NTSB pushing for more thorough inspections after plane crash off Whidbey Island
Oct 27, 2022, 5:42 PM | Updated: 5:42 pm
Jennifer Homendy, chair of the National Transportation Safety Board, testifies during the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee hearing titled National Transportation Safety Board Reauthorization, in Rayburn Building on Wednesday, April 6, 2022. (Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images)
(Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images)
The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) is making an urgent request in connection with the floatplane crash off Whidbey Island last month.
Jennifer Homendy, the 44th member of NTSB, is requesting the FAA and its Canadian counterparts to require all operators of de Havilland Canada DHC-3 planes to inspect a device in the tail that came apart in the plane that crashed.
“The potential for a catastrophic loss of control of another airplane warrants immediate and mandatory action,” Homendy said.
NTSB: Floatplane wreckage found off Whidbey Island
A lock ring was not found in the wreckage of the plane that went down last month, killing all 10 people on board.
“Our recommendation is that they look at the horizontal stabilizer actuator lock ring and make sure that it’s in place and secure,” Homendy said.
After the inspection, NTSB wants operators to report back to the FAA on what they found.
Despite the urgency, Homendy stopped short of saying this is what brought down the plane off Whidbey Island.
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“That’s still to be determined,” she said in an interview with KIRO Newsradio. “But, this is a big safety concern for us and it’s an area we are very focused on right now, so we want to get the word out to the operators and make sure action is taken.”
Approximately 65 of these planes operating in the U.S., including many of them in the Puget Sound region.
