FAA Says It's Trying, But Governmental Process Takes Awhile

When answering questions submitted by US Rep. Ben Chandler (D-KY) last month, the National Transportation Safety Board said it found several incidents where flights crews failed to cross-check their runway location before takeoff, a recommendation made after Comair Flight 5191 went down in Kentucky last year.

The NTSB has instructed the Federal Aviation Administration to enforce the new safety recommendations more aggressively, according to the Associated Press.

The NTSB has been investigating the August 2006 crash that killed 49 people. As ANN reported, the pilots of Comair flight 5191 took off from the wrong runway at Lexington's Blue Grass Airport.

The agency is meeting Thursday to issue the probable cause report on the accident.

The FAA said it urged better runway awareness shortly after the accident, but the NTSB said it's not enough -- that a simple advisory might not be followed.

"The board found several operators that had not established the recommended procedures and told the FAA to move beyond providing advisory information and become more aggressive in affecting change in this area," said the agency.

Chandler doesn't think that's enough, either. He complained the answers he received to his questions were insufficient.

"I see this delay as a reflection of the FAA's repeated failure to promptly and adequately address air safety concerns and a great disservice to the families of victims of the Comair crash and to the general public," he said.

Laura Brown, FAA spokesperson said the agency is trying to make the advisory into a rule, but the required governmental approval process could take several months to get through.

"Rulemaking generally takes some time," Brown said. "What we've found is that sharing safety information and putting out advisory guidance can accomplish many of the safety goals we're after much more quickly than rulemaking."

FMI: www.bluegrassairport.com, www.faa.gov, www.ntsb.gov