Court upholds release of corporate jet list as public record

A federal district court judge on Friday agreed that the list of private planes potentially used by auto industry executives who traveled to Washington to ask Congress for help should be released, ProPublica reported.

ProPublica filed a public records request for the list in Dec. 2008 and the Federal Aviation Administration agreed to release it in June 2009. However, the National Business Aviation Administration filed a lawsuit to block the release of the records, saying they were exempt from disclosure because it could reveal information about potential deals and put the safety of top executives in jeopardy.

A federal judge in the District of Columbia said the public’s right to access the records outweighed any potential harm to corporate executives and noted that publishing the list of aircraft registration numbers would not make public who was on the flight or why it occurred.