NTSB Sets Hearing On Cause Of 2016 Deadly Apartment Explosions

SILVER SPRING, MD — The National Transportation Safety Board has scheduled a hearing to determine the cause of the 2016 natural gas explosion that killed seven people in Silver Spring.

In a Tuesday news release, the NTSB announced that the public hearing — originally scheduled for March 12 — has been moved to April 23. The meeting is set to be held at the NTSB Boardroom and Conference Center in Southwest Washington at 9:30 a.m.

On Aug. 10, 2016, a natural gas explosion and fire at the Flower Branch Apartments in Silver Spring killed seven people. Federal investigators determined that the blast was caused by a gas leak from a utility room.

The NTSB has been investigating the incident. But the agency's prolonged probe has drawn the ire of several government and court officials.

Late last year, a judge overseeing lawsuits from residents who were injured or displaced after the incident railed against the federal agency for not wrapping up its investigation. The agency's probe has stalled residents' lawsuits, according to "The Washington Post."

"This accident didn't happen on Mars; it's Silver Spring," Montgomery County Circuit Court Judge Ronald Rubin said during a hearing last year.

Rubin wasn't the only official asking for answers from the NTSB, according to "The Washington Post." In a Nov. 16, 2018 letter to the agency, Sen. Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.) said he was concerned "about the seeming lack of progress in the investigation."

April's hearing is set to take place more than two years after the fatal natural gas explosions. The NTSB Boardroom and Conference Center is located at 420 10th St. in Southwest Washington.