The National Transportation Safety Board and the Air Transport Association have signed an agreement calling for the airline industry to pay for emergency-response expenses. The agreement is part of a document under which, for the first time, air carriers have volunteered to pay the extraordinary expenses of crash victim recovery and identification.

The agreement is a result of the ntsb and ata carriers working together since the passage of the Family Affairs Assistance Act, which is designed to help families of aircraft accident victims.

Under the agreement, ata carriers will reimburse local officials for expenses associated with victim recovery and identification. The airlines also will reimburse most extraordinary expenses for emergency response.