NTSB Member Says He Was Fired Without Explanation By The Trump Administration

Todd Inman was a public face in the investigation into last year's collision between an airliner and Army helicopter in Washington.

WASHINGTON (AP) — A National Transportation Safety Board member who was a public face of the investigation into last year’s deadly collision of an airliner and an Army helicopter near the nation’s capital said Sunday that he had been fired by the Trump administration without explanation.

Todd Inman said in a statement that he received notice Friday from the White House personnel office that his position on the board was “terminated effective immediately.” He said he had not yet received a reason for his firing.

The White House had no immediate response to a message left by The Associated Press seeking comment.

The NTSB has a five-person board but its website on Sunday showed just three members. The board’s vice chair, Alvin Brown, was abruptly removed last year.

Brown and Robert Primus, who served on the U.S. Surface Transportation Board, were the only Black board members overseeing their respective independent agencies when they were fired last year. Both have challenged their firings in court, and the group Democracy Forward has filed discrimination claims on behalf of the men.