| Title | Number | Year | Source | Author | Summary |
| Untitled | 1078 | 1985 | Star (Kansas City, Mo.) | N/A | Kansas City Star looks at the shutdown of two commuter airlines that served Kansas City; the Federal Aviation Administration closed the airlines after airline employees complained about safety violations that were overlooked in FAA routine inspections, July 14 - 15, 1985. |
| The Plane Truth | 14516 | 1997 | WTAE-TV (Pittsburgh) | Anna Linaberger; Andy Pearson; Lenni Todd; Marshall Mattie | The series is a result of a two month review of federal air safety documents in the Aviation Safety Reporting System or ASRS. The documents are part of a system that is little known outside of aviation circles. It allows anyone involved in flying to anonymously and confidentially report incidents, accidents or problems they witness or are involved in. We reviewed 2000 such reports on Pittsburgh International Airport, dating back to 1988. The review revealed many incidents and even accidents that the public never heard about. The investigation also uncovered a pattern of problems with runway and taxiway signs at the airport that have led to near miss incidents on the ground. The investigation also revealed an alarming number of accidents between planes and ground vehicles in the terminal parking area. |
| Untitled | 3435 | 1985 | ABC World News Tonight | N/A | ABC World News Tonight looks at Federal Aviation Administration records for near mid-air collisions to find that the incidence of NMAC's has doubled since the Professional Air-Traffic Controllers Organization strike, January, June and December 1985. |
| Untitled | 2707 | 1984 | Daily Herald (Arlington Heights, Ill.) | N/A | Daily Herald uses Federal Aviation Administration documents to expose a large number of safety-threatening errors by air-traffic controllers in Chicago due to inexperienced and overworked personnel, July 8 - 9, 1984. |
| Untitled | 5323 | 1987 | KMSP-TV (Minneapolis) | N/A | KMSP-TV (Minneapolis) report looks at substance abuse by commercial and private pilots, finding NTSB records show alcohol is a factor in 10 percent of general aviation crashes; finds flaws in FAA rules that allow pilots with long records of driving under the influence to continue flying airplanes, June 9, 1987. |
| Untitled | 7040 | 1987 | Christian Science Monitor | N/A | Christian Science Monitor's three-part series reports that while air traffic is steadily increasing, a continuing shortage of experienced air-traffic controllers threatens air safety; the Federal Aviation Administration plans to allow an increase in the number of commercial airplanes, June 3, 1987. |
| Untitled | 577 | 1979 | Mercury News (San Jose, Calif.) | N/A | San Jose Mercury-News publishes series on airline crew fatigue that jeopardizes the safety of passengers and has resulted in 350 close calls from 1973-1979; investigation uses internal Federal Aviation Administration letters, testimony of airline crews and employees, and scientific reports on fatigue, November 1979. |
| Untitled | 2537 | 1983 | Wall Street Journal (New York) | N/A | Wall Street Journal investigates the allegation that J. Lynn Helms (chief of Federal Aviation Administration in December 1983), while president of Piper Aircraft Corp., tried to keep the FAA from finding out about alleged safety defects in one of the company's planes, December 1983. |
| Near-Miss Communications | 16016 | 1999 | WABC-TV (New York) | Tim Hoffer; Daniela Royes; Bryon White; Marty Glemtotsky | WABC-TV Channel 7 Eye Witness News investigated why two foreign 757 jumbo jets nearly collided on the JFK Airport in New York in June of 1998. The investigation revealed that this near-miss and an Avianca jet crash that killed 73 people 10 years ago "resulted from foreign pilots inability to clearly understand English, the international language of aviation." |
| Untitled | 3035 | 1983 | WOTV-TV (Grand Rapids, Mich.) | N/A | WOTV-TV (Grand Rapids, Mich.) airs series on the susceptibility of commercial airliners to catch fire, 1983. TAPE. |
| Untitled | 2913 | 1985 | Wall Street Journal (New York) | N/A | Wall Street Journal finds that airlines are neglecting maintenance in order to cut costs and be competitive, Nov. 6, 1985. |
| Untitled | 3625 | 1985 | CBS News Radio | N/A | CBS Radio explores concerns that deregulation has put profits before safety in the airline industry; finds inadequate number of air traffic controllers, Jan. 31, 1986. |
| Untitled | 4181 | 1986 | Village Voice (New York) | N/A | Village Voice (New York) publishes article analyzing the frightening figures on airplane crashes and near mid-air collisions since President Ronald Reagan fired 11,000 air-traffic controllers to end a 1981 strike, June 10, 1986. |
| Untitled | 4222 | 1986 | Courier-Journal (Louisville, Ky.) | N/A | Courier-Journal (Louisville) runs a series tracing the final hours of Arrow Air flight 950, a charter flight that crashed in Gander, Newfoundland, killing 248 soldiers, May 25 - 27, 1986. |
| Untitled | 4255 | 1986 | Discover Magazine | N/A | Discover article describes the mechanics of "black boxes," those shock-proof and fire-proof devices that record airplane flight data, and how their information is deciphered; some airliners still use outdated recorders, August 1986. |
| Untitled | 4293 | 1986 | Pittsburgh Press | N/A | Pittsburgh Press discloses flaws in the FAA's drug screening and medical certification program that allow pilots with life-threatening drug habits and medical problems to fly commercial aircraft; patient confidentiality laws forbid medical personnel from turning in pilots with drug problems; FAA examinations are easily rigged, Sept. 21 - Dec. 22, 1986. |
| Untitled | 4386 | 1986 | News (Birmingham, Ala.) | N/A | Birmingham News investigates a popular brand of autopilot for small planes linked to at least four fatal crashes, Nov. 23 - 24, 1986. |
| Untitled | 4413 | 1986 | Dallas Morning News | N/A | Dallas Morning News finds that not only is the FAA stretched to its limits by the proliferaton of airlines, but it also may give preferential treatment in enforcement of safety laws, specifically toward Continental Airlines, Feb. 23 - 24, 1986. |
| Trouble! | 4552 | 1986 | Business Week | Symonds Engardio | Business Week finds evidence of lavish spending and questionable investments by top management at Allegheny International, despite a 70 percent tumble in market value of public shares. |
| Untitled | 4682 | 1986 | Sun-Sentinel (Fort Lauderdale, Fla.) | N/A | Fort Lauderdale News and Sun-Sentinel reconstructs the final few minutes of Delta Flight 191, which crashed in a thunderstorm in Dallas in 1985, July 27, 1986. |