NTSB Special Reports, Investigations and Recommendations
From time-to-time when there are an unusually high number of accidents in a particular category of operations, the NTSB conducts a special investigation into the causes, and then issues a special report on the findings. Here I have have links to those reports in PDF format for your review and information.
Due to the high number of Robinson main rotor related accidents during their early years of operation after they came on the scene in 1979, the NTSB saw fit to investigate and this report was issued.
Due to the high number of Public Service accidents in all levels of government aircraft operations, the NTSB conducted an investigation and this report was issued.
Due to the high number of EMS, especially HEMS accidents, the NTSB conducted an investigation and issued this report in 2006, then followed that up with a special investigation hearing in 2009 and issued this report after the worst accident year on record for HEMS in 2008.
The NTSBs special reports and investigations are interesting, and make for good reading, but I find it especially interesting that they have all this time to make these special investigations and reports, but they don't have time to complete accident reports in any kind of a timely manner. It takes many years to get reports completed, but then of course we are talking about a government agency, and they are highly inefficient on their best day. Investigators never show up at accidents where a fatality hasn't occured, and therefore don't actually investigate those accidents. Instead, they conduct phone interviews and take reports from other sources. Even conducting their so called investigations that way, they are far less than efficient, and it takes years to get even the simplest reports completed. END.