The NTSB initially told TAC on April 21 that while the investigation was still ongoing, it was not planning to release a preliminary report and that was common for some investigations. After TAC sought an accounting of earlier NTSB inquiries that did not receive preliminary reports, the agency clarified and said after seeking an internal accounting of similar incidents "there was no such list."
NTSB spokesman Peter Knudson attributed the confusion to the NTSB having "updated some report writing and releasing processes and it seems there was a lack of clarity related to the preliminary report releasing process."
"There will, in fact, be a preliminary report," said Knudson on April 24. "It will not, however, contain a factual narrative but only 'data blocks' as they are known."
The just-released preliminary report was devoid of any contextual information beyond the incident's location, the flight's destination and the aircraft type and registration. The board's initial February 14 tweet announcing the investigation described the incident as one "in which a United Airlines 777 lost altitude before recovering shortly after departing." That description was not included in the just-released preliminary report, which does not make it clear what the NTSB is investigating.
"The narrative will be included in the final report along with the probable cause and any contributing factors," said Knudson, who expected the final report on the Maui incident to be released this summer.
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