National Transportation
Safety Board Acting Chairman Mark V. Rosenker has reiterated the
Safety Board's commitment to the safety of the general aviation
community.
"Having a safe and efficient aviation transportation network is
essential for the commercial viability, economic stability and
security of the nation, said Acting Chairman Rosenker (pictured
below, right), at the General Aviation Manufacturer's
Association (GAMA) executive meeting.
In his speech he stated, that general aviation (GA) is a leading
force in transportation and the economy and too important to be
overlooked. "We are all partners in the quest to make safe skies
even safer," said Rosenker.
According to GAMA's statistics, GA directly contributes more
than $41 billion annually to the US economy. Over 200,000 aircraft,
ranging from two-seat trainers to intercontinental business jets,
fly nearly twice the airlines' flight hours, and carry 166 million
passengers
annually.
Rosenker acknowledged GA's impact on the commercial airline
industry, saying that, GA can be a proving ground for new
technologies and designs that eventually migrate into commercial
and airline aircraft. Advanced avionics and composite materials are
examples of this technology migration. GA also provides a vehicle
by which professional pilots are trained so that they can enter
into the ranks of commercial airline pilots.
The Safety Board will continue to work closely with GAMA and its
members to aggressively pursue initiatives to increase general
aviation safety, Rosenker said.
Full Text Of Rosenker's Remarks To GAMA
Thank you very much for
that gracious introduction. It is truly a pleasure and privilege to
be given the chance to kick off this year's GAMA Executive Board
Meeting.
I don't have to preach to this crowd that a safe and efficient
aviation transportation network is essential for the commercial
viability, economic health, and security of the nation...not to
mention the sheer fun of flying. According to GAMA's own
statistics, General Aviation (GA) directly contributes more than
$41 billion annually to the U.S. economy. Over 200,000 aircraft,
ranging from two-seat trainers to intercontinental business jets,
fly nearly twice the airlines' flight hours, and carry 166 million
passengers annually.
The companies that you lead combine to make a formidable force
in transportation and the economy. According to the Teal Group
Annual Forecast, a total of 7,400 advanced business jet aircraft,
valued at $107 billion, will be produced between now and 2014.
Fractional ownership is growing and will account for 40% of the
7,400 jets, and about 1,300 of the aircraft will be "Very Light
Jets" or VLJs.
Clearly, your industry is an important part of this nation's
economy, and I am here today to reiterate the Safety Board's
commitment to making a safe industry even safer.
I am so very pleased to see that the number one item on GAMA's
overall agenda is to "Increase the GA Margin of Safety." You state,
and I quote: "that continuing to reduce the world-wide number of
general aviation airplane accidents - no matter the cause - is
GAMA's highest priority." That makes all of you full partners with
the NTSB in the quest for safer skies.
Last month, with the help of Pete Bunce and Brian Riley, I had
the opportunity to visit with some of you in Wichita. At Raytheon,
I learned from Jim Shuster that there are still about 35,000 Beech
airplanes still flying out there, several thousand of them are the
venerable King Airs. I walked the T-6 Texan and Premier One
Business Jet production line. At Learjet, Mike Kanaely informed me
that his company delivered 70 Learjets this past year, and they put
on yet another extremely successful and very popular Safety
Standown in which hundreds of biz jet pilots learned about the
"Global War on Error". At Cessna, I learned that 4,500 Citation
business jets have been built since 1972, and that 823 single
engine airplanes were built in the past year alone. Over the next
several months, I will be visiting The New Piper Aircraft Company,
Cirrus, Gulfstream and several of the GA engine manufacturers. I am
convinced GA is very much alive and well, and I want you to know
that I am absolutely committed to enhancing the Board's interaction
and relationship with this very important mode of
transportation.
I can assure you that
the Board has its eye on the GA ball. Late last year, the Board
adopted a safety study that examined the risk factors associated
with GA flights into conditions of bad weather and poor visibility.
As you know, weather-related accidents are a leading cause of
aviation fatalities and the Safety Board has long been concerned
with the disproportionate number of fatal accidents associated with
weather. While only 6% of GA accidents are weather-related, they
account for more than 25% fatalities that occur in GA annually.
As a result of the study (which I have here in my hand), the
Safety Board called on the FAA to ensure that pilots have a minimum
level of proficiency to recognize and respond to weather hazards.
We also asked the FAA to identify and provide additional support
for pilots whose performance indicates increased risk, and to
improve its pre-flight weather services.
Another recent study, this one conducted by our regional
investigators involves emergency medical services (EMS) flight
operations, or EMS. EMS flights in GA aircraft provide a vital
service to the public by transporting critically ill patients to
emergency care facilities during all hours of the day and night,
often in poor weather conditions and at low altitudes in
uncontrolled airspace. From January 2002 to January 2005, 55 EMS
aircraft accidents occurred in the US, resulting in 54 fatalities.
These recent accidents, averaging about 20 per year, warrant
renewed concern. As a result, the Safety Board made recommendations
to the FAA in the following areas:
- Requirements for EMS operations conducted without patients
onboard,
- Risk management programs for EMS operations,
- Flight dispatch procedures, and
- The use of technology to assist in flight operations, such as
terrain avoidance warning systems (TAWS) and night vision goggles
(NVG).
