Thu, Feb 25, 2010
Chides FAA For Not Completely Addressing The Issue
NTSB Chairman Deborah A.P. Hersman
(pictured, right), in testimony Wednesday before the House Aviation
Subcommittee, Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure,
discussed the dangers of aircraft flying in icing conditions and
highlighted longstanding Safety Board recommendations that have yet
to be adopted by the FAA to address the issue.
Reducing the dangers of flying in icing conditions has been on
the NTSB's Most Wanted List of Transportation Safety Improvements
since 1997. Last week, the NTSB voted to keep the issue area,
along with its four open recommendations to the FAA, on the 2010
Most Wanted List with a "red" classification. The red
classification indicates an unacceptable response by the
FAA.
"Although the NTSB relies on others to implement these
recommendations, we have worked to educate the pilot community
about some of the hazards associated with icing conditions through
our Safety Alerts," Hersman said.
In 1981, the NTSB published a report titled "Aircraft Icing
Avoidance and Protection" and recommended the FAA review icing
certification criteria. The special study followed a series of
icing-related accidents where aircraft operating in icing
conditions and the varying consequences that ice accretion had on
different types of aircraft raised concern.
In the 1990s the NTSB re-examined the issue of airframe
structural icing and concluded that the icing certification process
continues to be inadequate. The Board also became concerned
about airplanes that fly in supercooled large droplet conditions
and that used pneumatic boots to deice
the aircraft in flight. In the last decade, the Board has
investigated more than 50 accidents involving aircraft icing,
resulting in over 200 fatalities and it continues to investigate
accidents where icing is a factor.
In the last few years, the FAA has addressed some of the
recommendations related to icing by issuing a number of final and
proposed regulations. however, not all of the NTSB's
recommendations on icing have been addressed.
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