A few slots earlier, Alf5071h mentioned:
"... ‘wait for the report’, but accident investigations rarely ... identify all aspects ... the ‘cause’ ... evidence is unavailable, insufficient or unreliable to draw conclusions ..."
The NTSB has itself been unreliable, or inconsistent, in its investigations re' the operator, FAA's Sotuthwest Region, & ALAR. NTSB seemed to block FSF's ALAR efforts, eg NTSB's botched investigation of
DEN06IA051 . Prior mishap investigations had built a history on that operator and their "regulator" (history behind NTSB
Safety Recommendation A-01-69, still classified "Open--Unacceptable Response".See AA873 / 5Jun96 ABQ FTW96IA237
http://www.ntsb.gov/ntsb/brief.asp?ev_id=20001208X05961&key=1
See AA699 / 6Feb97, DCA97LA027 accident in St. John’s, Antigua,
http://www.ntsb.gov/ntsb/brief2.asp?ev_id=20001208X07395&ntsbno=DCA97LA027&akey=1
See AA1115 / 21Nov04, at DEN DEN05IA02
http://www.ntsb.gov/ntsb/brief.asp?ev_id=20041122X01849&key=1
See web video of AA / Saturday 13Aug05, MD80 wing-tip scrape (and tail strike?) during landing touchdown at, RWY 7R, Las Vegas, NV
ALAR = Approach and Landing Accident Reduction
This ALAR effort includes
-- ARC [Abnormal Rwy Contact], Hard Ldg, Tailstrike, Wingtip strike, and
-- RE [Rwy Excursion]
= = = = = = = = =
A separate concern is
NTSB's role in foreign investigations (ICAO Annex 13) involving US manufacturer (and now a US operator). Sometimes the NTSB seemed forced to act as ADVOCATE, abandoning any critical analysis of the US organization, instead backing their distracting red-herring assertions. This you can see in the NTSB's comments to the investigating authority, eg:
-- after SAS751 / 27Dec91, MD81 OY-KHO, SHK's Report # C 1993:57, Appendix 6 "NTSB's Comments on Draft Final" (backing DAC's assertions rather than acting as an "independent" safety board).
-- after MI185 / 17Dec97, B737 9V-TRF, NTSC's Accident Report, Appendix N, " USA Accredited Representative's Comments on Draft Final Report", where Jim Hall shifts role to more of a defense attorney for TBC, forgetting any mention of 70-years of earlier mysterious airliner upsets.
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