1. Do you think that the issues identified by the NTSB
are in fact significant problems?
The NTSB attempts to advise the public on ways to be more safe when it comes to transportation safety. One of the items on the NTSB 2015 "Most Wanted" list is to Prevent Loss of Control in Flight in General Aviation. While I do believe this item is significant in preventing the cause of a lot of general aviation accidents, stating the problem is not very significant. Stating that pilots should be able to identify and prevent entering an aerodynamic stall situation should be common knowledge to all pilots. It is one of the primary areas of focus for the private pilot checkride that all applicant must show they know stall recovery techniques before being approved for their certification. While recurrent training would be a good way to refresh stall prevention, stall prevention should always be a concern while flying a plane.
The NTSB attempts to advise the public on ways to be more safe when it comes to transportation safety. One of the items on the NTSB 2015 "Most Wanted" list is to Prevent Loss of Control in Flight in General Aviation. While I do believe this item is significant in preventing the cause of a lot of general aviation accidents, stating the problem is not very significant. Stating that pilots should be able to identify and prevent entering an aerodynamic stall situation should be common knowledge to all pilots. It is one of the primary areas of focus for the private pilot checkride that all applicant must show they know stall recovery techniques before being approved for their certification. While recurrent training would be a good way to refresh stall prevention, stall prevention should always be a concern while flying a plane.
Another recommendation for aviation of the NTSB 2015
"Most Wanted" list is to Strengthen
Procedural Compliance. I feel that this topic is a good area to focus
on for promoting aviation safety for several reasons. First, procedures
are put in place to enhance safety in aviation and set a standard for a task.
Disregarding procedures that were put in place in aviation can have
dramatic consequences. For example, in 2013 a Boeing 777 crashed at San
Francisco International Airport which resulted in the loss of two lives and the
cause was determined to be pilot
error by lack of following
procedures.
2. In your opinion what is the greatest factor negatively impacting safety for the general aviation community? For commercial aviation?
I feel that the biggest issue negatively impacting safety for the general aviation community would be lack of compliance with Federal Aviation Regulations. The reason I feel this is a big issue because there is a large number of pilots that fly in and out of small airports all the time. Many of them become relaxed with their flying and cut corners where they can. There are incidents where people take off over max gross weight and crash. This issue would have been nonexistent if the pilot did a weight and balance calculation before attempting the flight. Other instances where people enter the traffic pattern at a non-towered field in ways not listed in the FARs without making traffic calls which causes a great hazard for other aircraft trying to take off or land at the same field.
2. In your opinion what is the greatest factor negatively impacting safety for the general aviation community? For commercial aviation?
I feel that the biggest issue negatively impacting safety for the general aviation community would be lack of compliance with Federal Aviation Regulations. The reason I feel this is a big issue because there is a large number of pilots that fly in and out of small airports all the time. Many of them become relaxed with their flying and cut corners where they can. There are incidents where people take off over max gross weight and crash. This issue would have been nonexistent if the pilot did a weight and balance calculation before attempting the flight. Other instances where people enter the traffic pattern at a non-towered field in ways not listed in the FARs without making traffic calls which causes a great hazard for other aircraft trying to take off or land at the same field.
I feel the greatest issue impacting safety for commercial
aviation is the way the regional airlines operate. This is because the
regional airlines are currently scrounging for pilots to keep their operations
running smooth. The aviation industry is constantly changing and they are
currently hurting for pilots. They are still paying pilots low wages
which results in the need for a crash pad. This results in poor living
conditions for the inexperienced pilots who cannot afford a comfortable
lifestyle. This can result in unsafe decisions on the pilots part since
they need to do everything they can to make it to work in order to afford the poor
living conditions they have.
The push from the regional airlines to make as many flights as possible
to their intended destinations to continue making money is another way their
operations impact safety.
3. Review the NTSB's list of recommendations for each topic area. Do they seem reasonable. How can the industry implement these recommendations? What, if any, impact do you think the implementations of these recommendations would have on system safety? Would you recommend something else?
3. Review the NTSB's list of recommendations for each topic area. Do they seem reasonable. How can the industry implement these recommendations? What, if any, impact do you think the implementations of these recommendations would have on system safety? Would you recommend something else?
I feel that their recommendations for
each topic area are reasonable however I feel that their recommendations are
things that should be mostly common sense to pilots. One of their
recommendations is to be prepared and recognize the impending signs of a stall.
This is really something that is taught to pilots before they
receive their private pilot certificate. There is really no way for
the industry to implement these ideas to general aviation any further than they
already have unless they implement more FARs that require tighter tolerances
and more frequent recurrent training. As for system safety, I feel that
implementation of the strengthening of procedural compliance would enhance
system safety since complying with procedures is a large part of what system
safety revolves around. One recommendation that can be made regarding
prevention of loss of control of general aviation aircraft would be to make
more intensive stall
training for student pilots
early on. While there are many kinds of stalls that can be encountered,
only a basic power-on and power-off stalls are tested while attempting to get a
private pilot certificate.
References:
"FRONTLINE: Flying Cheap: Interviews: Roger Cohen |
PBS." PBS: Public Broadcasting
Service. N.p., 9 Feb. 2010. Web. 25 Jan. 2015.
<http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/flyingcheap/interviews/cohen.html>
Jansen, B. (2014, March 31). Asiana Airlines
says pilot flying too slow before crash. USA
Today.
Jansen, B. (2013, October 30). Crash
investigator urges better stall training for pilots. USA
Today.
Karoub, J., & Williams, C. (2013,
June 6). Plane Crash At Oakland County International Airport In Waterford,
Michigan Kills Pilot, 3 Passengers. Huffington
Post.
Prevent Loss of Control in Flight in General Aviation. (2015).
Retrieved February 6, 2015, from
http://www.ntsb.gov/safety/mwl/Pages/mwl7_2015.aspx
Strengthen Procedural Compliance. (2015). Retrieved February 7,
2015, from http://www.ntsb.gov/safety/mwl/Pages/mwl10_2015.aspx
