Just a few weeks ago a 120-seat United Airlines commercial airliner narrowly missed colliding with a 22-passenger Gulf Stream jet in the skies above Washington, D.C. The UA plane was headed to Reagan National Airport while the Gulf Stream was departing from Washington Dulles International Airport. With 15 seconds remaining before the two planes would collide, the UA plane's on-board collision warning system went off, prompting the pilots into action to avoid the crash.
]]> This is just one example of many of the close calls that have happened in recent months in the Washington area. According to the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), the 22 near-fatal mistakes in the Potomac airspace in the last six months already exceeds the total number reported for 2009.Other examples of catastrophes that were barely avoided include a Continental 737 that came within 3900 feet of hitting a military plane that took off from Andrews Air Force Base and an 80-passenger shuttle jet that was directed into the path of a commuter jet. Just as with the UA flight, the shuttle jet's on-board collision warning system prevented a crash by alerting the pilots to the impending collision.
Washington D.C. is not the only area seeing a rise in the number of near-misses. The same types of near catastrophes are happening at airports all across the country as older, more experienced air traffic controllers are retiring and being replaced by new, inexperienced controllers.
Under federal law, air traffic controllers are required to retire at age 56 or after 25 years of service, whichever occurs first. This policy has created waves of retirement that leave the nation's airports struggling to fill the gaps with new controllers.
It is estimated that one out of every four air traffic controllers is a novice. At the four airports in the Washington, D.C. area, 49 out of 177 controllers have not received full certification for all of the sectors and duties of their jobs.
The FAA, however, insists that new air traffic controllers are not to blame for the rise in near-collisions. In trying to improve safety and discover the cause of the increase in the number of near-misses, the FAA has begun several new programs. Among these is a program that encourages controllers to voluntarily report their errors to the FAA. In exchange, the FAA has promised not to use the information to discipline the controllers. As a result of the program, the FAA receives between 200 and 300 error reports each week.
]]>In October of 2009, a Northwest Airlines flight headed for Minneapolis overshot the airport by 150 miles, forcing the plane to turn back. The pilot and co-pilot had become distracted while using a personal laptop computer in the cockpit, violating airline policy. The autopilot was engaged and the plane was over northern Wisconsin before a flight attendant questioned the pilots about the plane's flight path.
]]> More tragically, in February 2009, a flight to Buffalo, New York, crashed after the pilots became distracted while talking and stopped paying attention to weather conditions. Forty-nine passengers and crew were killed in the accident, along with one person on the ground.These are only two of the many incidents and accidents that distracted pilots cause each year. The National Transportation Safety Board recently held a three-day conference in Washington, D.C., where one of the items on the agenda was the issue of whether technology has made pilots too complacent in the cockpit.
Some observers wonder if planes are on the path to becoming over-automated. With the pilots doing less of the actual flying, they occupy their time with more non-flight-related activities. A consultant to the FAA and former airline pilot Hemant Bhana cautions that pilots are becoming over reliant on the technology and that the returns that these advancements make in terms of safety may be diminishing. He argues that when planes were less advanced, more of a pilot's attention and focus was required to operate an aircraft.
Conversely, some argue that automation is not the problem and that overall, planes are much safer today than in previous decades. Federal Aviation Administrator J. Randolph Babbit says that automation didn't have anything to do with the pilots overshooting the Minneapolis airport. He argues that the problem in that incident was that the pilots simply were not doing their jobs properly, and that more training and familiarity with airline and FAA procedures can avoid future problems.
]]>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 ProficiencyIt 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:
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.
]]>However, the overarching causes of accidents are often similar. The Federal Aviation Administration has developed five common themes among airplane accidents: human error, flawed assumptions, organizational lapses, unintended effects and pre-existing failures.
]]> Human Error: Almost every airplane crash involves some form of human error; in some cases, it is the primary cause while in other situations human error simply aggravates existing problems. A pilot may fail to recognize that he or she is bringing the plane down too quickly, resulting in a crash landing before reaching the runway. A member of a maintenance crew may not properly inspect the plane before take-off, thereby failing to notice that a component of the plane has become worn or needs repair. An air traffic control operator may provide unclear instructions, causing multiple pilots to presume they are clear for landing or ready for takeoff at the same time.Flawed Assumption: When designing, operating and maintaining aircraft, those involved rely on certain assumptions about the aircraft and the potential circumstances it might encounter. When these assumptions are incorrect, the results can be catastrophic.
For example, in the crash of American Airlines Flight 587, the vertical stabilizer separated in the midst of a flight, causing the plane to crash. This separation occurred because of the first officer’s “unnecessary and excessive rudder pedal inputs.” Those designing the aircraft had not accounted for the possibility that the pedal would be used excessively, and the airplane crash occurred as a result.
