Which trio constitutes the operational factors support for NTSB investigations?

• A. Aircraft Maintenance, Cockpit Resource Management, and Navigation
• B. Human Factors, Meteorology, and Communications
• C. Air Traffic Control, Operations, and Weather
• D. Airspace Management, Flight Planning, and Budgeting

Answer: (C)

Operational factors in NTSB investigations refer to the external system elements that directly influence flight operations. Air Traffic Control represents how the airspace system and controller actions affect routing, sequencing, spacing, and communications with the flight crew. Operations covers the operator side—how procedures, crew resource management, scheduling, and organizational practices shape safety. Weather accounts for the meteorological conditions the crew must handle, which impact decisions and performance. Together, these three describe the external environment and interfaces that influence safety, making them the best fit for the operational factors the NTSB examines. The other groupings mix factors that belong to different categories, such as maintenance, human factors, or budgeting, rather than a cohesive operational factors set.