The Federal Transport Safety Administration (FTSA), also called the Transport Safety Authority, is a Federal regulatory agency that oversees transportation regulations and reports on accidents and incidents involving starships that occur within the Federation. In May 3301, the FTSA became involved in the investigation into the Starship One disaster and delivered a preliminary report on the cause of its destruction. In August 3301, an FTSA employee who participated in the Starship One investigation, Arnold Lowe, was killed when his shuttle collided with a Type-9 Heavy in the Artemis system.
Timeline[]
11 AUG 3301
- Two people died in a crash when a personal transport collided with a Lakon Type-9 Heavy transport vessel. The small ship, a type used to run between orbital facilities, was destroyed in the impact. The small vessel was ferrying two transport safety officials to the Laphria Shipyard in the Artemis system. They were on a knowledge sharing mission. The Transport Safety Authority issued the following statement from their headquarters on Mars: "This type of accident is always a terrible tragedy for those involved and the Laphrian authorities have promised full disclosure and co-operation with our investigation." They also reported that the pilot of the Type-9 was being treated for shock. She saw the transport break open only metres from her large window as she approached the station. Elaine Boyd from the Federal Times asked for the identities of the dead and was told that they wouldn't be disclosed until the next of kin had been identified. She pressed further asking if one of the dead men was Arnold Lowe, a senior investigator in the Starship One disappearance. She was told 'no comment' and no further questions were taken.[1]
30 MAY 3301
- It has now been 5 days since Starship One lost contact, and the search and rescue teams have yet to find any trace of the missing ship or her crew. According to Lieutenant Barringer of the Federal Transport Safety Administration: "Starship One's disappearance appears to have been caused by a major malfunction in the Frame Shift Drive's safety systems. It looks like there was a major power surge, followed by four separate system failures in quick succession according to the data we have, resulting in a catastrophic explosion. We do not believe this explosion would have been survivable by anyone on board. The FTSA has seen each of these failures in commercial and military hyperdrives in the last few years, but each one has resulted in the drive shutting down and the ship failing to enter hyperspace. There are strong similarities with the loss of the Highliner Antares in 3251, but since then we have many more safety systems designed to prevent such failures. At the moment it looks like this was a terribly unlucky tragic accident. We have not found any evidence of tampering, and all the systems passed their automated pre-flight checks. Our condolences go out to the loved ones of those lost."[2]