Organizational Lapses: The safe operation of an airplane requires effective communication among many people. When an airline’s processes and procedures are not established to ensure that this communication takes place, accidents may occur. For example, when Continental Express Flight 2574 crashed, investigators determined that missing screw fasteners caused the crash. These fasteners had been removed as part of scheduled maintenance, but they were never replaced as they should have been prior to flight.
Unintended Effects: Processes, procedures and designs are frequently reviewed in the interest of making air transportation safer and more efficient. Unfortunately, changes to established procedures may have unanticipated consequences. In some cases these consequences may not be apparent for years after the original changes were initiated. When Dan-Air Services Flight 707-300 crashed, investigators determined that design changes intended to strengthen the stabilizer structure had inadvertently resulted in more stress, and ultimately caused the stabilizer to fail.
Pre-existing Failures: Some planes have design or manufacturing defects that can cause them to crash. These problems may be systemic across a fleet of airplanes or they may only exist on a single plane. When Turk Hava Flight TK981 crashed in France, for example, the accident was caused by a problem with the door latching mechanism. The mechanism was not properly engaged before takeoff, which allowed the door to come off of the plane while in-flight.
As these categories indicate, plane accidents almost always occur as the result of someone’s negligence. An individual may trigger a crash by negligently perform his or her duties, the airline may have system-wide problems allowing for accidents to arise, or the plane manufacturer may build the plane in a way that makes it susceptible to malfunction.
Accordingly, in many plane accidents, there are several potential parties who may be held liable for the collisions. For more information about liability following a plane accident, speak to a knowledgeable personal injury attorney.
]]>Many tire dealers erroneously encourage car owners to put the two newest tires on the front of the vehicle and move the two older tires to the back. Among other reasons, they believe that it is easier for drivers to control a blowout in a back tire than it is in a front tire. More often, both the tire installer and the car owner falsely but in good faith believe that better tires on the front give better steering. Those who understand handling dynamics of automobiles know that such knowledge is not only false, but on a wet road could prove disaterous.
]]> Putting the new tires on the front of your vehicle, however, is the wrong move -- and can be a fatal mistake. Rather than making the car more stable, new tires on the front and leaving worn tires on the rear will have just the opposite effect on a wet road surface, and cause you to lose control of the vehicle.Correct New Tire Placement
Today's cars and trucks were designed to under-steer in order to accommodate inexperienced drivers who tend to slam on the brakes when they go into a turn to fast. A car that is not turning as much as the driver intends is descibed as understeering or "straightening out the curve." Understeer is easy to control, and the intuitive response is to apply brakes to slow and cranking in more steering to stay on th eroad. This is the proper response, and the braking puts more weight on the front tires which gives them more of a bit and the rear tires follow the fronts around the curve. Putting new tires are put on the front of the vehicle instead of the rear, defeats this purposely designed in under-steering tendency in vehicle and turns it into an over-steering monster. Oversteer is where the rear end breakaway first when going into a turn to fast, or after an emergency evasive maneuver. Typically, oversteering is called "fishtailing" and is best idenified as the rear end going out of control. Since the rear tires must have enough traction to follow the front tires around a turn, if the rear tires lose traction the car just follows the physics of the road surface out of control. Most drivers do not know how to recover from this situation and a crash or going off the road sideways or backwards, or into opposing traffic is unaviodable.
Here's how: if a car has little tread on the rear tires and new tread on the front tires, then the car is going to be more prone to fishtailing on wet surfaces because the rear tires will not be able to gain traction on the slippery road. Once the car goes into a fishtail, then the car will automatically over-steer in an attempt to regain control. However, in these cases it will be very difficult if not impossible for the driver to regain control over the fishtailing vehicle. As a result, the driver will be more likely to be in accident, whether from colliding with another car or going off of the road.
Depending on the speed the car was traveling and other factors, these types of accidents can be catastrophic. The driver and any occupants in the vehicle may suffer very serious injuries from incorrect tire placement, including amputations, paralysis and permanent disability.
The dangers of incorrect tire placement are well known. The major tire manufacturers have included instructions in their guides for years that instruct tire installers to put the two newest tires on the back of the vehicle rather than the front. Additionally, there have been several studies, investigations and lawsuits that have uncovered the potential harm that may be caused by incorrect tire placement.
Conclusion
It is important to have good tread depth on your vehicle's tires, especially when you are driving on wet road surfaces. The best way to maintain your tire's tread depth is by regularly checking your tires and replacing them when the thread depth falls below 4/32'.
If you cannot afford to replace all of your tires at the same time, remember that you should have the two newest tires placed in the rear, rather than the front -- even if the mechanic tells you otherwise. This one small move can help you avoid becoming a victim of a rainy day accident.