The Government Accountability Office (GAO) has issued recommendations to the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) regarding selecting issues to be included in its 2019 Top 10 Most Wanted Safety Improvements.
The GAO said its analysis stemmed from the National Transportation Safety Board Reauthorization Act of 2018’s provision for the GAO to examine NTSB’s methodology for evaluating and selecting recommendations for inclusion in the Most Wanted List.
The GAO determined the NTSB’s guidance does not require the agency to fully document or communicate its decision on which issues to include, and NTSB does not do so.
Greater transparency in how issues are evaluated and selected could enhance users’ understanding of the list and ensure the list rallies the support and resources needed to address long-standing transportation safety challenges, per the GAO.
To that end, the GAO has recommended the Chairman of the Board should require the Safety Recommendation and Communication team to adequately document its evaluations when assessing items to propose for Most Wanted List consideration and take steps to publicly and fully communicate the selection rationale, such as including why NTSB believes an issue is ripe for action to its documentation on its website.
The GAO indicated once it confirms what actions the NTSB has taken in response to the recommendations, updated information would be provided.