The NTSB Most Wanted List
The National
Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) identified many things that they “Most
Wanted” to change or improve for 2015. Two main bullet points that they
highlighted included the prevent loss of control in flight, in general aviation
and the strengthening of procedural compliance. These are two significant
issues that negatively impact the flying community.
There is a
difference in the problems facing each general aviation and commercial
aviation. For the general aviation community I believe their biggest issue is
the lack of required training after the pilot is licensed. According to the
NTSB website, General
Aviation pilot proficiency requirements are much less rigorous than those of
airline pilots. Pilots are much more likely to have longer intervals between
training sessions and longer intervals between flights. They typically need to
complete a flight review, consisting of 1 hour of ground training and 1 hour of
flight training, every 24 months. They almost exclusively maintain and improve
skills on their own, and their conduct of safe flight depends more on
individual abilities and judgment, potentially leaving them unprepared for
situations that can lead to loss of control.
In my opinion the greatest
issue facing commercial aviation are the human factors. These include, but are
not limited to, not calling out to the captain when one believes there is an
error, chit-chatting during crucial times in the flight, and lack of awareness
of the situations. Human error has been documented as
a primary contributor to more than 70 percent of commercial airplane hull-loss
accidents.
The NTSB proposed a
few ideas to fix some of these topic areas. Concerning Prevent Loss
of Control in Flight in General Aviation, they proposed pilots should:
- Be prepared to recognize the warning signs of
an impending stall, and be able to apply appropriate recovery techniques
before stall onset.
- Be honest with themselves about their
knowledge level of stalls, and their ability to recognize and handle them.
- Utilize aeronautical decision making (ADM)
techniques and flight risk assessment tools during both preflight planning
and inflight operations.
- Manage distractions so that they do not
interfere with situational awareness.
- Understand, properly train, and maintain
currency in the equipment and airplanes they operate. They should take
advantage of available commercial trainer, type club and transition
training opportunities.
These seem very
reasonable and can be easily implemented if the FAA is willing to mandate these
items. The airlines also need to not be shy of spending money in these areas.
These changes will easily and immediately help reduce the accidents that happen
in the areas. In
the area of strengthening procedural compliance the NTSB recommends these
fixes:
- Requiring pilots to conduct landing distance
assessments,
- Revising the procedures for handling thrust
reverser lockout after landing, and
- Non-precision approaches, discontinuing
so-called dive-and-drive approaches in favor of continuous descent final
approaches.
These are great fixes to help pilots remain alert and
focus on the immediate tasks at hand during crucial tasks. These are easily applicable if the airline
companies are willing to spend in these areas.
The NTSB has set out easily achievable goals for the airline industry
and I think, with hard work, they can be achieved.
Sources:
The Role
of Human Factors in Improving Aviation Safety - Text Only. (n.d.). Retrieved
February 9, 2015, from http://www.boeing.com/commercial/aeromagazine
Prevent
Loss of Control in Flight in General Aviation. (n.d.). Retrieved February 9,
2015, from http://www.ntsb.gov/safety/mwl/Pages/mwl7_2015.aspx
Strengthen
Procedural Compliance. (n.d.). Retrieved February 9, 2015, from
http://www.ntsb.gov/safety/mwl/Pages/mwl10_2015.aspx
Because GA pilots don't have has much time built as commercial pilots, and because they aren't flying as a career itself, it may be difficult to fly in order to maintain and improve their training after receiving their private or instrument. It could be difficult because of lack of money for fuel, weather, and other circumstances. I feel that the 1 hour of flight training and the 1 hour of ground training every 24 calendar months should be 12 calendar months, in order for GA pilots to remain proficient.
ReplyDeleteCarly I agree. I think that the price to fly is hard for GA pilots to pay consistently. I think that the current, 24 calendar month regulation is a little to long for pilots to maintain current. I think your idea about making changes to to 12 calendar month would be beneficial and would help reduce risk.
DeleteI also agreed that proficiency requirements could be changed to help prevent loss of control in GA. I know sometimes I feel "rusty" after not flying for a week, so it is hard to imagine going almost two years without any training.
ReplyDeleteI like how you noted that the NTSB recommendations for the commercial operators would be a relatively easy fix if the commercial operator is willing to fund the training. That would be a large part of taking the NTSB up on their recommendations, more training. I have the feeling the airlines won't react unless the FAA takes matters into their own hands since the NTSB just makes recommendations.
ReplyDelete