Issues Six Recommendations To FAA For Better Training, Briefings

Following an extensive study, the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) has issued its formal recommendations to the FAA on preventing weather-related general aviation accidents. The 80-page report details six specific areas of concern, including additional weather-related training for pilots during biennial flight reviews and a minimum requirement on weather-related questions that must be answered correctly on FAA Airman Knowledge Tests.

"Historically, about two-thirds of all general aviation (GA) accidents that occur in instrument meteorological conditions (IMC) are fatal —- a rate much higher than the overall fatality rate for GA accidents," said the NTSB in an official release. "The goal of this National Transportation Safety Board study was to better understand the risk factors associated with accidents that occur in weather conditions characterized by IMC or poor visibility ('weather-related accidents')."

"The study accomplished this goal using the case control methodology, which compared a group of accident flights to a matching group of nonaccident flights to identify patterns of variables that distinguished the two groups from each other," added the NTSB.

In the study, NTSB air safety investigators (ASI) collected data from 72 GA accidents that occurred between August 2003 and April 2004. Study managers also contacted pilots of flights that were operating in the vicinity at the time of those accidents, for information about their flight activity. A total of 135 nonaccident flights were also included in the study, with pilots voluntarily consenting to NTSB requests.

The recommendations of the NTSB are as follows:

1. Add a specific requirement for all pilots who do not receive weather related recurrent training, that the biennial flight review include the following: recognition of critical weather situations from the ground and in flight, procurement and use of aeronautical weather reports and forecasts, determination of fuel requirements, and planning for alternatives if the intended flight cannot be completed or delays are encountered. (A-05-024)
2. For pilots holding a private, commercial, or airline transport pilot certificate in the airplane category who do not receive recurrent instrument training, add a specific requirement that the biennial flight review include a demonstration of control and maneuvering of an airplane solely by reference to instruments, including straight and level flight, constant airspeed climbs and descents, turns to a heading, and recovery from unusual flight attitudes. (A-05-025)
3. Establish a minimum number of weather-related questions that must be answered correctly in order to pass Federal Aviation Administration airman knowledge tests. (A-05-026)
4. Develop a means to identify pilots whose overall performance history indicates that they are at future risk of accident involvement, and develop a program to reduce risk for those pilots. (A-05-027)
5. Determine optimal information presentation methods and delivery systems for flight service station weather information briefings, including the possibility of supplementing or replacing some portions of the current standard weather briefing with graphical data. (A-05-028)
6. Revise guidance materials associated with pilot weather briefings to include guidance for pilots in the use of Internet, satellite, and other data sources for obtaining weather information suitable for meeting the intent of 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91.103 and subsequently inform the aviation community about this change. (A-05-029)

"The Safety Board emphasizes that the conclusions reached in this study are not based on a summary of accident cases, although the merits of such Board studies have proven valuable in the past," said the NTSB. "Rather, the results are based on a statistical comparison of accident and nonaccident flights that allows for the generalization of findings from this study to the wider population of GA pilots and flights that may be at risk for a weather-related accident."

FMI: Read The NTSB Study (PDF)