On Monday, the White House removed the latest National Road Safety Commission vice-chairman in a string of fires by President Donald Trump from independent U.S. government agencies.
Alvin Brown, the first ever African-American elected Democrat in Jacksonville, Florida, joined the five-person board meeting in March 2024 before being designated vice-chaired by then-President Joe Biden in December.
White House officials confirmed their departure.
Brown did not immediately send an email back to his personal account for comment.
The NTSB investigates all civil aviation accidents.
The Board will investigate significant accidents in other modes of transport (highways, oceans, pipelines, railroads), determine the possible causes of the accident, and provide safety recommendations.
Since January, Trump has fired two Democrats on the Federal Trade Commission, as well as members of the National Labor Relations Commission, the Merit System Protection Commission and the Federal Election Commission.
The departure comes amid growing concerns about aviation safety following the January 29 air collision between the US Army helicopter and the American Airlines regional jet that killed the 67.
Transport Secretary Sean Duffy outlines plans to seek billions of dollars from Congress to overhaul US air traffic control and personnel on Thursday.
A string of equipment and staffing issues at Newark Airport disrupt hundreds of flights last week, and other incidents that have prompted United Airlines to cancel 10% of daily flights from New Jersey Airport, raising alarms.
On April 28, the controller handling Newark traffic lost radio contact with the plane for 30 seconds, Duffy said Monday.
