Monday Accident and Lessons Learned: In Big Accidents, Investigations Get Messy

I the topic of a conversation that occurred after an air traffic controller handed off a flight to another controller part of an investigation … or not?

Can the FAA determine if a controller’s actions were responsible for an accident? Or is the NTSB the only “agency” that can say this?

When a major accident happens with lots of press coverage, politics, union issues, attorneys, inter-agency squabbles, blame, and all sorts of infighting can make an investigation a nightmare.

See this AP story about the crash between a small airplane and a helicopter:

http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5gCJN2Wyd01AZIxooIYmr3QOOzBAAD9A6AL4O0

and see what you think.