NTSB Aviation Accident Scraper

Scrape the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) public CAROL database of U.S. aviation accidents and incidents. Search over 180,000 aviation cases by NTSB number, registration number, operator, airport, location, date range, aircraft category, injury severity, damage, FAR part, phase of flight, and more — or browse aviation safety recommendations issued to the FAA and other agencies. HTTP-only via NTSB's public query API. No auth, no cookies, no proxy required.

What this actor does

• Two modes: accidents (aviation accident/incident case search) and safetyRecommendations (safety recommendations to the FAA and other addressees)
• 30+ filters covering the full NTSB CAROL query-builder surface — location, aircraft (make/model/serial/engines/amateur-built), operation type (GA/air medical/sightseeing/second pilot), weather, event category, phase of flight, lead investigating agency, detailed recommendation status/addressee category, and more
• Date range filters for event date (accidents) and date issued (recommendations)
• Sortable by event date, NTSB number, city, state, country, highest injury level, aircraft registration, aircraft category, or date issued
• Direct links to the NTSB CAROL case detail page for every record
• Empty fields are omitted — every record only contains fields NTSB actually reported

Output: per-accident (mode = accidents)

• ntsbNumber — NTSB case number, e.g. ERA24LA084
• caseKey — internal NTSB case key (Mkey)
• eventId — NTSB event ID
• completionStatus — Completed or In-work
• eventType — Accident, Incident, or Occurrence
• isStudy — whether the case is a special study
• eventDate — ISO date/time of the event
• city, state, country
• reportNumber
• registrationNumber — aircraft tail number (N-number)
• aircraftMake, aircraftModel
• additionalAircraft — for cases involving more than one aircraft (e.g. midair collisions), an array of {registrationNumber, aircraftMake, aircraftModel} for every aircraft beyond the first
• highestInjuryLevel — Fatal, Serious, Minor, or None
• injuryOnGroundCount, injuryOnboardCount
• hasSafetyRecommendation — whether a safety recommendation resulted from this case
• investigationMode — always Aviation
• reportType, mostRecentReportType
• docketPublishDate, originalPublishedDate, reportDate
• sourceUrl — link to the NTSB CAROL case detail page
• recordType: "aviationAccident", scrapedAt

Output: per-recommendation (mode = safetyRecommendations)

• recommendationId — safety recommendation ID, e.g. A-70-037
• status — detailed status, e.g. Closed - Acceptable Action
• investigationMode — always Aviation
• recommendationText — full recommendation text
• codingMode, codingTier1, codingTier2 — NTSB safety-issue coding taxonomy
• relatedNtsbNumber — the accident case this recommendation stems from
• caseKey
• addresseeName — agency/organization the recommendation was sent to
• dateClosed
• eventDate, city, state, country
• reportNumber, reportNumberCleaned
• sourceUrl — link to the NTSB CAROL case detail page
• recordType: "safetyRecommendation", scrapedAt

