Former commissions Traditionally, marine accident investigation was carried out by the Institute of Maritime Enquiry () and the Permanent Investigation Board for Special Accidents in the Fisheries Fleet. In exceptional cases the Norwegian government had the jurisdiction to appoint an
ad hoc investigation board. At the time of Norway's first major civilian aviation accident, the
Havørn accident on 16 June 1936, no particular routine existed for investigating aviation accidents. An
ad hoc commission was established at the scene to investigate it, consisting of Chief of Police Alf Reksten, Sheriff Kaare Bredvik, the
Norwegian Air Lines' technical director
Bernt Balchen, Captain Eckhoff of the aviation authorities, and Gjermundson from the insurance company. A similar organization took place from 1945 to 1956, where the government appointed an accident investigation commission for each accident and incident. These commissions had no permanent organization or members and were appointed for each accident on an
ad hoc basis. Its members normally consisted of staff from the
Norwegian Air Traffic and Airport Management and the
Royal Norwegian Air Force. In addition, it had representatives from the
Norwegian Police Service and the
Norwegian Prosecuting Authority. From 1956, a permanent secretariat was appointed, Major accidents were thereby investigated by in-house commissions with the potential for conflicts of interest, or through
ad hoc committees appointed by the government. Similar to marine accidents, it was ultimately a subjective call by the Ministry of Transport and Communications to make the call for if a committee were needed. although this never materialized as the latter was not created until later. Its first director was Ragnar Rygnestad, which had been the former commission's secretary for ten years. The board soon received five employees. The legal changes meant that near-accidents were also investigated, significantly increasing the number of cases to be handled. By June, the agency still did not have sufficient staff to handle all cases, and in particular had not yet implemented human behavior and psychological expertise. It was initially based at Villa Hareløkka on the premises of
Oslo Airport, Fornebu in
Bærum. In addition, it used a military hangar at Kjeller Airport to store and reconstruct aircraft parts. The board was reorganized from 1 July 1999, when it was split out of the ministry and became an independent government agency. Oslo Airport, Fornebu was closed down 1998, so the board was forced to move from its premises. The board subsequently relocated to a temporary site on the premises of
Kjeller Airport in Skedsmo. The agency took over responsibility for investigating railway accidents from 1 January 2002. It simultaneously took the name Accident Investigation Board for Civil Aviation and Railways (, HSLB). At the time, the agency investigated about 100 to 150 aviation accidents and incidents per year and about 60 railway accidents and incidents per year. Unlike in aviation and railway accidents, only a select few road accidents were to be investigated. These were selected based on their ability to provide useful information to improve road safety. In particular bus and truck accidents were prioritized, along with tunnel accidents and ones with
dangerous goods. The agency initially hired four investigations and aimed at them investigating twenty to twenty-five accidents per year. This comprised 3.4 million
Norwegian krone of the agency's 31.8 million budget. One advantage of the agency was that it could allow for protected testimonies, without these having to be subject to criminal investigation by the
Norwegian Police Service. The agency thereby took its current name. During this period, discussions also arose as to whether the board should investigate cases related to
pipelines and accidents on
oil platforms. This discussion came from the mandate of the United States'
National Transportation Safety Board, which had such authority. Initially, the committee proposed an independent investigation board for the maritime sector, either as part of the
Norwegian Maritime Authority or as an independent agency subordinate to the
Ministry of Justice. During the political discussions a joint board was favored instead. The changes took effect on 1 July 2008. In addition to the investigation aspect, which was issued to the board, the Maritime Authority established a division to work with strategic safety. Criminal investigation of marine accidents became the responsibility of an office at
Rogaland Police District. The AIBN would take over the work of the DAIBN on 1 July 2020 under the new name Norwegian Safety Investigation Authority (NSIA; ()). ==Mandate==