The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) has found that Atlas Air flight 3591 crashed outside Houston in 2019 due to human error in a report released July 14.
“Also contributing were systemic deficiencies in the aviation industry’s selection and performance measurement practices, which failed to address the first officer’s aptitude-related deficiencies and maladaptive stress response,” NSTB said.
The investigation is complete but the final accident report has not been released.
The Federal Aviation Administration said it intends to address some of the NTSB’s concerns next year by requiring sharing of pilot records.
Three people died in the crash: the captain, first officer and a pilot travelling as a passenger. The NTSB said the first officer deliberately withheld from Atlas a history of performance issues.
“The first officer’s repeated uses of incomplete and inaccurate information about his employment history on resumes and applications were deliberate attempts to conceal his history of performance deficiencies and deprived Atlas Air and at least one other former employer of the opportunity to fully evaluate his aptitude and competency as a pilot,” the NTSB said.
The report said Atlas’ use of “designated agents” to verify pilot background records kept Atlas from fully evaluating the first officer.
