---
kind: "section"
citation: "49 C.F.R. § 831.9"
title: "49"
number: "831.9"
heading: "Authority during investigations."
url: "https://uscodex.org/cfr/49/831.9"
---

# §831.9. Authority during investigations.

- (a) **General authority of investigators.** To carry out the statutory responsibilities of the agency, an NTSB investigator may—
  - (1) Conduct hearings;
  - (2) Administer oaths;
  - (3) Require, by subpoena or otherwise, the production of evidence and witnesses;
  - (4) Enter any property where an accident subject to the NTSB's jurisdiction has occurred, or wreckage from any such accident is located, and take all actions necessary to conduct a complete investigation of the accident;
  - (5) Inspect, photograph, or copy any records or information (including medical records pursuant to [paragraph (b)(2)](#b-2) of this section), and correspondence regardless of the date of their creation or modification, for the purpose of investigating an accident;
  - (6) Take possession of wreckage, records or other information if it determines such possession is necessary for an investigation; and
  - (7) **Question any person having knowledge relevant to a transportation accident.**
- (b) **Subpoenas.** The NTSB may issue a subpoena, enforceable in Federal District Court, to obtain testimony or evidence related to an accident, including but not limited to personal electronic devices.
  - (1) **The NTSB's authority to issue subpoenas includes access to medical records and specimens.**
  - (2) For purposes of the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 (HIPAA), Public Law 104-191, and the regulations promulgated by the DHHS, [45 CFR 164.501](/cfr/45/164.501.md) et seq., the NTSB is a “public health authority” to which protected health information may be disclosed by a HIPAA “covered entity” without the prior written authorization of the subject of the records. In addition, the NTSB may issue a subpoena to gain access to such information.
- (c) **Examination of evidence.** In accordance with [49 U.S.C. 1134(d)](/usc/49/1134.md?p=d), the NTSB has exclusive authority to decide timing, manner and method of testing and examination of evidence, and extraction of data.

## Notes

### Authority

Authority: 49 U.S.C. 1113(f). Section 831.15 also issued under Pub. L. 101-410, 104 Stat. 890, amended by Pub. L. 114-74, sec. 701, 129 Stat. 584 (28 U.S.C. 2461 note).

### Source

Source: 82 FR 29685, June 29, 2017, unless otherwise noted.