Louisville Crash Spurs Calls For Distance Rules

A federal report released this week recommends placing generators further from homes after investigators spent four years studying carbon monoxide poisonings in southeast Louisiana. The findings follow a UPS plane crash in Louisville, Kentucky, last year that killed three crew members and 12 people on the ground in an industrial area near the runway.

The National Transportation Safety Board investigated the Louisville crash, which occurred seconds after takeoff. The crash has drawn attention to federal buffer zones near airports, which set minimum distances intended to reduce harm when aviation disasters occur. Joce Sterman, a senior national investigative reporter, examined federal crash data and found incidents involving homes and neighborhood streets across the country.

The report on generators addresses a separate risk. Investigators studied carbon monoxide cases in southeast Louisiana over four years and are calling for changes to how close generators can operate to residences. Carbon monoxide from portable generators can accumulate near a home during power outages caused by storms and hurricanes.

Sterman interviewed people affected by airport-area crashes. Her reporting includes a Florida mayor whose city has experienced multiple crashes near the runway, the mother of a 4-year-old boy killed when a plane struck the family's car near an airport, and a retired airline pilot who advocates for safety changes. The boy's family was driving feet from the airport when the crash occurred.

The program also covers a one-person aircraft being tested in rural communities to carry a paramedic and medical equipment to patients. Photojournalist Greg Simpson in Charlotte reported on the aircraft and the woman who flies it.

Consumer investigator Rachel DePompa addressed credit card debt, noting that interest rates remain high and prices continue to rise. She outlined steps for paying down balances between now and the end of the year.