NTSB says one-third of FAA responses to safety recommendations are unacceptable

The US National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) says that about one-third of responses from the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) to its safety recommendations are “unacceptable.” In a statement reported by multiple outlets, the NTSB says 11 of the FAA’s responses do not adequately address the safety issues raised after a 2025 mid-air collision in Washington.

The NTSB’s criticism centers on whether the FAA’s actions and explanations sufficiently mitigate the concerns identified by the board. The outlets describe the same core finding—11 unacceptable responses out of the FAA’s total set—without detailing each recommendation’s content. Together, the reports emphasize that the NTSB is pressing for more complete or effective corrective measures and expects the FAA to revise how it responds to the board’s recommendations.

While both sources focus on the same statistic and the same incident, they do not present additional differing explanations or outcomes beyond the NTSB’s assessment of the FAA’s response quality.