NTSB board member Inman says he was fired by White House

March 8, 2026 1:40 PM EDT

Member of the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) ​​​J. Todd Inman looks on, in the aftermath of the collision of American Eagle flight 5342 and a Black Hawk helicopter that crashed into the Potomac River, at Ronald Reagan Washington Nationa

By David Shepardson

WASHINGTON, March ‌8 (Reuters) - A Republican ​member ​of the U.S. National Transportation Safety Board said on Sunday he was fired on Friday by the White House ‌without any explanation.

Todd Inman, a former chief of staff to ⁠Transportation Secretary Elaine Chao during President Donald Trump's first term, had served on the ‌NTSB since April 2024. He ‌was the on-scene board member at the American Airlines collision with an Army helicopter in January 2025 near Reagan Washington National Airport ​that killed 67 people and the November crash of a UPS cargo plane on takeoff from the Louisville, Kentucky, airport that killed ⁠15 people.

The White House did not immediately respond to requests for comment. Inman was removed from ​the NTSB website on Sunday. The NTSB told senior leaders in an email seen by Reuters that Inman's position ​was terminated.

The NTSB declined to comment.

The ‌White House fired then-NTSB Vice Chair Alvin Brown in May. Brown, a Democrat who was the first-ever African American ⁠elected mayor of Jacksonville, Florida, has filed suit challenging his dismissal.

The NTSB investigates all civil aviation accidents. The board investigates significant accidents in other modes ⁠of transportation - highway, marine, pipeline and railroad - and determines the probable cause of accidents ​and makes safety recommendations.

Inman said serving on the NTSB had been a great honor. "Witnessing these horrible accidents have undoubtedly taken a toll on me and my family ‌and has changed my perspective in a positive way on how we regulate safety for the traveling public," Inman ‌said.

Late last month, the Senate confirmed John DeLeeuw, who had been managing ⁠director of safety and efficiency ‌for American Airlines and ​a Boeing 787 captain, to fill Brown's seat on the NTSB.

(Reporting by David Shepardson; Editing by Mark Porter and ‌Aurora Ellis)



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