Input

Field	Type	Default	Description
mode	string	accidents	accidents / safetyRecommendations
ntsbNumber	string	–	NTSB number contains (mode=accidents)
registrationNumber	string	–	Aircraft N-number contains (mode=accidents)
operatorName	string	–	Operator/airline name contains (mode=accidents)
airportName	string	–	Airport name contains (mode=accidents)
city	string	–	City contains (mode=accidents)
state	string	–	U.S. state/region select (mode=accidents)
country	string	–	Country name, e.g. United States (mode=accidents)
eventDateFrom / eventDateTo	string	–	Event date range (mode=accidents)
highestInjury	string	–	Fatal / Serious / Minor / None
eventType	string	–	Accident / Incident / Occurrence
aircraftCategory	string	–	Airplane, Helicopter, Glider, etc.
engineType	string	–	Reciprocating, Turbo fan, Electric, etc.
damage	string	–	Destroyed / Substantial / Minor / None
farPart	string	–	FAA regulation part (Part 91, 121, 135, …)
flightOperationType	string	–	Personal, Business, Instructional, etc.
flightServiceType	string	–	Passenger / Cargo / Mail
flightScheduledType	string	–	Scheduled / Non-scheduled
weatherCondition	string	–	VMC / IMC
eventCategory	string	–	CICTT event category (Loss of Control, CFIT, …)
phaseOfFlight	string	–	Takeoff, Landing, Enroute, etc.
openClosedStatus	string	–	Investigation Completed / In-work
minOnboardInjuries	int	–	Minimum onboard injury/fatality count
aircraftMake	string	–	Aircraft manufacturer contains, e.g. Cessna
aircraftModel	string	–	Aircraft model contains, e.g. 172
registeredOwner	string	–	Aircraft registered owner name contains
airportId	string	–	Nearest airport identifier/code contains, e.g. ORD
serialNumber	string	–	Aircraft manufacturer serial number contains
numberOfEngines	int	–	Exact number of engines (1–8)
amateurBuilt	string	–	Homebuilt/amateur-built aircraft only, or exclude
generalAviationFlight	string	–	General aviation flights only, or exclude
airMedicalFlight	string	–	Air medical (air ambulance) flights only, or exclude
commercialSightseeing	string	–	Commercial sightseeing flights only, or exclude
secondPilotPresent	string	–	Whether a second pilot was onboard
leadAgency	string	–	Lead investigating agency: NTSB, Other, US Coast Guard
recKeyword	string	–	Recommendation text contains (mode=safetyRecommendations)
addresseeName	string	–	Addressee agency contains (mode=safetyRecommendations)
recStatus	string	–	Open / Closed
recPriority	string	–	Urgent / Non-urgent
recDetailedStatus	string	–	Detailed 15-value recommendation status (e.g. Open - Await Response, Closed - Superseded)
addresseeCategory	string	–	Type of organization addressed (Federal Government, Private Industry, Airport, etc.)
isReiterated	string	–	Recommendations NTSB has reiterated to the addressee, or exclude
recDateIssuedFrom / recDateIssuedTo	string	–	Date issued range (mode=safetyRecommendations)
sortBy	string	event date	Sort column: event date, NTSB number, city, state, country, highest injury, aircraft registration, aircraft category, or date issued (recommendations)
sortDescending	boolean	true	Sort newest first
maxItems	int	50	Hard cap on emitted records (1–5000)
proxyConfiguration	object	Apify proxy	Not required for normal use since NTSB CAROL is publicly accessible; only engaged automatically if the upstream API returns a block response

Example: recent fatal accidents in California

{
  "mode": "accidents",
  "state": "CA",
  "highestInjury": "Fatal",
  "eventDateFrom": "2023-01-01",
  "maxItems": 100
}

Example: helicopter accidents under Part 135

{
  "mode": "accidents",
  "aircraftCategory": "HELI",
  "farPart": "135",
  "maxItems": 50
}

Example: open safety recommendations to the FAA

{
  "mode": "safetyRecommendations",
  "addresseeName": "FAA",
  "recStatus": "open",
  "maxItems": 100
}

Example: search by aircraft registration

{
  "mode": "accidents",
  "registrationNumber": "N12345",
  "maxItems": 10
}

Example: amateur-built Cessna accidents

{
  "mode": "accidents",
  "aircraftMake": "Cessna",
  "amateurBuilt": "true",
  "maxItems": 50
}

Example: open safety recommendations awaiting response from federal agencies

{
  "mode": "safetyRecommendations",
  "recDetailedStatus": "11",
  "addresseeCategory": "3",
  "maxItems": 100
}

Use cases

• Aviation safety research — analyze accident trends by aircraft category, phase of flight, or event type
• Insurance & risk assessment — pull accident history for specific aircraft registrations or operators
• Journalism — investigate accidents at specific airports or by specific operators
• Regulatory compliance — track open safety recommendations affecting your organization
• Academic studies — bulk-export aviation accident data for statistical analysis
• Aircraft due-diligence — check an N-number's accident/incident history before purchase

FAQ

What is the data source? NTSB's public CAROL (Case Analysis Reporting Online) database at data.ntsb.gov — the same system that powers the public search UI at ntsb.gov. This actor calls the same public JSON query API the website itself uses.

Is this affiliated with the NTSB? No. This is an independent, third-party actor built on NTSB's publicly accessible query API.

How far back does the data go? NTSB's aviation accident database goes back to the 1960s for older, briefer records, with full detail from the 1980s onward.

How fresh is the data? Data reflects NTSB's live CAROL database, updated continuously as investigations progress.

Why are some fields missing on a record? NTSB doesn't populate every field for every case (e.g., older or still-open investigations may lack some details). Empty fields are omitted rather than returned as null.

What does mode=accidents vs mode=safetyRecommendations return? accidents returns individual aviation accident/incident case records. safetyRecommendations returns the formal safety recommendations NTSB issues to agencies like the FAA as a result of investigations — a distinct, smaller dataset.

Can I filter by both state and country? Yes — filters combine with AND logic. Combining a narrow location filter with a narrow date range may return 0 results if no matching cases exist; that's expected NTSB data, not an actor error.

Is a proxy required? No. NTSB CAROL's API is publicly accessible without a proxy. The actor only engages the free Apify AUTO proxy automatically if the upstream API ever returns a block response.