The ''Rock'': The Role of the Press in Bringing about Change in Aircraft Accident Policy

From 1926 to 1938, the Aeronautics Branch, forerunner of the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), had been charged with aircraft accident investigation. While the Branch had been investigating accidents since its inception, it had, early in its tenure, put into place a policy making its findings secret. Media and political pressure began to mount in late 1928 over its policy of nondisclosure and the debate brought pressure to bear on the young Aeronautics Branch to reverse its policy and make its findings public. The focusing event for the Branch's policy reversal was the death of Knute Rockne, the famous Notre Dame football coach, in a Transcontinental and Western Airways (TWA) airliner on March 31, 193 1. This paper will examine the role of print media in bringing about a significant, and lasting, change in aircraft accident public-disclosure policy.