"NASA engineer died in fiery Alabama crash as FBI probes scientist deaths" — Fox News (2026)

Source: Fox News Digital, "NASA engineer found dead in burned Tesla after vanishing from his Alabama home last year" / "NASA engineer died in fiery Alabama crash as FBI probes scientist deaths." URL: https://www.foxnews.com/us/nasa-nuclear-engineer-found-dead-burned-tesla-vanishing-alabama-home-last-year Captured: 2026-06-07 (readability extraction). Verbatim news article on the death of NASA engineer Joshua LeBlanc (citing the Alabama Law Enforcement Agency and KLFY). Government/news primary; analysis and the missing-scientists-pattern framing live at ../../topics/mccasland-and-missing-scientists, not here.

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House Oversight Chair James Comer expresses concern about a "sinister" pattern
in the mysterious deaths and disappearances of 11 U.S. scientists involved in
nuclear, aerospace, and defense research. Former FBI agent Nicole Parker
analyzes the unusual cases, noting missing cell phones and wiped data.
Separately, an Iranian national was arrested for allegedly trafficking drones
and weapons for Iran, highlighting critical national security concerns for the
White House and NASA.

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A NASA nuclear scientist died after a fiery crash in a rural Alabama town last
year, which at the time caused suspicion among family members.

Joshua LeBlanc, 29, died in a fiery crash in his Tesla on July 22, 2025. The
crash happened in Huntsville, Alabama where his Tesla was found burned beyond
recognition at about 2:45 in the afternoon, the Alabama Law Enforcement Agency
told Fox News Digital. The vehicle collided with a guardrail, then several
trees, before the vehicle burst into flames.

At 4:32 a.m. on the same day, LeBlanc's family reported him missing, according
to KLFY. He uncharacteristically failed to show up to his job as an aerospace
technologies electrical engineer at NASA, where he worked on nuclear
propulsion projects.

MYSTERY CLOUDS DEATHS, DISAPPEARANCES OF SCIENTISTS WITH UFO RESEARCH TIES:
TIMELINE

Joshua LeBlanc, a former NASA scientist who died in a car crash on July 22,
2025. Photo taken on an unknown date. (Joshua LeBlanc/LinkedIn)

His body was also burned beyond recognition, and police confirmed his identity
three days later after his body was transported to the Alabama Department of
Forensic Sciences.

At the time, his family told KLFY that they feared he had been abducted and
that he had left his phone and wallet in his home at the time of the
disappearance.

Police tracked LeBlanc down using the data from his Tesla Sentry Mode, and
found that his vehicle sat at the airport in Huntsville for four hours on the
morning of his death. His family said his trip west was not part of his plan
for the day, and that uncharacteristically, he was not communicating with
them.

A LinkedIn page for LeBlanc says he worked at NASA for about five-and-a-half
years, and that he was a team lead for NASA’s Space Nuclear Propulsion (SNP)
Instrumentation and Control (I&C) Maturation. NASA SNP technology "would
enable faster and more robust transportation for crew and cargo missions to
Mars and science missions to the outer solar system," according to the
government agency's website.

WHO WAS NUNO LOUREIRO? MIT PROFESSOR GUNNED DOWN IN APARTMENT NEAR
UNIVERSITY

The NASA logo is displayed at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in La Cañada
Flintridge, Calif., on Oct. 15, 2025. (Mario Tama/Getty Images)

LeBlanc was later a team lead on NASA's Demonstration Rocket for Agile
Cislunar Operation (DRACO), a nuclear thermal propulsion engine.

At least 12 other people, the vast majority involved in nuclear science and
space research, have died or gone missing since 2022, some under mysterious
circumstances.

Monica Reza, 60; Melissa Casias, 53; Anthony Chavez, 79; Steven Garcia, 48;
and retired Air Force Maj. Gen. William Neil McCasland, 68, were all
reported missing throughout 2023 to 2026, with each of their disappearances
considered suspicious.

Jason Thomas, left, Melissa Casias, center, and Frank Maiwald are among
scientists whose deaths or disappearances have drawn scrutiny as officials
review whether any cases are connected. (Fox News: Sierra Casias: Legacy.com)

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Michael David Hicks, 59; Frank Maiwald, 61; Nuno Loureiro, 47; Jason Thomas,
45; Amy Eskridge, 34; and Carl Grillmair, 47, all died between 2022 and 2026.

Hicks, Maiwald and Reza were all connected to NASA's Jet Propulsion
Laboratory.

The deaths and disappearances have not been officially connected in any way,
but they have caught the attention of the White House.

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"I hope it's random, but we're going to know in the next week and a half,"
Trump told reporters last week. "I just left a meeting on that subject."

In a statement to Fox News Digital, the FBI confirmed the agency is working
alongside other federal authorities in the investigation into the 11 missing
and deceased scientists.

FBI agents stand on the tarmac as a plane arrives carrying Zobaidul Amin
following his extradition from Malaysia to face federal charges in Alaska.
(Department of Justice)

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"The FBI is spearheading the effort to look for connections into the missing
and deceased scientists," the agency said. "We are working with the Department
of Energy, Department of War, and with our state and local law enforcement
partners to find answers."

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The Alabama Law Enforcement Agency, which investigated LeBlanc's death, shared
a press release from July of last year reiterating details of the crash.

Fox News' Julia Bonavita contributed to this report.

Peter D'Abrosca is a reporter at Fox News Digital covering politics.

Follow Peter on X at @pmd_reports. Send story tips to peter.dabrosca@fox.com.