Recall of the century

One of the largest and most complex recall efforts in auto industry history is growing larger and more complex.

After starting small, the Takata airbag inflator recalls have spread like a virus to infect 12 automakers and as many as 25 million U.S. vehicles. U.S. regulators have stepped in to help speed up repairs and funnel a finite supply of replacement parts to the vehicles considered most at risk of an inflator rupture.

Even though the recalls have been proceeding in earnest for more than a year, millions of inflators remain unfixed.

According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, about 31 percent of all recalled Takata inflators had been repaired as of Feb. 12, up from 18 percent in mid-August.

The challenges, and human costs, continue to mount. A 52-year-old man was killed in December in South Carolina when his 2006 Ford Ranger struck a cow on the road, and the airbag exploded upon deployment. It was the 10th death linked to the faulty inflators, and it prompted an expansion of the recalls that added 5 million inflators to the tally.

And Takata is facing a daunting ultimatum from NHTSA: Prove by the end of 2019 that its ammonium nitrate inflator propellant is safe, or be forced to recall every ammonium nitrate inflator ever made.

Takata's exploding airbags have been linked to 10 deaths worldwide, including 9 in the U.S. Many of the deadly ruptures occurred in seemingly minor collisions, according to court records, and some caused wounds so violent that first responders initially believed them to be the result of stabbings or gunshots.

May 2009: Ashley Parham, 2001 Honda Accord

Parham, 18, of Midwest City, Okla., died after the airbag inflator in her car ruptured in a “minor” collision in her high school parking lot. Honda settled with her family, placing $5,000 in a trust for Parham's brother, who was in the car during the crash.

December 2009: Gurjit Rathore, 2001 Honda Accord

An inflator in Rathore's car exploded following a “minor” accident in Virginia, sending metal fragments through the airbag and severing “main blood vessels” in the 33-year-old woman's neck.

September 2013: Hai Ming Xu, 2002 Acura TL

Xu, 47, was pronounced dead in an Alhambra, Calif., parking lot after his car's driver-side inflator ruptured when he crashed into a wall. Metal shards caused “severe facial trauma” that first responders initially suspected to be a gunshot wound.

July 2014: Law Suk Leh, 2003 Honda City

Leh, 42, who was late in her pregnancy, was struck in the neck with a nearly 1-inch piece of metal from an inflator that exploded in a low-speed collision in Malaysia. Leh died en route to the hospital; her baby was delivered alive but died 3 days later.

September 2014: Jewel Brangman, 2001 Honda Civic

Brangman, 26, died after suffering cuts to the left side of her neck and “severe brain injury” when the inflator in her rental car ruptured following an accident in Los Angeles.

September 2014: Hien Thi Tran, 2001 Honda Accord

The inflator ruptured in a collision in Orange County, Fla., sending metal fragments into Tran's face, neck and upper chest. The “stab-like” wounds initially prompted a homicide investigation. Tran, 51, died 3 days after the accident.

January 2015: Carlos Solis IV, 2002 Honda Accord

Solis, 35, died at the scene of a “relatively minor” collision near Houston after a ruptured inflator sent metal shards into his neck. The car had an open recall when Solis bought it from a used-car dealer.

April 2015: Kylan Rae Langlinais, 2005 Honda Civic

Langlinais, 22, died 4 days after her car struck a utility pole in Lafayette, La. The ruptured inflator sprayed shrapnel that slashed her carotid artery and caused “profuse” bleeding. Langlinais received a recall notice 2 days after the crash.

July 2015: Unidentified driver, 2001 Honda Accord Coupe

A 13-year-old boy who was driving was killed in a crash near Pittsburgh. Honda confirmed the rupture in December and said it had mailed a recall notice to the Accord's owner 1 day before the crash. Honda declined to identify the victim.

December 2015: Joel Knight, 2006 Ford Ranger

Joel Knight, 52, died after the driver-side inflator ruptured in a crash in Lancaster County, S.C.

Source: Center for Auto Safety, Honda, NHTSA, court records, news reports