NTSB "Most Wanted" list for 2015

The issues identified by the NTSB have proven to become a significant problem in recent times for the aviation industry. According to the FAA “Loss of control – mainly stalls – accounts for the most GA fatal accidents”.(FAA,2014)  This threat is considered to be more self-imposed. The reason behind this threat deals with the lack of professionalism of a general aviation pilot.  Considering the weather in Michigan, the average private pilot mostly flies a few times a month; therefore during the winter months the general aviation pilot does not typically fly. Even when the private pilots do fly they are most likely not practicing maneuvers such as stalls and unusual attitudes. Practicing these maneuvers would help them avoid a potentially hazardous situation before they lose control. Then you have the pilots who lack professionalism under any circumstance. For example, there was a recent accident in Colorado where the pilot of a Cessna 150 lost control because he was taking a selfie.  According to an NTSB investigator “The evidence suggests that Singh got distracted, disoriented, stalled the plane and crashed” and goes on to say "During the climb-out portion of flight, the pilot uses his cellphone to take a self-photograph. The camera's flash was activated and illuminated the cockpit area," NTSB investigators reported about one of Singh's flights a few minutes before the crash (Hughes,2015).  "During the climb-out phase, the pilot was seen making keyboard entries to his cell phone and additional keyboard entries on a portion of flight consistent with the downwind leg" (Hughes,2015). A key suggestion brought forth by the NTSB is to manage distractions so that they will not interfere with the pilots situational awareness this would have defiantly prevented the Colorado accident.

The NTSB also cited the following accidents “on August 9, 2013, in East Haven, Connecticut, while attempting a circling approach in and out of clouds during gusty wind conditions, a Rockwell International 690B entered an inadvertent aerodynamic stall/spin and crashed into a house, resulting in the deaths of two children in the house. In another example, on December 12, 2013, near Collbran, Colorado, while maneuvering at low altitude looking for lost cattle, a Piper PA 24-250 entered an inadvertent aerodynamic stall/spin and impacted terrain, resulting in three fatalities onboard the airplane. And, on December 29, 2012, near Lakeside, California, while the non-instrument-rated pilot was climbing an experimental amateur-built Lancair IV-P through cloud layers, the airplane entered an inadvertent aerodynamic stall/spin and completed seven 360-degree revolutions before impacting the ground, resulting in three fatalities onboard the airplane”(NTSB, 2015). All of the above accidents seem like they could have been easily prevented by an increase in recurrent training. The NTSB lists this as well as utilizing good aeronautical decision making techniques both in flight and during the preflight planning.

The NTSB has also cited an increase need for procedural compliance for the commercial aviation sector. This too is a leading cause of accidents in recent times. The cause of the crashes for both the Asian Airlines Flight 214 and the UPS cargo jet crash at the Birmingham, Alabama airport August 2013 were determined to be due to the lack of procedural compliance. The NTSB wants to improve this procedural compliance by insuring good procedures that improve pilot safety. The NTSB has laid out the following guidelines to accomplish this goal:

·         Appropriate training ensures that commercial aviation professionals understand the procedures, how to implement them, and how they contribute to safe operations. Improved stall training, dual engine loss training and gusty crosswind training are some examples.

·         The FAA also should require pilot training programs that emphasize monitoring skills and workload management, and establish best practices for conducting single and multiple emergency and abnormal situations training.

·         Air carriers should also strengthen assertiveness training for first officers and initial operating experience training for Part 135 pilots.

Below are some of the causes of the July 2013 crash of Asiana Airlines flight 214 in San Francisco, CA(Curtis, 2014)

·         The flight crew’s nonstandard communication and coordination regarding the use of the auto throttle and autopilot systems,

·         Inadequate training on the planning and executing of visual approaches;

·         Inadequate supervision of the pilot flying by the instructor pilot

If the suggestion of the NTSB were to be implemented before the time of the flight these causes would be nonexistent. The training, communication and emergency procedures would have insured a safe flight to its destination in San Francisco. Some will say it was due to pilot error and the event would have happened anyways, but if the pilot was better trained and prepared before getting into the cockpit the crew would have never put them in a situation that would have led to the accident.

All of these are good solutions to the problem, but I think the key solution is to instill in all the pilots and operators that safety has to be a priority. I know safety comes at a cost and the bottom line for any company is the most important, however when they are losing aircrafts and lives you cannot just think about the money. In the UPS accident, UPS said, “it has changed procedures regarding stabilized approaches, automation, pilots’ decisions to go around when an approach is shaky, and altitude call-outs on descent. “This accident underscores the shared responsibility that companies and pilots have to ensure proper rest and to report to work fit for duty,” spokesman Mike Mangeot” (Bachman, 2014). Mr. Mangeot explains this situation well; it all comes down to the responsibility of the pilots and the companies to work together to insure safety.

Curtis, T. (2014, June 25). The AirSafe.com News. Retrieved February 8, 2015, from http://www.airsafenews.com/2014/06/ntsb-report-on-july-2013-crash-of.html

Fact Sheet – General Aviation Safety. (2014, July 30). Retrieved February 8, 2015, from http://www.faa.gov/news/fact_sheets/news_story.cfm?newsId=16774

Hughes, T. (2015, February 4). NTSB: Selfies led to fatal Colo. plane crash. Retrieved February 8, 2015, from http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2015/02/03/ntsb-selfies-disoriented-pilot-causing-crash/22785475/

Prevent Loss of Control in Flight in General Aviation. (2015, January 1). Retrieved February 8, 2015, from http://www.ntsb.gov/safety/mwl/Pages/mwl7

Strengthen Procedural Compliance. (2015, January 1). Retrieved February 8, 2015, from http://www.ntsb.gov/safety/mwl/Pages/mwl1

UPS Air Crash Was Caused by Crew Errors, Not Fatigue, NTSB Says. (2013, September 9). Retrieved February 8, 2015, from http://www.bloomberg.com/bw/articles/2014-09-09/ups-air-crash-caused-by-crew-errors-not-fatigue-ntsb-says