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A widebody cargo plane hauling packages for Amazon with three people aboard abruptly plunged out of the sky and slammed into a bay Feb. 23 as it was preparing to land in Houston.

A prestigious scientific organization on Oct. 11 called for more frequent and better inspections of freight railroad tracks to prevent potentially catastrophic oil and ethanol train crashes.

Uber grounded its fleet of self-driving cars in Pittsburgh for a few hours the morning of Sept. 18 as the company investigated a crash involving one of its vehicles.

Tesla Inc.’s design of its Autopilot system contributed to a 2016 fatal crash in Florida, accident investigators concluded as they recommended all automakers prevent autonomous driving systems from being used on roads for which they are not designed.

Residents have long worried about plans for Southwest light rail to operate alongside freight trains hauling ethanol, especially in densely populated areas such as Minneapolis.

Improving truck crash data and monitoring of high­-risk carriers are among the key factors that will lead to improved heavy truck safety, a panel of trucking experts told a Senate Commerce subcommittee last week.

For a third straight year, Wisconsin’s State Patrol has received federal and state funding in hopes of continuing to reduce large truck crashes in the state. The yearlong grants of nearly $500,000, which boosted the three-year total over $700,000, took effect Oct. 1.

Nationwide, fatal crashes involving large trucks and buses have dropped for decades. But with more trucks and more small cars on the road, the number of truck-involved crashes on Ohio roads has been rising in recent years.