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The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) determined Tuesday that Amtrak’s and CSX Transportation’s failure to properly assess and mitigate the risk of conducting switching operations during a signal suspension, coupled with a CSX conductor’s error, led to the collision of an Amtrak train with a CSX train near Cayce, South Carolina.

Even as it adds to its list of “no-fly zones” for drone operators, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) is taking steps to expand its Low Altitude Authorization and Capability (LAANC) system to include recreational flyers. This action – which begins today - will significantly increase the ability of drone pilots to gain access to controlled airspace nationwide.

The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) this week published an updated list of the safety recommendations associated with the agency’s 2019 – 2020 Most Wanted List of Transportation Safety Improvements following the recent closure of eight safety recommendations. Of the eight closed safety recommendations; four (P-17-003, H-15-020, A-09-092, and H-09-018) were closed with acceptable action taken, one (P-18-003 ) was closed with acceptable alternate action taken, one (M-16-028) was closed with a status of exceeds recommended action, and safety recommendation H-12-029 was unfortunately closed with unacceptable action taken.

The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) doesn’t normally investigate minor accidents, but a collision between a truck and a shuttle caught the agency’s attention – because the shuttle was autonomous. There were no injuries to the seven passengers and one attendant aboard the shuttle or to the driver of the truck in the November 8, 2017 incident in Las Vegas involving a commercial truck and the autonomous shuttle. The shuttle incurred minor damage and the truck had a minor abrasion to one of its tire.