National Transportation Safety Board

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Details Revealed of Near-Collision Close to JFK

Controller error almost caused catastrophe

(Newser) - Investigators have released chilling details of a near-catastrophe close to New York City's JFK airport early last year . An American Airlines Boeing 777 came within seconds of crashing into an Air Force C-17 cargo plane because of mistakes and miscommunications by air traffic controllers, the report found. The cargo...

Ohio Train Derailment: 'Like Sun Exploded'

It could have been much worse, Columbus mayor says

(Newser) - Life imitating Super 8? National Transportation Safety Board investigators are probing a train derailment that caused a fire and several spectacular explosions in Columbus, Ohio, early yesterday morning, the AP reports. Sixteen of the train's 98 cars, including three carrying 30,000 gallons of ethanol each, came off the...

Most Dangerous Part of Oil Jobs: Driving Home

Exemptions allow drivers to head home after 20-hour shifts

(Newser) - You know what's more dangerous than working on an oil rig? Driving home from one. More than 300 oil and gas workers have died in car crashes in the past decade, making it the top cause of death in a dangerous industry, the New York Times reports. The probable...

Riskiest Part of Flight Might Now Be on Ground

With skies safe, officials turn their attention to 'surface threats' on runways

(Newser) - "America's skies are the safest they have ever been," Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood told reporters this week, and the stats back him up: Deaths from accidents in US commercial aviation have plummeted over the last 15 years, with none registered at all in 2011. Aviation officials say...

Misaligned Rivets Found on Ruptured Southwest Jet

NTSB finds fatigue cracks along tear in Boeing 737's skin

(Newser) - A federal investigation has revealed possible manufacturing flaws behind the mid-flight fuselage rupture of a Southwest Airlines Boeing 737 earlier this month. National Transportation Safety Board probers have discovered that rivet holes on one layer of the 15-year-old aircraft's skin did not line up properly with the layer below,...

Snoozing Controller's Excuse: 'Stuck Mike'

Supervisor who fell asleep on the job has been suspended

(Newser) - The air traffic supervisor who fell asleep early Wednesday at Reagan National Airport, forcing two planes to land on their own , was suspended yesterday. Federal officials say the veteran controller was also given a drug test, although the FAA will not confirm the testing or the results. The Washington Post...

Planes Landed as DC Controller Slept

FAA probing incident at Reagan National Airport

(Newser) - Two planes were forced to land without guidance or clearance from the control tower at Reagan National Airport outside Washington, DC, because the air traffic supervisor was asleep, federal officials say. Efforts to reach the supervisor—the only controller on duty at the time—failed, and the late-night flights early...

Bronx Bus Crash Driver Couldn't Legally Drive

NTSB investigating ex-con Ophadell Williams

(Newser) - The driver involved in the Bronx crash that killed 15 people shouldn't have been behind the wheel of any vehicle, let alone a tour bus full of passengers, officials involved in the probe tell AP . Ophadell Williams' driving privileges were suspended in 1995 and apparently never reinstated after he failed...

Oops: JetBlue Left Emergency Brake on

Sparks fly thanks to pilot error

(Newser) - A JetBlue plane blew out four of its tires last month, sending sparks flying down a Sacramento runway, and now the National Transportation Safety Board knows why: Someone left the parking brake on. Flight data show the parking brake was engaged at 5,100 feet, and never turned off, Failure...

Barker-DJ AM Crash Plane Had Tire Trouble: NTSB

After underinflated tire ruptured, pilot couldn't stop plane

(Newser) - Underinflated tires played a role in the crash that injured Travis Barker and DJ AM and killed four others. National Transportation Safety Board officials announced today that the underinflation affected the Learjet’s stopping capability and said a tire burst during takeoff. The pilot reportedly decided, against training practices, to...

FAA Admits Flubs on Wandering Northwest Flight
FAA Admits Flubs on Wandering Northwest Flight
Runaway Plane
Nov 13, 2009 3:29 PM CST

FAA Admits Flubs on Wandering Northwest Flight

Miscommunication marked regulator's response to stray airliner

(Newser) - The FAA should have taken more decisive action on the Northwest Airlines flight that fell out of communication with ground control for 77 minutes last month, officials acknowledged today. While the plane was out of contact, air-traffic controllers changed shifts and failed to warn their replacements about the runaway plane....

Pilots May Have Dozed Off Before Landing

Feds open investigation after plane overshoots airport by 150 miles

(Newser) - Travel regulators suspect the pilots of a Northwest Airlines flight fell asleep in the cockpit yesterday. First clue: Controllers lost contact with the plane for more than an hour as it overshot its destination by 150 miles. The jet, en route from San Diego with 147 passengers aboard, finally turned...

Agencies Squabble Over Controller's Role in Hudson Crash

(Newser) - The National Transportation Board's view of the events that caused last weekend's crash over the Hudson River doesn't jibe with the FAA's, the Wall Street Journal reports. The NTSB chronology released yesterday suggests that errors from air traffic controllers—one of whom was one the phone to his girlfriend at...

Feds Had Told DC to Bench Crashed Train

(Newser) - The subway train that plowed into another stopped train yesterday, killing nine people and injuring scores of others in Washington, was part of an aging fleet that federal officials had sought to phase out because of safety concerns, an investigator said today. The Metrorail transit system kept the old trains...

Capt. Sully: I Could Have Done Better

Pilot testifies he wishes he'd warned crew before crash

(Newser) - Chesley “Sully” Sullenberger, the man the New York Daily News dubs the “Hero of the Hudson,” thinks he could have done better. “I wish I had had more time,” the now-famous pilot said today, testifying before the National Transportation Safety Board. His big regret: Not...

NTSB: Buffalo Plane Was on Autopilot

(Newser) - A federal aviation official says the plane that crashed into a house near Buffalo, killing 50 people, was on autopilot when it went down, a possible violation of airline policy in icy weather. Steve Chealander of the National Transportation Safety Board says Colgan Air recommends pilots fly manually in icy...

Denver Crash a Mystery Again
 Denver Crash a Mystery Again 
Dec 23, 2008 3:38 AM CST

Denver Crash a Mystery Again

Rattling noise heard just before plane veered off runway and passengers panicked

(Newser) - Indications that a problem with the landing gear, brakes or tires caused a plane to skid off the runway in Denver have proved not to be true, CNN reports. Voice and data recorders reveal bumping and rattling sounds moments before the crash, investigators now say. The plane's captain is recovering...

Tires, Brakes Linked to Crash; Voice Data 'Good'

Voice, data recorders in Washington, should produce info tonight

(Newser) - Brakes, tires, or landing gear likely caused the Denver airliner crash that injured 40 on Saturday, a source tells CNN. Meanwhile the National Transportation Safety Board is continuing its probe of the accident, and revealed that both black boxes on the plane contained clear information. "Tonight, we should have...

Airline Sleuths Dig Up Data to Save Lives

Flight record scans reveal hidden risks, prevent crashes

(Newser) - Airlines and air safety investigators have a new way to snoop for clues that can help avoid future accidents, the Washington Post reports. While they once depended on crash remains for evidence, they have now gone digital, pursuing daily probes of thousands of computer records and pilots' reports to dig...

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