NTSB Boots UPS, Pilots Union from Crash Investigation Team

Stephen Pope

Tuesday, August 26, 2014 at 07:32 PM ET

Verified

** UPS Flight 1354** Courtesy of the NTSB

Key Takeaways:

UPS and its pilots' union have been removed from the NTSB investigation into the 2013 UPS Flight 1354 crash in Birmingham, Alabama.
The NTSB revoked their party status due to a public relations dispute where the union issued a press release and UPS publicly responded, violating rules against external discussion of the ongoing investigation.
The NTSB stated that such actions introduce party bias, disadvantage other participants, and ultimately undermine the integrity and effectiveness of its accident investigations.

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A public relations war of words between UPS and the cargo airline’s pilots union has gotten both kicked off the investigation team working to determine what caused the crash of UPS Flight 1354 in Birmingham, Alabama, on Aug. 14, 2013.

The National Transportation Safety Board announced yesterday it has revoked the party status of UPS and the Independent Pilots Association, barring further involvement by representatives from either side looking into the crash of the UPS Airbus A300-600, which killed both pilots while attempting to land in Birmingham. The action came after the union on August 13 issued a press release titled “UPS Pilots Call for End of Part 117 Carve-out on Anniversary of Fatigue Crash” and UPS responded with comments on the Air Cargo World website.