Files FOIA Suit Saying Board Favors Aircraft And Component Manufacturers

A law firm in Philadelphia has filed a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) suit against the NTSB saying the board shows favoritism for the manufacturers of airplanes and aircraft components when determining the cause of accidents at the expense of "victims and their families."

The Pennsylvania Record reports that the firm is the Wolk Law Firm, and it filed the suit in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania. The firm said it filed the FOIA on behalf of multiple plaintiffs in an effort to compel the board to release additional details related to several fatal accidents.

The complaint says the NTSB relies too heavily on expertise from manufacturers to present an unbiased view of what may have caused an accident. “The NTSB’s reliance upon manufacturers of civil aircraft and aircraft components creates a situation where manufacturers are afforded early and exclusive access to crash evidence while victims of aviation crashes are wholly excluded from the investigation process as well as evidentiary collection and preservation efforts,” the complaint says.

The complaint goes say that the NTSB "does not release evidence for investigation by crash victims unless and until the manufacturers, who are putative or actual defendants, have authorized such a release.”

FMI: www.paed.uscourts.gov