Talks Of Plan For Lightweight GA Flight Recorders
National Transportation Safety Board
Acting Chairman Mark V. Rosenker Tuesday briefed the newly formed
Wichita Aero Club in Wichita, KS on recent NTSB actions and
activities in the aviation safety arena.
Rosenker pointed out that while the overall aviation safety
record in the United States is among the best in the world, recent
accidents such as the Bombardier Dash 8 crash in Buffalo earlier
this year and the spike in fatalities in on-demand Part 135 air
charter operations in 2008 are cause for concern.
"We continue to do everything we can to identify the safety
issues involved, and to advocate for the adoption of our
recommendations that will make the skies safer," said Rosenker.
"While some of our recommendations call for regulations, I
firmly believe that regulation is not the only way to improve
safety," he continued. "I believe that voluntary action by
industry, in partnership with the government, is one of the most
effective ways to decrease accidents."
Rosenker highlighted some key issues of particular interest to
the general aviation community, such as the recent efforts of a
government-industry working group (of which the NTSB is a member)
to develop a specification for lightweight flight recorders that
will be finalized this summer.
"If recorder systems that captured cockpit audio, images, and
parametric data had been installed on the Butte accident airplane
[the Pilatus PC-12/45 that crashed on March 22, 2009], the
recorders would have enabled us to quickly determine information
about the accident scenario, including precise locations,
altitudes, headings, airspeeds, and pilot actions," said
Rosenker.
The Acting Chairman also shared some personal experiences as the
NTSB Board Member on scene for the Butte accident, as well as for
the October 2008 launch to the scene of the discovery of the
airplane wreckage of famed aviator, Steve Fossett, who disappeared
in September 2007 while flying a friend's Bellanca Super
Decathlon.
In his closing remarks, Rosenker called the audience's attention
to the NTSB's Most Wanted List of Transportation Safety
Improvements that is updated annually across all transportation
modes.
"This is the agency's high priority hit list of what we believe
to be the most critical changes needed to reduce transportation
accidents and save lives," Rosenker remarked. He called upon the
members of the Wichita aviation community to join the NTSB as part
of "the team effort between the Board, FAA and the industry you
represent" to ensure a safe and efficient aviation transportation
network in the United States.
The full text of Acting Chairman Rosenker's speech will be
available on the Board's web site, under speeches and
testimony.