OK... This Is Exactly What DOT Said
The U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) has announced it has
made steady and measurable increases in air safety that have made
flying safer than ever before. The work of DOT's Federal Aviation
Administration (FAA) resulted in a 65 percent reduction in the
aviation fatal accident rate between 1997 and 2006.
Prior to the fatal accident near Buffalo this month, there had
been no fatal commercial accidents for more than two years. The
rate of runway incursions also has fallen, as have the number of
accidents caused by ice on aircraft.
The FAA is committed to further reducing accidents related to
icing in all parts of the aviation industry.
"The FAA has a fierce commitment to safety. It continues to
strive toward its goal of no accidents," said Acting FAA
Administrator Lynne Osmus. "The FAA is always looking to improve
risks to the flying public by working to improve equipment,
procedures, training and crew coordination."
In the area of aircraft icing, the FAA issued more than 100
safety directives mandating specific actions, training or
procedures to help prevent accidents for more than 50 types of
existing aircraft since a 1994 accident in Roselawn, Indiana. The
last fatal commercial airline accident linked to icing occurred in
1997. In the 10 years before that, 10 airline accidents - fatal and
non-fatal - were blamed on icing.
The FAA has also worked on longer-term measures to improve the
design of existing and future aircraft through rulemaking. An FAA
rule issued in 2007 set new standards for performance and handling
of commercial airplanes in icing conditions Rules under development
will further strengthen aircraft ice detection systems and address
specific types of icing.
Osmus noted that aviation is a high-velocity, high-tech business
that faces unique challenges, including the need to operate in many
types of adverse weather. Icing is only one of a number of weather
challenges facing aviation, which also include turbulence,
lightning, rain, snow, fog and other conditions. The continued
improvement in air safety in the face of these challenges is a
tribute to the hard work and professionalism of both the FAA and
the aviation industry, Osmus said.
The FAA's safety
efforts also have reduced number of serious runway incursions by 63
percent from fiscal year 2000 through fiscal 2008. There were 67
serious incursions in 2000, including 34 involving commercial
aircraft, compared to 25 in 2008, with only nine involving
commercial aircraft. Between October and December 2008 there were
no serious runway incursions, an all-time low for a three-month
period, and only one in January 2009. The FAA continues its efforts
to further reduce runway accidents installing runway status lights
at more than 20 airports by 2011 and considering the use of
low-cost, commercially available ground radar systems at small and
medium airports. The FAA also has reached agreements with four U.S.
airlines to fund in-cockpit runway safety systems in exchange for
critical
operational data.
ANN E-I-C Analysis: OK, folks... we obviously
could say a lot about this, but we'll simply state that we see
whatever improvements in safety claimed above to be more a function
of aviation industry efforts, than those of the FAA... especially
when you look at all the NTSB has been wanting from them... and not
getting it. ANN will have some additional analysis of this issue
shortly...
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