anymore but that hasn't stopped them from trying to convince me to continue.
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If you're trying to get out of flight ops anyway, that could help with the decision. I figure you need to at least inquire first and know where that gets you or where you stand then, to help with the what-if. Again, not knowing the specific needs of the company or any associated politics, that's just my general take.
 
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