NTSB Boss Makes A Positive Impression At Oshkosh

NTSB Chair Deborah A.P. Hersman held her first public forum at AirVenture Wednesday. The chair of the safety board appeared in Forum Pavilion 7 with EAA president and CEO Rod Hightower, talking about the various functions of the agency, and answering questions from the somewhat sparse crowd that turned out to see her.

Sitting in the front row of the audience were all of the members of the board, and each was introduced by Hersman. She then talked about the various functions of the board, and some of the studies and forums held in Washington, D.C., with a focus on GA.

Hersman said that while private flying accounts for only about half of all the flying done in the US, it accounts for a disproportionate number of fatal accidents, according to a study done by the NTSB. She said there are some themes that seem to crop up in many GA accident investigations that could be addressed by better pilot training and pre-flight planning. "I think that there are things that should never happen, really the easy things, and then I think there are things that are hard things, too," Hersman said. "And I think that among the things in the bucket that are easy... fuel starvation. How many times do our investigators need to investigate an accident like that. But things that are hard might fall into the category of loss of control, of not understanding what is going on, and not understanding what the instruments, what the aircraft equipment is telling you, not understanding the limitations."

Hersman said "it's about knowing your limitations, and about knowing the limitations of the aircraft."

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