National Press Foundation Calls Work An 'Extraordinary Investigation'

Some things just leave you scratching your head. Such is the case with the recognition of USA Today's sensationalist series on general aviation accidents written by Thomas Frank by the National Press Foundation.

Frank's series "Unfit for Flight" ... which was widely panned by the industry for inaccuracies, cherry-picking data, and ignoring GA safety improvements ... was called an "extraordinary investigation" by the non-profit group, which trains journalists worldwide.

USA Today reports that the series won the "Freddie" award, presented for work that explains how federal policy affects local governments. The judges said the series "effectively uses the techniques of digital journalism: video, animation and responsive design. This is modern journalism at its best."

Frank posited in his series that known defects in GA aircraft have been allowed to persist for decades, that the NTSB shows favoritism to manufacturers and overlooks possible causes of accidents, and the FAA allows certification of new aircraft under outdated rules.

We suppose the series sold a lot of newspapers.

FMI: http://nationalpress.org/awards/