WASHINGTON, D.C. — The National Transportation Safety Board temporarily removed public access to its investigation dockets after cockpit audio from UPS flight 2976 was reconstructed using artificial intelligence from spectrogram images the agency had published. The NTSB is prohibited by law from releasing cockpit voice recordings, but recent AI advances enabled the audio to be approximated from visual representations of sound.

UPS flight 2976 crashed shortly after takeoff in Louisville, Ky., in 2025, killing 15 people, including all three pilots. NTSB investigators heard a 'high pitch ringing sound' on the cockpit voice recording that began just after the plane rotated for takeoff, though they have not identified its source.

NTSB spokesman Peter Knudson stated: "After becoming aware that artificial intelligence may allow approximations of cockpit audio to be digitally reconstructed from certain sound-spectrum imagery, the NTSB temporarily removed public access to its docket system while it reviewed investigative materials and evaluated additional safeguards." He added that the agency has "longstanding procedures in place to protect cockpit voice recordings and other sensitive onboard audio and video materials obtained during investigations."

Engineer and YouTuber Scott Manley, who is also a pilot, stated: "I basically made a post on Twitter saying, I think the NTSB has accidentally released cockpit audio recordings for this particular thing." He later said: "The mistake was for me to idly speculate in public on something that could have serious legal consequences. In retrospect, yeah, if I'd really thought about it, I would have tried to do a bit more on it myself. Or I would have just notified the guys at the NTSB." Manley also noted: "They're not just looking at the things that people are saying. They're looking at the other ambient sounds, right? Because that might give us some clues." He added: "They sounded a lot calmer when I heard the audio when I read the transcripts. So it made them seem more professional."

NTSB chair Jennifer Homendy wrote on X: "Laws against releasing CVR audio exist to protect privacy, preserve the integrity of NTSB investigations, and out of respect for accident victims and their families during a time of tremendous loss." Homendy called posts using the reconstructed audio "disgusting" and "manipulated" and urged social media platforms to take them down. The NTSB has since restored access to most of its public dockets, including for UPS flight 2976, but 41 dockets remain under review.