Sean Payne

Sean Payne joined the NTSB in 2013 as an engineer in the Vehicle Recorder Division of the NTSB's Office of Research and Engineering. Sean is responsible for the recovery of voice and flight data from "Black Boxes." At the Vehicle Recorder Division, Sean is responsible for extracting data from damaged devices from accidents in all modes of transportation in support of various NTSB investigations. He has since participated in hundreds of investigations, including countless light aircraft General Aviation accidents, the crash of Virgin Galactic Spaceship 2 in California, the sinking of the SS El Faro off the coast of the Bahamas, the 16 fatal crash of a commercial hot-air balloon in Lockhart, Texas, and multiple passenger train collisions and derailments. Before coming to the NTSB, Sean was a test engineer at the US Navy's Air Warfare Center. At the Naval Air Warfare Center, Sean tested launch and recovery programs on aircraft carriers including the Navy's Electromagnetic Aircraft Launch System (EMALS), steam catapults, as well as multiple different helicopter landing aids and emergency airfield arrestment systems. He holds a B.Eng. in mechanical engineering from Stevens Institute of Technology. Sean is a FAA licensed pilot who holds multiple ratings in different classes and categories of aircraft. He is also USCG licensed captain of vessels (boat and ships) less than 100 tons, as well as and advanced certified Scuba diver with mixed gas diving experience.