From my experience, this is usually the way an investigation is conducted. As soon as the accident/incident is reported, the NTSB "duty officer", or whatever the official title is these days, will make a determination as to whether the "Go Team" is to be launched. If so, the Investigator In Charge (IIC) will make the initial assignment to the various working groups. They may include the maintenance group; operations group, CVR/DVR group, etc. Each group leader will in turn assign various duties to team members.
It's common for the NTSB, airline, aircraft manufacturer, airport, possible union personnel and others to be represented in
each group as appropriate.
I served on the CVR/DVR working group in both NTSB accident investigations I was a part of. We were all present when the CVR and DVR were opened and we listened to the CVR tapes over and over. As per NTSB protocols, we each had to write down every word that was spoken on the CVR. That's listening to the tapes hundreds of times. Incidentally, it wasn't fun in the second in which both crewmembers were killed instantly.
I suspect that when the initial meetings of each working group were completed, the SWA representatives went back to Dallas and conducted their own in-house investigation based on what they had seen and heard in their working groups. If enough evidence (yes, this
IS a legal proceeding) exists to discipline an employee, there are channels for that to occur. One does NOT have to wait for the "official" NTSB final report to be issued to take required action against the employee. That doesn't mean the employee does not have legal recourse. Of course they do. It's just that the SWA internal investigation and the NTSB investigations have different mandates and different objectives.
When the NTSB final report is issued, we should be able to objectively look at the results of that report with the focus being on preventing future re-occurrences.
Just my two cents, which is worth $.011765 on today's' market close.
G'Day Mates
