
Courses Taught
Malcolm Brenner, Ph.D.
Experience
1986-2012: Human Performance Specialist, National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB)
- Investigated human issues related to major transportation accidents as part of NTSB go-team, including issues of fatigue, speech analysis, operator impairment, training, crew resource management (CRM), decision-making, automation, vehicle design, corporate culture, regulatory oversight
- Recipient of NTSB Chairman's Award
- Recipient of NTSB Employee Peer Award
- Instructor at NTSB Training Center on "Human Performance Investigation," "Investigating Human Fatigue," and "Witness Interviewing"
- Served within NTSB as "National Resource Specialist -- Human Performance" and "Chief, Human Performance Division, Office of Aviation Safety"
1978-1986: Research Scientist/Expert Witness/Consultant on Human Performance
- Expert Witness, U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee
- Expert Witness, U.S. Department of Justice
- Consultant for defense and plaintiff clients concerning human performance issues in aviation accident litigation, including disappearance of Malaysian Airlines Flight 370 and general aviation accidents
- Principle Scientist on contracts funded by NASA and U.S. Air Force to evaluate speech as a measure of operator workload
Education
- B.A. with distinction, Boston University, Boston, MA
- M.A. Stanford University, Stanford, CA (Psychology)
- Ph.D. University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI (Psychology)
- Private pilot license
Professional activities
- Chapter President/Member, International Society of Air Safety Investigators
- Invited speaker for Professional Meetings, including:
- International Civil Aviation Authority (ICAO) Regional Human Factors Symposiums
- Federal Aviation Administration (FAA): Aviation Fatigue Management Symposium (2008)
- Author of scientific papers published in Aviation, Space & Environmental Medicine and other professional journals
- Recipient, National Science Foundation (NSF) Graduate Fellowship
- Cited in popular media, including:
- Bill Adair (2002). The Mystery of Flight 427: Inside a Crash Investigation. Washington D.C.: Smithsonian Institution Press
- Malcolm Gladwell (2008). Outliers: The Story of Success. New York: Little, Brown & Company
- Discovery Channel: numerous TV documentary appearances such as in "Terror over Texas" (2012)
Select investigations
- Grounding of the Exxon Valdez oil tanker near Valdez AK (1989): developed new speech analysis technology to examine operator impairment by alcohol
- USAir B-737 accident at Alequippa, PA (1994): longest investigation in Safety Board history, led to redesign/retrofit of Boeing 737 rudder control system
- Midair collision of Aeronaves de Mexico OC-9 with Piper PA-28 over Cerritos CA (1986): Investigation recommendations helped lead to new u.S. regulatory requirement for TCAS collision-avoidance radar
- Crash short of runway at Kirksville, MO of American Connection flight (2004): Investigation recommendations helped lead to new u.S. flight and duty time regulations
- In-flight breakup of Continental Express Airlines flight at Eagle Lake TX (1991): Cited by ICAO for corporate culture investigation
- Foreign authorities: supported numerous foreign investigations as member of U.S. NTSB team