Blumenthal Statement Regarding NTSB Final Report of B-17 Crash

(HARTFORD, CT) – U.S. Senator Richard Blumenthal (D-CT), a member of the Senate Commerce, Science, and Transportation Committee, released the following statement after the National Transportation Safety Board issued their final report regarding the crash of the B-17 airplane at Bradley International Airport on October 2, 2019:

“The NTSB accident report reveals a series of failures on the part of Collings’ staff and reinforces my call for the FAA to tighten its regulations and oversight. As highlighted by this report, present FAA regulations defer to the airplane’s owner on safety compliance, failing to provide even the most basic oversight of how closely the airplane owner is complying with FAA regulations. The FAA must immediately begin implementing the NTSB recommendations for the safety sake of all who fly in these living flight history experience airplanes. I will demand a timeline for implementing the NTSB recommendations and will work closely with the FAA and my colleagues on the Senate Commerce, Science, and Transportation Committee to see that that they changes are implemented promptly.”

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