The origin of the NTSB was in the Air Commerce Act of 1926 , which assigned the United States Department of Commerce responsibility for investigating domestic aviation accidents . Before the NTSB , the FAA ( then the CAA ) independence was questioned as it was investigating itself and would be biased to find external faults , coalescing with the 1931 crash killing Notre Dame coach Knute Rockne . The USA 's first " independent " '' Air Safety Board '' was established in 1938 : it lasted only fourteen months . In 1940 , this authority was transferred to the Civil Aeronautics Board 's newly formed Bureau of Aviation Safety
1931 crash
1931 Transcontinental & Western Air Fokker F-10 crash
National Transportation Safety Board