The National Transportation Safety Board has temporarily taken its docket system offline after discovering that modern image recognition and computational tools may allow people to reconstruct approximate cockpit voice recorder audio from sound spectrum images released during investigations.
The concern emerged during the ongoing probe into the 2025 crash of UPS Flight 2976 in Louisville. While the NTSB does not publicly release cockpit voice recordings, officials warned that advances in technology could potentially bypass privacy protections tied to sensitive cockpit conversations.
Federal law strictly prohibits the public release of cockpit audio, and the NTSB stated it is now reviewing the scope of the issue and exploring solutions before restoring public access to its investigation docket system.
The exact statement as read on website:
“The NTSB is aware that advances in image recognition and computational methods have enabled individuals to reconstruct approximations of cockpit voice recorder audio from sound spectrum imagery released as part of NTSB investigations, including the ongoing investigation of the crash last year of UPS flight 2976 in Louisville, Kentucky.
The NTSB does not release cockpit audio recordings. Federal law prohibits such public release due to the highly sensitive nature of verbal communications inside the cockpit. The NTSB takes these privacy restrictions seriously.
The NTSB docket system is temporarily unavailable as we examine the scope of the issue and evaluate solutions. We hope to restore access to the docket system as soon as possible.