Originally Posted by rickair7777

The NTSB hires aviation investigators off the street, I think you need 400 hours flight time and some relevant technical education or experience. By relevant I mean engineering, meteorology, maintenance, etc. Most folks start working GA accidents, and then move up to bigger stuff. The jobs openings are local, ie you go wherever the opening exists. They train you on investigations techniques, so you do not need prior training on that...you need some technical knowledge relevant to aviation (more than just flight ops, those are a dime-a-dozen).

I imagine a degree or coursework in accident investigation would help, but underlying technical expertise is still very important. Besides a relevant degree, I think an A&P might qualify you too.

Google it, you can probably find some job openings.

Like Paul mentioned, if you work for a union airline (especially ALPA), you can volunteer your time and get training by the union on investigation procedures...you will not be the main investigator, but you will be privy to the process. Obviously the union guys only work on the rare occasion when an airliner goes down.