NTSB to Decide Sept. 12 on Tesla Crash's Cause
The driver of the car died when the 2015 Tesla Model S collided with a 2014 Freightliner Cascadia semitractor-trailer on U.S. Highway 27A. According to the board, the Tesla's Traffic-Aware Cruise Control and Autosteer lane-keeping assistance features were being used by the driver at the time of the crash.
The National Transportation Safety Board will meet Sept. 12 to determine the probable cause of the fatal May 7, 2016, crash of a Tesla car near Williston, Fla.
The driver of the car died when the 2015 Tesla Model S collided with a 2014 Freightliner Cascadia semitractor-trailer on U.S. Highway 27A. According to the board, the Tesla's Traffic-Aware Cruise Control and Autosteer lane-keeping assistance features were being used by the driver at the time of the crash, and the Tesla was traveling at 74 mph just prior to impact -- the highway's posted speed limit there was 65 mph.
Five NTSB investigators traveled to Williston to conduct the on-scene phase of the investigation, using three-dimensional laser scanning to document the crash location, the trailer, and the car; as the investigation progressed, the team expanded to cover nine areas of inquiry, according to NTSB.
The meeting is scheduled to be held here in NTSB's Board Room and Conference Center in Washington, D.C., beginning at 9:30 a.m. It is open to the public. For those who cannot attend in person, the meeting will be webcast and a link to the webcast will be available shortly before the start of the meeting at http://ntsb.capitolconection.org/.
NTSB's preliminary report for the crash was issued July 26, 2016, and the docket was opened June 19, 2017.