The Most Wanted List: Airline Safety Recommendations

While not nearly as familiar to the public as the criminal "most wanted" lists that hang from post office bulletin boards, the National Transportation Safety Board's most wanted list contains items that are just as important to anyone who is an airplane passenger.

The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) has identified seven key areas of aviation safety that need improvement. However, a cursory analysis of the NTSB's list will reveal the monumental task they face in order to achieve their proposed reforms...

1. Oversight of Pilot Proficiency
To improve oversight, airlines need to: (1) review any notices of disapproval for flight checks as a part of the pilot hiring process, and (2) establish remedial training and oversight programs for crew members who have shown performance deficiencies or experienced failures in a training environment.

It appears that airlines have made no progress on the first objective, so pilots who have previously been disapproved for flight may still be hired without a thorough investigation of the circumstances behind the prior disapproval. While it has made some strides toward improved oversight and remedial training, the NTSB is still waiting for the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) to implement a comparable program for pre-hiring assessment.

2. Image Recorders
In a push to take "black box" technology to a new level, the NTSB would like all cockpits to have crash-protected image recorders that will provide crash investigators with more information than the data and voice recorders currently in use.

As of February 2010, the FAA still had not made image recorders a requirement. Even though video recorders could help prevent accidents by providing more information to investigators and safety engineers about the reasons that accidents occur, it appears that this item may remain on NTSB's most wanted list for a long time.

3. Safety of Emergency Medical Services (EMS) Flights
EMS flights transport seriously ill patients and organ donors to emergency care facilities by plane or helicopter, but all too often they are involved in accidents that kill or injure patients, medical staff and flight crew. The NTSB would like to see stricter regulations put in place for EMS flights, and wants the FAA to develop programs to evaluate flight risks for EMS operators and medical personnel.

The NTSB has also asked for EMS aircrafts to be equipped with terrain awareness and warning systems, and has recommended a more formalized EMS flight dispatch process that includes up-to-the-minute information about weather conditions.

The FAA started the formal rulemaking process to address these concerns in April 2009, but appears to have made little progress so far. We all depend on emergency medical crews to help us or our loved ones in times of crisis, so keeping those flights safe for everyone should be a top priority.

4. Runway Safety
The issue of runway safety has been on the most wanted list since 1990, and there are four recommendations the NTSB would like the FAA to adopt:

• a safety system for ground movement that can provide direct warning to the cockpit in the event of probable ground collisions
• specific air traffic control clearance for each runway crossing
• an automated system that alerts pilots when a takeoff is attempted on the incorrect runway
• landing distance assessments with safety margins for every landing

These measures would help prevent collision-related injuries to passengers and flight crew, and to airline workers on the ground as well. The FAA is making slow progress on improving runway safety, but the NTSB is still awaiting action on many of these items.

5. Flying in Icy Conditions
Planes are often grounded due to icing, since the accumulation of ice on an airplane can severely affect its performance, sometimes even cause important equipment to fail. The NTSB recommends improving aircraft design and revising approval procedures for flight during icy conditions. Among other recommendations, the NTSB suggests that aircraft with pneumatic de-ice boots -- devices that allow for in-flight ice removal -- should be required to activate the boots as soon as the airplane enters icing conditions.

The FAA has promised action in several of these matters, but has not yet taken formal steps to address them.

6. Improving Crew Resource Management
Flight crews for commuter and on-demand air taxis need crew resource management training, which involves reviewing accidents and presenting skills and techniques to prevent future accidents. The current training requirements for commuter and on-demand flights are less stringent than for commercial flights.  

The FAA proposed a new rule addressing this issue in May 2009; once it is finalized, the NTSB will be able to cross this item off the most wanted list.

7. Incidents Caused by Human Fatigue
Many preventable accidents occur due to human fatigue, and in the airline industry even a simple mistake can cost lives. The NTSB has recommended that the FAA work to prevent fatigue-related accidents by placing limits on working hours for flight crews, mechanics and air traffic controllers, and by developing fatigue awareness and management programs.

The FAA has taken limited action to revise existing regulations and scheduling practices, but more work is needed in this area to make sure that fatigued airline workers get the rest they need to keep air travel safe.

There are an average of 36 aviation accidents reported to the NTSB each year, many of which result in death or serious injury. As the demand for air travel continues to grow, the FAA should take all steps necessary to prevent accidents and ensure the safety of passengers and crew.