We believe there are still other fertile areas for GA safety
that our regional investigators have their eyes on. These
include:
- Air Tour Helicopter Operations
- General Aviation Survival Factors
- Aging Aircraft Concerns in GA Aircraft Structures
- Offshore Petroleum Helicopter Operations
- Light Sport Aircraft Certification and Operation
- Aircraft certification as it pertains to icing
These areas are going to
require regional investigators that are up to speed on the latest
technological advances in aircraft design, and also on the latest
tools available to adequately investigate such accidents. I am
committed to ensuring that our investigators receive advanced
training and familiarization on these new technologies.
I am very proud of the hard work of our air safety investigators
in our ten regional offices. Regional investigators are the eyes
and ears of aviation across the United States, and they account for
16% of the Board staff. They become immediately aware of
significant safety issues that manifest themselves in incidents and
accidents. They are hardworking, dedicated professionals who pride
themselves on their work.
However, as many of you know, today most federal agencies are
currently operating under the light of dwindling resources. The
Safety Board is no exception. While our nation fights a war on
terror and rebuilds communities ravaged by natural disaster, our
government must tighten its financial belt. As an agency, the NTSB
is challenged with maximizing the use of our limited resources as
well.
Now I know you have been reading in the press lately about the
fact that NTSB regional investigators have been traveling to fewer
crash sites. I recognize that this seemingly conflicts with your
agenda to ensure, and I quote "a thorough and timely on-site
investigation led by the NTSB" for general aviation accidents.
While it is true that we do not launch on all fatal and serious
injury accidents, I must reiterate that we shall continue to lead
an investigation into every single one of the nearly 1,800 general
aviation accidents that occur each year in the country. Whether we
launch to the scene or not, we will conduct all of the research,
interviews, and follow-up examinations necessary to perform an
appropriate investigation. We will write the final report, and the
NTSB will determine the probable cause of every single accident, no
matter how small. This is our mandate, and we are sticking to
it.
The NTSB historically has not conducted an on-scene
investigation on fatal accidents involving crop-dusters,
homebuilts, illegal ultralights, balloons, and gliders. These types
of accidents make up about 25% of the fatal accidents each year. It
is simply a matter of prioritizing our efforts. Our cadre of 43
regional investigators simply cannot travel on every fatal and
serious injury accident, and we must rely on some of the 3,500 FAA
inspectors to assist us.
Our numbers indicate
that for fatal accidents, we reduced our on-site presence from 75 %
to about 62 % over the past 3 years. I assure you that this
13-point drop involved fatal accidents that had known circumstances
and no safety payback.
What do we get by conserving these resources?
A significant Backlog Reduction, time for analysis and
ultimately important Safety Recommendations... that is what we
get.
Five years ago, we had a backlog of about 2,500 cases that were
over six months old. That means that six months after the accident,
there was no NTSB report or probable cause. As of today, that
backlog is now down to about 400 cases, and decreasing fast. Large
backlogs of accident investigations lead to faded memories and
rushed work back in the office, all leading to a potential drop in
quality of the investigation, and the failure to take timely action
in order to prevent the next accident. By conserving our precious
time traveling to and from the sites of accidents in which there is
no obvious safety payback, we are able to produce...
- More timely reports
- More thorough investigations on the accidents that have safety
issues
- More GA accident reports and special investigations that put a
spotlight on safety issues (such as the GA Weather Study and EMS
Special Investigation that I have here)
- More safety recommendations that involve general aviation (like
these recent ones that I have here)
And for those of you who
lead companies that manufacture jet-powered aircraft, I assure you
that the Safety Board will always launch to the scene of any
corporate jet crash involving fatalities. These types of aircraft
accidents simply involve too much complexity, visibility, and
potentially significant industrial ramifications for us not to
launch on.
If there is one thing that you should take away from my remarks
today, it is this: The General Aviation Industry is too important
and visible for the NTSB to short change, and we consider GAMA, and
the companies that GAMA represents, as full partners in our quest
for safer skies.
So how can we all work together in this regard ? What
specifically can we do to foster efforts that will enhance the
process to improve safety? I have some suggestions:
- I will hold the line on any reduction in the numbers of Safety
Board investigators in our regional offices. We simply can't
afford, nor do we intend, to allow our cadre of experienced
professional air safety investigators to decrease.
- Establish a clear channel of communication in order to obtain
timely feedback from manufacturers who believe that regional
investigators are not adequately addressing airworthiness issues
and potential safety concerns.
- Increase the frequency of communications between the NTSB and
our partners in industry. This can be achieved with more meetings
and visits by Safety Board Members and staff investigators with
GAMA and its members.
- Improve the coordination procedures between Safety Board
investigators, the FAA, and manufacturer representatives in the
initial notification phase of serious and fatal aircraft
accidents.
- Implement a training program in which our investigators visit
your facilities to learn about your products and capabilities.
- Increase the participation by the Safety Board and its staff in
GA events such as the Learjet Safety Standown, General Aviation Air
Safety Investigation Symposium (or GAASI), and AirVenture in
Oshkosh.
As long as I am leading the agency I am committed to making
these things happen. I have instructed Mr. Guzzetti to work closely
with GAMA and its members to aggressively pursue these initiatives.
But he can't do it alone.... he and I need your help. We are
partners in this effort, and I look forward to working with you
over the next few months on making our safe skies even safer.
Thank you