Articles by David Shepardson

FAA Wants New Planes to Capture More Cockpit Data to Boost Safety Probes

WASHINGTON –– The Federal Aviation Administration on Thursday said it is proposing to extend the cockpit voice-recording requirement to 25 hours for all new airplanes from the current two-hour loop. The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) has been pushing for …

Lawsuit Alleges Negligence in Train Derailment and Chemical Fire that Forced Residents from Homes

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (AP) — A lawsuit filed Wednesday in federal court alleges negligence by CSX Transportation caused a train derailment and ensuing chemical fire that forced residents of a small Kentucky town out of their homes for more than a …

Safety Officials Release Details of their Investigation into a Close Call Between Planes in Texas

DALLAS (AP) — The air traffic controller on duty when FedEx and Southwest planes nearly collided earlier this year in Texas told investigators that he expected the airliner to take off more quickly — before the incoming FedEx plane reached …

Cybersecurity Agency Warns that Water Utilities Are Vulnerable to Hackers After Pennsylvania Attack

HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) — Hackers are targeting industrial control systems widely used by water and sewage-treatment utilities, potentially threatening water supplies, the top U.S. cyberdefense agency said after a Pennsylvania water authority was hacked. The U.S. Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security …

Chemical Firms to Pay $110M to Ohio to Settle Claims over Releases of ‘Forever Chemicals’

DOVER, Del. (AP) — The DuPont Co. and two spin-off firms will pay $110 million to the state of Ohio to settle a lawsuit over environmental threats from toxic chemicals used at a former DuPont facility in neighboring West Virginia, …

Viewpoint: When Taking Recorded Statements, Get the Facts Early

Recorded statements are an essential part of evaluating a claim. Unlike depositions, which usually are taken years after the incident itself, a recorded statement typically occurs within days of the subject incident, when the facts and circumstances are fresh in …

41 Rescued Workers Emerge Dazed, Smiling After 17 Days Trapped in Collapsed Road Tunnel In India

UTTARKASHI, India (AP) — Forty-one construction workers emerged dazed and smiling late Tuesday from a collapsed tunnel where they had been stranded the last 17 days __ a happy ending to an ordeal that had gripped India and involved a …

Florida Injury Attorney Begins Prison Time for Defrauding Former Players in NFL Lawsuit

A Florida injury attorney who led a class-action lawsuit on behalf of former NFL players, then defrauded his clients out of millions of dollars, is in federal prison after he was sentenced to 14 years. Phillip Timothy Howard, 62, who …

Consumer Reports: Electric Vehicles Less Reliable, on Average, than Conventional Cars and Trucks

DETROIT (AP) — Electric vehicles have proved far less reliable, on average, than gasoline-powered cars, trucks and SUVs, according to the latest survey by Consumer Reports, which found that EVs from the 2021 through 2023 model years encountered nearly 80% …

Judge Enters $120M Order Against Former Owner of Failed Michigan Dam

DETROIT (AP) __ The former owner of a Michigan dam is on the hook for roughly $120 million sought by the state for environmental damage when the structure failed after days of rain in 2020, a judge said. But it`s …