Months will pass, headlines will change and the world will vaguely remember something about an airliner accident – somewhere. This article will explain how millions of pieces of ragged metal and fused composites, miles of frayed wiring, jet fuel, water, personal and maintenance records along with millions of memories are pieced together to create one of the most important mosaics aviation can produce – the answer to why an airplane crashed?

How investigators do this is an art form that is misunderstood by the media, public, survivors and unfortunately relatives of accident victims. Hundreds of technically savvy investigators, over tens of thousands of man hours begin to solve the puzzle that has long since faded from the front pages of most daily newspapers.

Primarily accident investigators worldwide methodically produce the complete answers society demanded and speculated about in the days immediately following the tragic event. Simultaneously they produce recommendations in many areas that will prevent future occurrences while placing the conjecture, so oft repeated, in proper perspective.