NASA Engineer Dies in Tesla Car Fire, US Nuclear Scientists Die in Succession
Jakarta, CNBC Indonesia - Several US nuclear-related scientists have been found dead under mysterious circumstances in recent years. One of them is Joshua LeBlanc (29), an aerospace electrical scientist at NASA working on nuclear propulsion projects.
He was found dead on 22 July 2025 in Huntsville, Alabama. At 14:45, the Tesla car he was in crashed into a road barrier and ended up burning, leaving LeBlanc barely recognisable.
Earlier, at 04:32 that morning, LeBlanc’s family reported him missing and feared he had been kidnapped. His phone and wallet were not taken with him at that time, according to the NY Post on Tuesday (28/4/2026).
Police tracked LeBlanc’s whereabouts using data from his Tesla’s Sentry Mode. The vehicle had been parked at Huntsville airport for four hours on the same day.
The family stated that this trip was not part of his plans at the time. LeBlanc also unusually failed to communicate with them.
The NY Post cited LeBlanc’s LinkedIn page, which stated that he had worked at NASA for five and a half years. He had previously served as the team leader for NASA’s Space Nuclear Propulsion (SNP) Instrumentation and Control (I&C) Maturation Programme.
LeBlanc was also recorded as the team leader for NASA’s Demonstration Rocket for Agile Cislunar Operations (DRACO). This is a nuclear thermal propulsion engine.
Around 12 people have been reported missing or deceased since 2022. This issue has not yet been officially linked in any way.
The White House has spoken out about the incident. President Donald Trump stated that his side is conducting an investigation and will soon announce the results.
“I hope it’s random, but we’ll find out in the next week and a half,” Trump said in mid-month.
The death cases occurred between 2022-2026, namely Michael David Hicks, 59; Frank Maiwald, 61; Nuno Loureiro, 47; Jason Thomas, 45; Amy Eskridge, 34; and Carl Grillmair, 47.
Meanwhile, suspicious missing reports occurred in 2023-2026, initially involving Monica Reza, 60; Melissa Casias, 53; Anthony Chavez, 79; Steven Garcia, 48; and retired US Air Force Major General William Neil McCasland, 68.