AP - Crew fatigue and a copilot's colorblindness contributed to the pre-dawn crash of a FedEx plane at Tallahassee Regional Airport two years ago, the National Transportation Safety Board said Tuesday.
All three crew members survived the July 26, 2002, crash, which destroyed last-minute qualifying paperwork for several Florida legislative races.
In a final report, the NTSB said the crew of the Boeing 727 made an unusual decision to try and land on a rarely used runway without an instrument system to help guide them in.
I don't understand why it takes the NTSB so long to come out with their final report. I do understand the need to be thorough and complete in cases like these, but two years? C'mon.
In my home town (very nearly in my back yard) a train derailment resulted in the largest accidental release of anhydrous ammonia ever on the face of the earth. It was a horrible chemical spill that resulted in death, injury and property damage throughout the city. But before anybody could begin the process of filing lawsuits and damage claims against the railroad we had to wait for the NTSB accident report to be released, and that took over two years.
Two years the people had to wait before they could even begin the process of getting satisfaction from the railroad company through the legal system, a process that is probably going to take a few more years.
I'm thinking it may be time to look at making the NTSB just a little more efficient.