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Air Force Letter to Gordon Smith

The Air Force rebuffed a request by Oregon Sens. Gordon Smith and Ron Wyden for a National Transportation Safety Board. Below is a copy of that June 4 letter from Major General Lansford E. Trapp Jr., which touts the quality and integrity of Air Force crash investigations.

DEPARTMENT OF THE AIR FORCE

WASHINGTON DC 20930-1000

June 4, 1997

SAF/LL

1160 Air Force Pentagon

Washington, DC 20330-1160

The Honorable Gordon Smith

United States Senate

Washington, DC 20510

Dear Senator Smith

This is in response to your letter of May 5, 1997, asking that the Air Force join in your request for National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) review of the investigation results of the November 22, 1996, HC-130 mishap. We welcome your concern for the welfare of the families of our Air Force reservists who died in the tragic mishap. However, for a number of reasons, we must decline to join in your request for NTSB review of our report.

Your letter to the honorable Jim Hall observes that NTSB involvement in military aviation accident investigations is not unprecedented. By mutual agreement, the NTSB assisted the Air Force in its accident investigation of the loss of the CT-43 aircraft carrying former Commerce Secretary Ron Brown. The investigation resulted in a fully releasable, non-privileged report of investigation that was made available to the public. However, the CT-43 accident was unique for several reasons: the Air Force mishap aircraft was a variant of the Boeing 737, commercial versions of this aircraft were in service to transport passengers throughout the world, and the NTSB had recently investigated fatal crashes of commercial 737s in Pittsburgh and Colorado Springs, the causes of which remain unexplained to this day. For those reasons, the NTSB had both superior expertise in this particular aircraft and also a compelling interest in discovering whether factors in the  CT-43 crash could resolve the cause of the commercial 737 crashes mentioned above. Accordingly, NTSB participation in that investigation was appropriate in accordance with 49 U.S.C. Section 1132(d), which states:

If an accident involves only military aircraft and a duty of the Secretary [of Transportation] is or may be involved, the military authorities shall provide for the participation of the Secretary.

Nevertheless, Section 1132(d) further describes the relationship between military authorities and the NTSB in the more traditional circumstances such as the HC-130 accident:

In any other accident involving only military aircraft, the military authorities shall give the Board or Secretary information the military authorities decide would contribute to the promotion of air safety.

Even under those circumstances when the NTSB is authorized to participate in military investigations, there is no precedent for NTSB reviewing military aircraft investigation reports for adequacy. Additionally, DOD Instruction 6055.7 prohibits the release of safety investigation reports in their entirety to Federal Agencies outside the Department of Defense.

A critical component of the Air Force safety program is the Air Force Instruction (AFI) 91-204 Safety Report. The Safety Report is privileged, limited-use, and cannot be released to the public. The privilege arises from the promise of confidentiality that is offered to witnesses in order to promote full disclosure of the facts surrounding mishaps. Safety Reports, throughout the Department of Defense, are used only for mishap prevention; they are not released pursuant to litigation or used as a basis for discipline. The sufficiency of Air Force safety investigations has been validated several times in the recent past by the Air Force Chief of Staff directed Blue Ribbon Panel (a panel of independent aviation safety experts), the USAF IG, the DOD IG and the GAO. Additionally, the ever-improving mishap rates and reduction in the number of mishaps shows the effectiveness of the process.

Unlike the Safety Report, the Legal Report, under AFI 51- 503, is fully releasable to the public. Nonetheless, we do not believe that seeking  NTSB review of the Legal Report will be beneficial. Rather, we are confident of the thoroughness of the Air Force investigation; and even though the report did not pinpoint the exact cause of the mishap, we believe that nothing further will be gained by asking the NTSB to dedicate its limited resources to examining the HC-130 Report of Investigation.

Regarding your request that the Air Force Inspector General review the procedures for family notification in military accidents and whether recently adopted, improved procedures for civilian family notification should be used by the Air Force, the Air Force Inspector General has asked Headquarters Air Combat Command to appoint an Investigating Officer to review the family notification procedures in the C-l3O crash on November 22, 1996, evaluate your concerns and make recommendations on further action that may be required.

We trust the information provided is useful. A similar letter is being provided to Senator Wyden.

Sincerely

Lansford E. Trapp, Jr.

Director, Legislative Liaison