NHTSA Investigating Ford Taurus, Sable

Ford Motor Co.’s 2000 Taurus and Sable sedans are being investigated by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration because of air bag failures blamed in a fatal accident and cited in 14 other complaints.

The inquiry covers 480,000 of the sedans and may lead to a recall. The fatality, in which an air bag didn’t inflate in a 43-mph crash into a bridge railing, was the only report of an accident or injury related to the problem, the agency said.

Ford didn’t return calls requesting comment.