| Armed Forces Institute of Pathology. A branch of the Office of the Armed Forces Medical Examiner (OAFME) in Washington, D.C. that assists in victim identification by performing DNA testing. | |
| AIR | Air Incident Response team. A group of American Red Cross volunteers who are trained and experienced disaster management specialists. They can mobilize within four hours, and will be dispatched to provide support to local Red Cross chapters in responding to an aviation disaster. |
| Ante-Mortem | A term meaning "before death." The Ante-Mortem/Family History interview form is used by forensic specialists to collect a detailed physical description of the deceased to aid in identification of remains. |
| ARC | American Red Cross. Designated by the government as the agency to provide counseling and other support services to survivors and families of victims of aviation disasters. |
| AS | Alaska Airlines |
| Ceridian Lifeworks | The service providers for Alaska/Horizon's Employee Assistance Program (EAP) |
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CIRT/CIRP |
Critical Incident Response Team/Critical Incident Response Program. Peer emotional support for employees. |
| CFR | Code of Federal Regulations |
| CVR | Cockpit Voice Recording |
| DHHS | Department of Health & Human Services. Provides D-MORT services to assist the medical examiner. |
| DOD | Department of Defense. Provides wreckage and victim recovery services as well as DNA technology. |
| DOJ | Department of Justice. Becomes involved if the accident is determined to be a criminal act. |
| DOS | Department of State. Works with international citizens, provides emergency visas and language assistance. |
| D-MORT | Disaster Mortuary Operational Response Team - "The team is set up to provide professional personnel and technical support and assistance to the local medical examiner or coroner in forensic services and victim identification. The team is composed of forensic pathologists, forensic anthropologists, forensic dentists, medical investigators, funeral directors and other technical support staff." (NTSB Family Assistance Plan Appendix) |
| EAP | Employee Assistance Program. Counseling and consultation provided to employees by Ceridian LifeWorks. |
| EOC | Emergency Operations Center. Another term for "Command Center." |
| FAA | Federal Aviation Administration |
| FAC | Family Assistance Center. This is an area, usually set up at a hotel near the accident location, where family members gather for information and assistance. |
| FBI Disaster Squad | A team of FBI experts in fingerprint identification. They may assist the local medical examiner or coroner with the victim identification process. |
| FDR | Flight Data Recorder. |
| FEMA | Federal Emergency Management Agency. Government agency which may provide communication services to other government agencies in the event of an accident. |
| GCC | Gold Coast Center (corner of 208th and International Boulevard in Seattle). Building where the Alaska CARE Command Center is located and meeting place for CARE Team members in the event of an Alaska crash. |
| GO | General Offices of Horizon Air. (Also SEAGO) Corner of 194th & International Blvd in Seattle. Location of the Horizon CARE Command Center and meeting place for CARE Team members in the event of a Horizon crash. |
| IIC | Investigator in Charge. The NTSB investigator assigned to lead an accident investigation. |
| JFSOC | Joint Family Support Operations Center. A room, usually located in the same facility as the Family Assistance Center, where agencies involved in the response will plan, coordinate, and monitor the family assistance response. The JFSOC will usually include representatives from the airline, NTSB, Red Cross, and possibly local government and law enforcement. It may also include representatives from DOS, DOJ, FEMA, DOD, and foreign consulates. |
| Kenyon | Kenyon International Emergency Services. A company hired by Alaska and Horizon to coordinate processing and return of personal effects to survivors and family members. Kenyon may also help coordinate the return of remains. |
| ME | Medical Examiner. Responsible for making positive identification of victims. In some states, victim identification may be the responsibility of the local coroner. |
| NADA | National Air Disaster Alliance. Family support and lobbying organization for victims of aviation disasters. |
| NEAS | Mental health professionals providing crisis support and consulting for CARE Team members during initial response to an accident. NEAS also makes telephone notifications and provides call-center support to survivors and families of an Alaska or Horizon accident. |
| NOK | Next-of-kin |
| NTSB | National Transportation Safety Board |
| OAFME | Office of the Armed Forces Medical Examiner |
| Post-Mortem | Information about a person after death. |
| QX | Horizon Air |
| Site | Accident Location. Site is generally used to describe the city where the accident occurred. Also refers to the impact zone where the airplane crashed. |
| SUPSALV | US Navy's Support Salvage group. |
| TAPS | Tragedy Assistance Program for Survivors. Support organization for families of armed forces fatalities. |
| TDA | Transportation Disaster Assistance office. The department within the NTSB responsible for coordinating assistance to survivors and victims' families of transportation disasters within U.S. territory. |
| VST | Victim Support Tasks. The responsibilities assigned to various agencies, including airlines, in the NTSB's Federal Family Assistance Plan for Aviation Disasters. |
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