NTSB Temporarily Restricts Docket Access After AI Reconstructs Audio From UPS Crash Spectrograms

The National Transportation Safety Board temporarily removed public access to thousands of investigation dockets last week after spectrogram images from the UPS flight 2976 crash enabled reconstruction of cockpit voice recordings. UPS flight 2976 crashed shortly after takeoff from Louisville Muhammad Ali International Airport in Louisville, Kentucky, last year, killing 15 people including all three pilots.

NTSB investigators had created spectrograms of a high-pitch ringing sound heard on the cockpit voice recording that began just after the plane rotated for takeoff and posted those images on the agency's public website.

John McElhone, who runs a small company that makes electrical turbines, turned the spectrograms back into audio in about ten minutes. " He did not post the reconstructions online, but others did. The NTSB responded by removing public access to its entire docket system while reviewing materials and safeguards.

NTSB spokesman Peter Knudson said the agency has longstanding procedures to protect cockpit voice recordings and other sensitive materials. Knudson added that after learning artificial intelligence could reconstruct audio from sound-spectrum imagery, the NTSB temporarily removed public access while it evaluated additional safeguards.

The NTSB has since restored access to most dockets, including the UPS flight 2976 investigation, Knudson said.

Forty-one dockets remain under review. " She called posts using the reconstructed audio "disgusting" and "manipulated" and urged social media platforms to remove them. The law barring release of cockpit voice recordings dates to the 1988 crash of Delta Air Lines flight 1141.

In that incident, audio of the crew joking about flight attendants' dating habits before the crash was released publicly, prompting Congress to prohibit such disclosures. The NTSB held a two-day hearing on the UPS crash last week. Investigators have not yet identified the source of the mysterious high-pitch ringing sound.

Headquarters, including soundproofed audition rooms where engineers analyze cockpit recordings and prepare written transcripts for public release. " Manley, who is a pilot, said the reconstructed audio showed the UPS pilots remained calm during the engine failure.

He added that he did not intend for his speculation to lead to the release and that he should have notified the NTSB directly rather than posting publicly.