Says Issues Remain With Aircraft Movement System
In an address Thursday
night to the International Society of Air Safety Investigators,
National Transportation Safety Board Chairman Mark V. Rosenker said
the NTSB improves safety through its transparent, objective and
comprehensive approach to accident investigations -- noting all
documents and records that become part of an NTSB investigation are
available to the public.
"We believe open access to information provides full
transparency and a more complete understanding of the investigation
process," Rosenker (shown at right) said. "In this manner we
maintain the credibility of the investigation and make a
significant contribution to aviation safety in every corner of the
world."
Rosenker added the Safety Board approaches every accident with a
rigorous commitment to objectivity... and cited one recent
high-profile, rhetoric-laden accident as an example.
"We didn't let the high profile nature of the accident obscure
the facts," Rosenker said, in reference to the October 2006
accident in which baseball player Cory Lidle's airplane crashed
into a high-rise apartment building in Manhattan. As Aero-News reported earlier this
week, the NTSB determined that the probable cause of
that accident was "the pilot's inadequate planning, judgment and
airmanship in the performance of a 180-degree turn maneuver inside
of a limited turning space."
Rosenker also cited the ongoing investigation of the Comair
accident in Lexington, KY in August 2006, in which 49 people were
killed.
"We are examining all possible areas including airport markings,
construction issues, the notice to airman system, air traffic
control procedures, crew resource management, personnel fatigue,
and new technologies in the cockpit," Rosenker said, adding the
investigation is expected to take at least a year to complete.
The Safety Board chairman also reiterated the Board's view that
aircraft in the taxiing and landing phases of operations, at
airports of all sizes, are still at much too high of a risk of
collision.
"The current aircraft movement system, or AMASS, is not
sufficient," said Rosenker. "We need ground movement safety systems
that will prevent runway incursions at both large and small
airports."
The call for a new system to prevent runway incursions and
ground collisions has been on the NTSB list of Most Wanted safety
improvements since 1990, the Chairman added.
The complete text of Rosenker's speech is available at the FMI
link below.