Aero-Tips!

A good pilot is always learning -- how many times have you heard this old standard throughout your flying career? There is no truer statement in all of flying (well, with the possible exception of "there are no old, bold pilots.")

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Aero-Tips 11.30.06

Aircraft mishap reports can be tremendously instructive. The tragedy of accidents may be lessened, slightly, if we are able to learn lessons from others' experience, and avoid similar mishaps in the future.

After a "reportable" mishap in the U.S. there is a succession of reports issued by the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB). Other nations often have very similar procedures for investigating and reporting aviation accidents. After a reportable mishap expect to see this sequence of NTSB reports:

• Preliminary report. The "prelim" states the basic facts of the case as known on initial investigation. Information is sometimes detailed, but is often quite limited as the preliminary report is usually released within days, and no more than a month, after the accident. Preliminary reports carry the cautionary flag "This is preliminary information, subject to change, and may contain errors. Any errors in this report will be corrected when the final report has been completed." Information contained in preliminary reports is often found to be incorrect or even misleading in later, more detailed reports.
• Factual report. An NTSB "factual" might be considered a status update in an ongoing investigation. Sometimes the factual contains more information, and sometimes it's disappointingly similar to the preliminary report. Factuals are usually issued between seven and 12 months after the accident; they are still subject to correction as (and if) the investigation continues. Mishaps outside the United States but involving U.S.-manufactured airplanes often first appear on NTSB records in the form of a factual report, and usually do not proceed beyond this level.
• Probable cause report. The "probable cause" is the final NTSB report on an accident, and is usually available one to two years after the date of mishap. To the extent that prime causal effects can become known, the probable cause states what is considered to be the definitive reason for the accident. The report usually contains quite a bit of information about the pilot, aircraft and flight environment that supports the probable cause finding.

You can search for NTSB preliminary, factual and probable cause reports online. A monthly synopsis is also available. Once a URL is established for a specific accident's reports, it remains the same throughout, i.e., the preliminary report is no longer available when a factual or probable cause report is issued because it uses the same web link.

Aero-tip of the day: Learn from the experience of others by studying and understanding NTSB reports.

FMI: Aero-Tips