Urges Voluntary Reporting Of Equipment Malfunctions

The FAA has issued an InFO (Information For Operators) concerning the reporting of problems with PFD and MFD devices in GA airplanes. The agency says that aircraft and avionics maintenance technicians can perform a critical role by voluntarily reporting malfunctions or defects associated with electronic primary flight, navigation, and control display systems.

As we all know, in a span of only a few years the cockpits of light aircraft have undergone a transition from conventional flight instruments to integrated, computerized displays commonly referred to as glass cockpits. The introduction of this advanced technology in to light aircraft has brought with it a new set of potential safety concerns, including equipment design and operation; pilot performance and training; and new accident investigation techniques.

A recent NTSB study found that introduction of glass cockpit displays has not yet resulted in the anticipated improvement in safety when compared to similar aircraft with conventional instruments. Also during that study, they found that multiple instances of glass cockpit avionics malfunctions were not reported to the FAA, and did not result in a service difficulty reports.

Identification and tracking of service difficulties, equipment malfunctions or failures, abnormal operations, and other safety issues will be increasingly important as light aircraft avionics systems and equipment continue to increase in complexity and variation of design. To that end, the FAA is recommending that aircraft operators and maintenance technicians should voluntarily report equipment malfunctions or failures, abnormal operations, and other safety issues associated with glass cockpit display systems on the FAA’s Service Difficulty Reporting site.

FMI: http://av-info.faa.gov/sdrx/Default.aspx