(a) A requester may appeal from any adverse determination within 30 days after actual receipt of a denial from the System Manager. The appeal must be in writing addressed to the Chairman, National Transportation Safety Board, 800 Independence Avenue, SW., Washington, DC 20594, and shall contain a statement on the envelope and in the appeal: “Appeal from Privacy Act Adverse Determination.”

(b) The Board shall make a determination with respect to the appeal within 30 working days after the actual receipt of the appeal by the Chairman, except as provided for in “unusual circumstances” infra.

(c)(1) Review of denial of access. If the appeal upholds the denial of access to records, the Board shall: Notify the requester in writing, explaining the Board's determination; state that the denial is a final agency action and that judicial review is available in a district court of the United States in the district where the requester resides or has his principal place of business, or where the agency records are located, or in the District of Columbia; and request a filing with the Board of a concise statement enumerating the reasons for the requester's disagreement with the denial, pursuant to subsection (g) of the Act.

(2) Review of denial of correction or amendment. If the appeal upholds the denial in whole or in part for correction or amendment of the record, the same notification and judicial review privileges described in paragraph (c)(1) of this section shall apply.

(d) If the denial is reversed on appeal, the Board shall notify the requester in writing of the reversal. The notice shall include a brief statement outlining those portions of the individual's record which were not accurate, relevant, timely, or complete, and corrections of the record which were made, and shall provide the individual with a courtesy copy of the corrected record.

(e) Copies of all appeals and written determinations will be furnished by the System Manager to the Board.

(f) In unusual circumstances, time limits may be extended by not more than 10 working days by written notice to the individual making the request. The notice shall include the reasons for the extension and the date on which a determination is expected to be forthcoming. “Unusual circumstances” as used in this section shall include circumstances where a search and collection of the requested records from field offices or other establishments are required, cases where a voluminous amount of data is involved, and cases where consultations are required with other agencies or with others having a substantial interest in the determination of the request.

(g) Statements of Disagreement. (1) Written Statements of Disagreement may be furnished by the individual within 30 working days of the date of actual receipt of the final adverse determination of the Board. They shall be addressed to the Director, Bureau of Administration, National Transportation Safety Board, 800 Independence Avenue, SW., Washington, DC 20594, and shall be clearly marked, both on the statement and on the envelope, “Privacy Act Statement of Disagreement.”

(2) The Director, Bureau of Administration, or his designee, shall be responsible for ensuring that:

(i) The Statement of Disagreement is included in the system of records in which the disputed item of information is maintained; and

(ii) The original record is marked to indicate the information disputed, the existence of the Statement of Disagreement, and its location within the relevant system of records.

(3) The Director, Bureau of Administration, or his designee, may, if he deems it appropriate, prepare a concise Statement of Explanation indicating why the requested amendments or corrections were not made. Such Statement of Explanation shall be included in the system of records in the same manner as the Statement of Disagreement. Courtesy copies of the NTSB Statement of Explanation and the notation of dispute, as marked on the original record, shall be furnished to the individual who requested correction or amendment of the record.

(h) Notices of correction and/or amendment, or dispute. After a record has been corrected or a Statement of Disagreement has been filed, the Director, Bureau of Administration, or his designee, shall within 30 working days thereof, advise all previous recipients of the affected record as to the correction or the filing of the Statement of Disagreement. The identity of such recipients shall be determined pursuant to an accounting of disclosures required by the Act or any other accounting previously made. Any disclosure of disputed information occurring after a Statement of Disagreement has been filed shall clearly identify the specific information disputed and shall be accompanied by a copy of the Statement of Disagreement and a copy of any NTSB Statement of Explanation.

(i) Disclosure to others of records concerning individuals. Neither the Board nor other NTSB personnel shall disclose any record which is contained in a system of records maintained by NTSB, by any means of communication, including oral communication, to any person, or to another Government agency, except pursuant to a written request by, or with the prior written consent, of the individual to whom the record pertains, unless disclosure of the record is:

(1) To the Board and NTSB personnel who have a need for the record in the performance of their duties;

(2) Required under the FOIA;

(3) For a routine use published in the Federal Register;

(4) To the Bureau of the Census for purposes of planning or carrying out a census or survey, or related activity pursuant to the provisions of title 13 of the U.S.C.;

(5) To a recipient who has provided NTSB with adequate advance written assurance that the record will be used solely as a statistical research or reporting record and that the record is transferred in a form that is not identifiable with respect to individuals; 1

1 The advance written statement of assurance shall state the purpose for which the record is requested and certify that it will be used only for statistical purposes. Prior to release under this paragraph, the record shall be stripped of all personally identifiable information and reviewed to ensure that the identity of any individual cannot reasonably be determined by combining two or more statistical records.

(6) To the National Archives of the United States as a record which has sufficient historical or other value to warrant its continued preservation by the U.S. Government, or to the Administrator of the General Services Administration, or his designee, for evaluation to determine whether the record has such value;

(7) To another agency or to an instrumentality of any governmental jurisdiction within or under the control of the United States for a civil or criminal law enforcement activity if the activity is authorized by law, and if the head of the agency or instrumentality has made a written request to NTSB specifying the particular portion of the record desired and the law enforcement activity for which the record is sought; 2

2 A record may be disclosed to a law enforcement agency at the initiative of NTSB if criminal conduct is suspected, provided that such disclosure has been established as a routine use by publication in the Federal Register, and the instance of misconduct is directly related to the purpose for which the record is maintained.

(8) To any person upon a showing of compelling circumstances affecting the health or safety of any individual;

(9) To either House of Congress or, to the extent of matter within its jurisdiction, to any committee, or subcommittee thereof, or to any joint committee of the Congress, or to any subcommittee of such joint committee;

(10) To the Comptroller General, or any of his authorized representatives, in the course of the performance of the duties of the General Accounting Office; or

(11) Pursuant to the order of a court of competent jurisdiction.

(j) Notices of subpoenas. When records concerning an individual are subpoenaed or otherwise disclosed pursuant to court order, the NTSB officer or employee served with the subpoena shall be responsible for assuring that the individual is notified of the disclosure within 5 days after such subpoena or other order becomes a matter of public record. The notice shall be mailed to the last known address of the individual and shall contain the following information: (1) The date the subpoena is returnable; (2) the court in which it is returnable; (3) the name and number of the case or proceeding; and (4) the nature of the information sought.

(k) Notices of emergency disclosures. When information concerning an individual has been disclosed to any person under compelling circumstances affecting health or safety, the NTSB officer or employee who made or authorized the disclosure shall notify the individual at his last known address within 5 days of the disclosure. The notice shall contain the following information: (1) The nature of the information disclosed; (2) the person or agency to whom the information was disclosed; (3) the date of the disclosure; and (4) the compelling circumstances justifying the disclosure.

[41 FR 22358, June 3, 1976, as amended at 41 FR 43154, Sept. 30, 1976]