On November 16, 2021, the National Transportation Safety Board (“NTSB”) proposed a new commercial space investigation rule that seeks to codify the NTSB's role in investigating commercial space accidents and incidents. Currently, under 49 C.F.R. §831.20, the NTSB has statutory authority to investigate each accident involving civil aircraft in the United States. The proposed rule, 49 C.F.R. §§831.70-831.81, addresses procedures for commercial space investigations stemming from an accident or incident involving commercial space launch or reentry.
Under the proposed rule, the entity responsible for launching the commercial spaceflight must immediately notify the NTSB following an accident or incident. The entity must also preserve wreckage and records pertaining to the launch and maintenance of the vehicle involved. The proposed rule also codifies the NTSB's authority to investigate the accident or incident, determine one or more probable causes, and issue recommendations to prevent future accidents and incidents.
The proposed rule is in response to the burgeoning commercial spaceflight industry. In the past year, Blue Origin, Virgin Galactic, and SpaceX launched successful commercial spaceflights. As the industry matures, commercial spaceflight will become more common, and the unfortunate reality is that accidents and incidents are likely to occur. Whether the NTSB is the leading agency for investigating these accidents and incidents remains to be seen. The comment period for the proposed rule ended on January 18, 2022. The NTSB is in the process of reviewing the comments to determine whether to make any changes to the proposed rule.
Time will tell if the NTSB or another agency will be responsible for leading investigations of commercial spaceflight accidents and incidents. We will continue to monitor this proposed rule and report on any further developments.
Notice of Proposed Rulemaking: “Commercial Space Investigations,” Docket No. NTSB-2021-0008.
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