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FAA Recommends Better Communication Procedures in Light of Fatal Montana Plane Crash

By The Associated Press

Story Created: Mar 19, 2010 at 9:20 AM MST

Story Updated: Mar 19, 2010 at 9:20 AM MST

MINNEAPOLIS - Federal safety officials are recommending that better communications procedures be adopted in the wake of a fatal Montana plane crash and a Northwest Airlines flight that overshot the Minneapolis airport by more than 100 miles last year.

The National Transportation Safety Board issued its recommendations Thursday to the Federal Aviation Administration, which runs the nation's air traffic control system.

The report comes after the board investigated the Northwest flight, whose pilots failed to talk to air traffic controllers for more than an hour, and the Montana crash that killed 14 people.

In the Montana crash, the report said documentation procedure deficiencies likely did not cause the accident but the investigation indicated that controllers were not documenting - and thus not ensuring - that pilots obtained critical weather and safety information for destination airports.

The private flight from Oroville, Calif., was destined for Bozeman but the pilot requested clearance to divert to Butte. The NTSB hasn't determined why the pilot wanted to divert or why the plane crashed on March 22, 2009.

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