SUPREME COURT REFUSES JUDICIAL REVIEW OF NTSB INVESTIGATIVE ACTIONS
February 18, 2016
The U.S. Supreme Court has denied a petition requesting judicial review of National Transportation Safety Board general aviation accident reports. The petitioner — entrepreneur Yatish Joshi of Indiana — requested review after the NTSB issued an April 2006 probable cause report citing pilot error as the main cause of an accident in Indiana involving one of Joshi’s planes. The pilot flying was Joshi’s daughter — Captain Georgina Joshi — who was killed in the crash.
In his petition, Joshi argued that NTSB investigations are fatally flawed due to their over reliance on pilot error as a main causal factor in general aviation accidents. After hiring independent investigators to re-examine evidence gathered by NTSB investigators immediately following the crash, Joshi contested the NTSB’s findings as incomplete for its failure to consider other potential causes of the crash. Joshi also argued that judicial review of NTSB probable cause reports would result in increased safety standards for general aviation investigations.
The Supreme Court rejected Joshi’s petition after the D.C. Circuit Court similarly refused to hear his claim on grounds that such probable cause reports were not reviewable due to their status as “non-finalized agency actions.” “Without judicial review of NTSB probable cause determinations […], the aviation community and the public-at-large cannot evaluate whether the NTSB is performing its most important function because the NTSB itself will be the sole arbiter of its own effectiveness,” Joshi argued in his brief. Despite the Supreme Court’s denial, Joshi and his attorneys confirmed in a statement on January 25 that they fully intend to continue pursuit of the matter through a legislative course of action.
If you have any questions, please contact Evelyn Sahr (esahr@eckertseamans.com, 202-659-6622) or Drew Derco (dderco@eckertseamans.com, 202-659-6665).
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