NTSB board member Todd Inman says White House fired him amid Washington midair collision investigation

Abrupt removal leaves fewer board members as investigations continue

A National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) member who served as a public face of the federal investigation into a deadly midair collision near Washington, D.C., says he was fired by the White House and removed from office effective immediately.

Todd Inman said he received notice on Friday, March 6, 2026, from the White House Presidential Personnel Office that his position was terminated. Inman said no explanation accompanied the decision. On Sunday, March 8, 2026, the White House did not provide an immediate public response to questions about the firing.

The NTSB is structured as an independent federal agency with a five-member board. As of Sunday, the agency’s public roster reflected three sitting members, following Inman’s departure and earlier board changes. Under federal law, NTSB board members are appointed by the president with Senate confirmation and serve five-year terms; the statute also sets conditions under which a member may be removed.

Role in high-profile aviation cases

Inman had been the on-scene board member and spokesperson during the early phase of the investigation into a January 2025 midair collision involving a passenger jet and an Army helicopter near Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport, a crash that killed 67 people. He also served as the lead board member on the investigation into a 2025 crash involving a UPS cargo aircraft in Kentucky that killed 15 people.

In a written statement issued after his removal, Inman urged that the NTSB’s work remain focused on safety and insulated from political or personal agendas.

Context: earlier removals and legal disputes over independence

Inman’s firing follows prior changes to the NTSB’s leadership. In 2025, the board’s vice chair, Alvin Brown, was removed from his position in a move that was widely described as unusual for the agency. Separately, Robert Primus, a member of the U.S. Surface Transportation Board (STB), was fired in 2025; Primus filed a lawsuit challenging his removal.

Brown has also pursued legal action contesting his removal, and court filings in those disputes have focused on statutory protections intended to limit removals of officials serving on independent boards. The White House has previously argued, in response to related controversies, that the president has legal authority to remove board members and that performance considerations motivated decisions.

What changes at the NTSB mean operationally

• The NTSB continues to handle a large national caseload of aviation and surface transportation investigations while supporting foreign investigations.

• A reduced number of confirmed board members can concentrate oversight responsibilities among fewer officials during major investigations and public hearings.

• Any further changes in board composition would require presidential nomination and Senate confirmation for vacant seats.

Inman said his termination notice stated his position was “terminated effective immediately,” and he said he was not provided a reason.

As of March 8, 2026, no formal explanation for Inman’s removal had been publicly released, and ongoing investigations tied to the Washington-area midair collision remained active.