White House Removes Republican Member of N.T.S.B.

J. Todd Inman, who was prominent in the investigation of the midair collision in Washington last year, said no reason was given for his firing two years into his term on the transportation safety board.


J. Todd Inman of the National Transportation Safety Board during a Jan. 27 hearing on the midair collision that killed 67 people near Reagan National Airport the previous January. Pool photo by Alex Wong

By Karoun Demirjian
Reporting from Washington
March 8, 2026

J. Todd Inman, a National Transportation Safety Board member who was prominent in the investigation of a fatal midair collision in Washington last year, has been fired by the White House, the second member of the five-seat panel to have been removed in the last year. ... “To date, I have not received any reason for this termination,” Mr. Inman said in a statement confirming his termination on Friday.

Two other people familiar with the matter also confirmed Mr. Inman’s firing. The news of his termination was reported earlier by The Air Current, an aerospace news publication. ... The N.T.S.B. referred questions about Mr. Inman’s firing to the White House, which did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Sunday.

President Joseph R. Biden Jr. selected Mr. Inman to fill one of the N.T.S.B. seats reserved for Republican members, and the Senate confirmed him to the board in 2024. No more than three of its five members can belong to the same political party. His term was not set to expire until the end of next year. ... Though not a career transportation executive, Mr. Inman had previously served as chief of staff at the Transportation Department during President Trump’s first term.

Mr. Inman rose to prominence during the N.T.S.B.’s investigation of the Jan. 29, 2025, midair collision outside Ronald Reagan National Airport, in which an Army Black Hawk helicopter collided with an American Airlines passenger jet, killing 67 people. He was the board member on duty the night of the accident, and was the first member of the panel to respond to the scene.


Mr. Inman emerged as a forceful interrogator during the investigation of the January 2025 midair collision. Pool photo by Al Drago

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Mr. Inman’s ouster creates a new vacancy on the board. It is not clear when the White House intends to nominate a person to fill it.

Karoun Demirjian is a breaking news reporter for The Times.