In October 2020, the National Transportation Safety Board upgraded the search capabilities on its website.
“We have developed a new query tool, CAROL (Case Analysis and Reporting Online), which enhances the website’s search capabilities for our investigations and safety recommendations,” officials announced. “Future enhancements will include improved access to docket items as well.”
Want to conduct a search, but not search how to go about it? Read more below:
Investigations
For aviation investigation information covering the years 1962 to 2007, use the legacy Aviation Database Query.
For aviation investigations since 2008, with the exception of mid-air collisions, use CAROL.
Safety Recommendations
CAROL replaces the previous Safety Recommendations Database search. You can search all of the NTSB’s 15,000 safety recommendations using CAROL. To learn more about searching recommendations, visit the NTSB’s Safety Recommendations Page.
Investigation Dockets
To search for an accident docket, use the existing docket query. In the future, docket search capability will be covered within the CAROL tool, according to NTSB officials.
Enhanced Searches
CAROL enhances the database search process on NTSB.gov. It has three query options:
- KEYWORD SEARCH, which allows you to search on one of the six fields listed in the search box.
- BASIC SEARCH, which allows you to search any of the seven available fields.
- QUERY BUILDER, which allows you to build custom queries by selecting from a variety of investigation and recommendation fields. You can select whether to display results that match any or all of your individual query rules, or group your rules so results match any or all of the multiple rules in your grouping.
CAROL includes both investigative and recommendation data. When using these search options, you first choose whether to view the results as a list of investigations or recommendations.
You can also search popular topics, such as safety recommendations associated with the Most Wanted List (MWL). You may find those under PUBLISHED SEARCHES on the CAROL landing page.
See the CAROL Guide for more information on using the QUERY BUILDER.
The CAROL query works with browsers such as Chrome and Microsoft Edge, but will not function in legacy versions of Internet Explorer.
Marjorie hit the nail on the head; used to go to the page you pick your year and you pick your month and you find your accident how difficult was that?
Now it’s as if you’re forced to the query page which you didn’t select and didn’t want to be at. Absolutely ridiculous but typical of the gov. They did the same thing with FCC NAL inquiries. These were the folks that got in trouble with the FCC to be to be just you have a month and go scroll down the thing and it didn’t matter if it was an entity or person as the Violator was listed then you could read the synopsis of the case PDF or text back up on screen and there were all your choices right in front of you again not having to make any kind of query whatsoever set any sort of parameters just having the information right there for you to click on and open the darn link
I can’t imagine how you could have made this informational service less user friendly. Not even the monthly aviation database lists function normally / easily. You have made “new and improved” a great oxymoron. There is no intuitive function here.
I used to keep up with current accident data but now with CAROL, my IPad will not work for the Safari Browser I’m using is useless withe CAROL. I GUESS THEY DONT CARE ABOUT us taxpayers who partially pay the way for the NTSB. . Another sad story about our country’s direction. Thanks NTSB for lessening my standard of living.
☹️👎🏾
I’m a long time user of the NTSB aviation accident db. I’ve found the “new and improved” search tools in Carol are less robust, less useful, and overall require more queries and effort to elicit the same information.
Yes, there are more packaged queries, but… the interesting results are from three simple words: “I wonder if…” and then using the key word search.