Generative AI
May 22, 2026
NTSB Temporarily Closes Docket After AI Recreates Voices of Deceased Pilots
May 22, 2026
AI Summary
The National Transportation Safety Board has temporarily restricted access to its docket system after AI-generated recreations of cockpit audio from a fatal UPS plane crash surfaced online. The agency is reviewing 42 investigations, including that of Flight 2976, which involved the unauthorized use of a spectrogram to reconstruct pilot voices.
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- The NTSB discovered that AI was used to recreate the voices of pilots from a UPS plane crash last year, leading to the temporary closure of its docket system.
- Federal law prohibits the inclusion of cockpit audio recordings in the NTSB's docket, which typically contains investigation data accessible to the public.
- A spectrogram file of the cockpit voice recorder was included in the accident docket, allowing individuals to reconstruct audio using AI tools and publicly available transcripts.
- The NTSB has since restored access to the docket system but has kept 42 investigations, including that of Flight 2976, closed for review.
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