Request For Correction Of Flight Data Recorder Reports

[kbo234]

Something for you Snowygrouch? (from 911blogger)


The following is a Request for Correction received by the National Transportation Safety board on Monday, June 23, 2008 regarding apparent discrepancies contained within factual reports pertaining to the Flight Data Recorders recovered from American Airlines Flight 77 and United Airlines Flight 93, following the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001.

To Whom it concerns:

This is a request for correction of information disseminated by the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB), under Section 515 of the Treasury and General Government Appropriations Act for Fiscal Year 2001 (Public Law 106-554; H.R. 5658), Office of Management and Budget issued government-wide guidelines that provide policy and procedural guidance to Federal agencies for ensuring and maximizing the quality, objectivity, utility, and integrity of information disseminated by Federal agencies.

Aidan Monaghan is the requestor for correction of the NTSB information products referred to herein:

The information products provided by the NTSB that are the subject of this Request are the NTSB's "Specialists Factual Report of Investigation Digital Flight Data Recorder NTSB Number: DCA01MA064", "Specialists Factual Report of Investigation Digital Flight Data Recorder NTSB Number: DCA01MA065" and "Study of Autopilot, Navigation Equipment, and Fuel Consumption Activity Based on United Airlines Flight 93 and American Airlines Flight 77 Digital Flight Data Recorder Information".

These NTSB information products are located at the following NTSB website:

http://www.ntsb.gov/info/foia_fri.htm

The NTSB information products that are the subject of this request contain information that is governed by "Quality of Information Disseminated by the National Transportation Safety Board: Guidelines for Ensuring and Maximizing the Quality of Information", that has been published at the following NTSB website:

http://www.ntsb.gov/Info/quality.htm

The NTSB information products that are the subject of this request for correction are within the meaning of "information" as provided by the NTSB's "Guidelines for Ensuring and Maximizing the Quality of Information", Part II - Definitions.

http://www.ntsb.gov/Info/quality.htm

Within the NTSB information products that are the subject of this request, are contained the following federal aircraft registry identifications that are attributed to airline flights described within each report:

N644AA (American Airlines flight 77) ("Specialists Factual Report of Investigation Digital Flight Data Recorder NTSB Number: DCA01MA064")

N591UA (United Airlines flight 93) ("Specialists Factual Report of Investigation Digital Flight Data Recorder NTSB Number: DCA01MA065")

The following deficiencies contained within "DCA01MA064" and "DCA01MA065",represent sufficient cause for the requestor to question the accuracy of the federal registry aircraft identification information attributed to the Flight Data Recorders (FDR's) that are the subject of each information product and create an appearance that NTSB "Quality of Information" guidelines were not adhered to.

"DCA01MA064" and "DCA01MA065" do not list a "Flight Data Recorder Group", indicating that the NTSB was not provided access to FAA and airline representatives and their records, from which aircraft identifying information, presumably pertaining to N644AA (American Airlines flight 77) and N591UA (United Airlines flight 93), would normally be obtained.

"DCA01MA064" and "DCA01MA065" do not list FDR part and serial numbers required to facilitate the FDR data readouts contained within each report, indicating that the NTSB was not provided access to FAA and airline records presumably pertaining to N644AA (American Airlines flight 77) and N591UA (United Airlines flight 93), from which aircraft identifying information and FDR memory configuration information would normally be obtained.

"Study of Autopilot, Navigation Equipment, and Fuel Consumption Activity Based on United Airlines Flight 93 and American Airlines Flight 77 Digital Flight Data Recorder Information" contains the same federal registry aircraft identification information contained by "DCA01MA064" and "DCA01MA065" and is similarly subject to correction.

The said NTSB information products contain information that is inconsistent with the following information quality definitions established by the NTSB's "Guidelines for Ensuring and Maximizing the Quality of Information":

"Accuracy - factual information must be accurate, clear, concise, and complete."

Moreover, information contained within the NTSB's "Specialists Factual Report of Investigation Digital Flight Data Recorder NTSB Number: DCA01MA064" and "Study of Autopilot, Navigation Equipment, and Fuel Consumption Activity Based on United Airlines Flight 93 and American Airlines Flight 77 Digital Flight Data Recorder Information" (reportedly in regards to N644AA, a.k.a. American Airlines flight 77), was obtained from a FDR data readout file that was last modified 4 hours and 15 minutes before the said FDR was actually recovered.

A September 14, 2001 Associated Press reports indicates:

"Searchers on Friday found the flight data and cockpit voice recorders from the hijacked plane that flew into the Pentagon and exploded, Department of Defense officials said. The two "black boxes," crucial to uncovering details about the doomed flight's last moments, were recovered at about 4 a.m., said Army Lt. Col. George Rhynedance, a Pentagon spokesman."

http://www.usatoday.com/news/nation/2001/09/14/pentagon-fire.htm

The FDR data file attributed to N644AA (American Airlines flight 77) that was obtained through a Freedom of Information Act request, was last modified on Thursday, September 13, 2001 at 11:45pm.

The FDR recovery time and FDR file modification time discrepancy indicates that the "Specialists Factual Report of Investigation Digital Flight Data Recorder NTSB Number: DCA01MA064" and "Study of Autopilot, Navigation Equipment, and Fuel Consumption Activity Based on United Airlines Flight 93 and American Airlines Flight 77 Digital Flight Data Recorder Information" (reportedly in regards to N644AA, a.k.a. American Airlines flight 77), are not in compliance with the following NTSB "Quality of Information" guidelines:

"Accuracy - factual information must be accurate, clear, concise, and complete."

"Integrity - information released to the public should be secure from tampering, modification, or destruction."

The FDR's that are the subject of this request for correction were apparently recovered by NTSB personnel.

Carol Carmody, Vice-Chairman, National Transportation Safety Board, referring to the NTSB:

"I ... assured FBI Director Mueller that we would assist in any way we could ... he called and said, "Could you send us some people to help find the black boxes and help identify aircraft parts."

http://www.ntsb.gov/speeches/carmody/cc020227.htm

Marion Blakey, Chairman, National Transportation Safety Board, referring to the NTSB:

"Over 60 Safety Board employees worked around the clock in Virginia, Pennsylvania, New York, and at our headquarters in Washington, D. C., assisting with aircraft parts identification"

http://www.ntsb.gov/Speeches/blakey/mcb020625.htm

This requester respectfully recommends the following corrective remedies regarding the said discrepancies:

The NTSB should provide within corrected versions of the NTSB information products in question, information that indicates from what source the federal registry aircraft identification's currently contained by the said information products were obtained, in the event that any Flight Data Recorder Group did not convene.

The NTSB should provide within corrected versions of the NTSB information products in question, the unique FDR serial numbers absent from the said information products, required to facilitate FDR data readout, as these discrepancies represent sufficient cause for the requestor to question the accuracy of all 3 said information products. Any information source that could accurately provide the NTSB with the federal aircraft registry identifications of the subject aircraft, would also possess the unique serial number data for the FDR's last contained by each subject aircraft.

Moreover:

The NTSB should provide a correction for the FDR recovery-time and FDR download file modification-time discrepancy, that will bring all 3 NTSB information products in question, into compliance with NTSB "Quality of Information" guidelines, as the said time discrepancy represents sufficient cause for the requestor to question the accuracy of all 3 said information products.

Thank you for consideration of this request.

[Snowygrouch]

ha ha!
Its news to me!
But I suspect its the latest work of PFT.
Thanks for flagging it up, I`ll read it with interest later.

C.