NTSB Chair's Remarks Came At The Regional Airline
Association Meeting In Milwaukee
National Transportation Safety Board Chairman Deborah A.P.
Hersman (pictured, right) told the leaders of the nation's regional
airlines Wednesday they need to find new methods to solve old
problems.
Speaking before the Regional Airline Association national
convention in Milwaukee, WI, Hersman congratulated the regional
airlines for eclipsing the mainline carriers by operating over half
of scheduled airline departures in the nation.
Hersman noted that, while regional airlines are becoming an
increasingly important segment of the nation's airline industry,
they also have come under increasing scrutiny. Although the
rate of fatal accidents involving Part 121 carriers (encompassing
virtually all scheduled airlines) today is half what it was just
ten years ago, some recent high-profile accidents like the 2006
Lexington wrong runway takeoff crash and the 2009 crash on approach
to the Buffalo airport have raised questions about minimum
standards, professionalism, pilot training and qualifications.
Beyond the overarching tragedy of the lives lost in those two
crashes, Hersman noted that the entire industry rises or falls on
its safety record. "This fact could not have been clearer
after the [Buffalo] crash, when all regional airlines suffered in
the court of public opinion."
Hersman said that RAA member airlines need to explore new
approaches to solve old problems like pilot fatigue, which has been
on the Board's Most Wanted List of Transportation Safety
Improvements for 20 years. As an example, she cited a
trucking company that invested in sleep apnea screening,
which resulted in a reduction in preventable crashes by 30 percent,
and an incidental decline in monthly health care costs of almost
$540.
Hersman reminded her audience that the Safety Board will host a
symposium in October to discuss issues related to code sharing
agreements between major airlines and their regional partners.
She closed by saying she is encouraged by the fact that, for the
first time ever, RAA member airlines and their mainline
counterparts are meeting this week to discuss better safety
coordination. Invoking President Kennedy's quotation that a
rising tide lifts all boats, Hersman said "Likewise, an airline
industry that is safer tomorrow than it is today will lift all
carriers to new heights."