press release

Aviation Organizations Launch Safety Information Exchange

Montreal – The International Air Transport Association (IATA), along with three governmental aviation safety organizations, took the first step to creating a global information exchange to improve aviation safety.

IATA, together with the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO), the US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), and the Commission of the European Union (EU), has signed a Declaration of Intent to exchange safety data. The signing took place during the ICAO High-Level Safety Conference in Montreal.

“Today’s milestone agreement marks the first time the global aviation community has come together to work on a global safety information exchange. Data must drive our actions so that we can focus our joint efforts on reducing the greatest risks,” said Giovanni Bisignani, IATA’s Director General and CEO.

“Working together with governments using global standards, safety has improved tremendously. In 1945, there were 9 million passengers and 247 fatalities. In 2009, 2.3 billion people flew with 685 fatalities. Every fatality is a human tragedy and reminds us that we must do better. Today’s agreement is one more important step to make a safe industry even safer,” said Bisignani.

Audit data will be a key element in the project. IATA, ICAO, the FAA and the EU conduct audit programs that collect complementary safety information. “We must understand safety trends, not just from the handful of accidents each year, but by bringing together and analyzing data from millions of safe flights. With this we can take more effective action to reduce risks and improve safety performance,” said Bisignani.

“There is no competition when it comes to safety. Cooperation is the way forward. We have a common goal of zero accidents and zero fatalities. The safety data from audits and oversight programs contains important parts of a whole picture. Agreeing to put this data together is a major step forward,” said Bisignani.

The four organizations will now start work on a way to standardize safety audit information and ensure compliance with local privacy laws and policies. This is targeted to be completed within 12 to 18 months.

The 2009 global accident rate, measured in hull losses per million flights of Western-built jet aircraft, was 0.71. This is a significant improvement of the 0.81 rate recorded in 2008. Compared to 10 years ago, the accident rate has been cut 36% from the 1.11 rate recorded in 2000.

NTSB INVESTIGATING NEAR MID-AIR COLLISION OVER SAN FRANCISCO INVOLVING COMMERCIAL JETLINER AND SMALL PLANE

National Transportation Safety Board
Washington, DC 20594

March 30, 2010

NTSB INVESTIGATING NEAR MID-AIR COLLISION OVER SAN FRANCISCO INVOLVING COMMERCIAL JETLINER AND SMALL PLANE

The NTSB has launched an investigation to determine why a commercial jetliner and a small light airplane came within an estimated 300 feet of colliding over San Francisco on Saturday.

At about 11:15 a.m. PDT on March 27, the crew of United Airlines Flight 889, a B777-222 (N216UA) destined for Beijing, China, carrying 251 passengers and a crew of 17, was cleared to takeoff from San Francisco International Airport (SFO) on runway 28L and climb to an initial altitude of 3,000 feet. The first officer, who was flying the aircraft, reported that after the landing gear was retracted and the jet was at an altitude of about 1,100 feet, the tower controller reported traffic at his 1 o’clock position. Immediately following the controller’s advisory, the airplane’s traffic collision avoidance system (TCAS) issued an audible alert of “TRAFFIC TRAFFIC.”

The pilots saw a light high wing airplane, an Aeronca 11AC (N9270E), in a hard left turn traveling from their 1 o’clock to 3 o’clock position. The first officer pushed the control column forward to level the airplane. Both crew members reported seeing only the underside of the Aeronca as it passed to within an estimated 200-300 feet of the 777.

TCAS then issued an “ADJUST VERTICAL SPEED” alert, followed by a “DESCEND, DESCEND” alert. The first officer complied and the flight continued to Beijing without further incident.

NTSB investigator Scott Dunham is traveling to San Francisco to begin the investigation.

Santiago Chile-March 24-25

The six page keynote address by the Secretary General of ICAO Mr Richard Benjamin at the IATA 2010 “Wings of Change” conference is available in pdf form here. The Wings of Change 2010 is the main Latin American forum which addresses the regulatory needs of the Latin American aviation industry in these challenging times. This biennial conference will once again cover the main topics facing airlines, aviation authorities, airports, regulators and other industry stakeholders.

Among other things, the address talks about the safety conference, and discusses an Annex to the Chicago Convention dedicated to Safety Management to highlight safety as ICAO’s focus; issues in fatigue management; security challenges; Aviation Environmental Protection.

For Immediate Release
Date: 25 March 2010

Geneva – The International Air Transport Association (IATA) released the following comments in response to today’s Memorandum of Consultation on Second Stage Open Skies agreement between the US and the European Union:

“It is disappointing that, at this critical time, we did not make significant progress on the issue of ownership. The agreement was not a step backwards, but it did not move us forward. The long-term financial sustainability of the industry is dependant on normal commercial freedoms. I urge both governments to keep this on the radar screen for urgent follow-up,” said Giovanni Bisignani, IATA’s Director General and CEO.

IATA welcomed the reaffirmation within the agreement that environmental issues leading up to COP-16 should continue to be addressed through the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO). “ICAO is the right forum to reach a global sectoral approach to deal with aviation’s carbon emissions. I welcome the agreement’s reaffirmation of this as the industry continues to pursue its ambitious environmental targets to improve fuel efficiency by 1.5% per year to 2020, cap net emissions from 2020 with carbon neutral growth and cut net carbon emissions in half by 2050 compared to 2005,” said Bisignani.

The National Transportation Safety Board is sending a team
to investigate the crash of an emergency medical services
(EMS) helicopter this morning in Brownsville, Tennessee,
about 55 miles northeast of Memphis. Three crewmembers were
killed in the accident; there was no patient onboard at the
time of the crash.

NTSB Air Safety Investigator Ralph Hicks has been designated
as Investigator-in-Charge and is traveling to the scene from
the Safety Board’s regional office in Atlanta. NTSB Chairman
Deborah A.P. Hersman will serve as principal spokesman
during the on-scene investigation.

Improving the Safety of (EMS) flight operations has been on
the NTSB’s Most Wanted List of Safety Improvements since
2008:
http://www.ntsb.gov/Recs/mostwanted/aviation_improvesafety_e
ms_flights.html

Peter Knudson will be the press officer on-scene. Mr.
Knudson may be reached on his cell phone (202-557-1350) when
he arrives in Tennessee this afternoon.

National Transportation Safety Board
Washington, DC 20594

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: March 23, 2010
SB-10-09

NTSB CHAIRMAN HIGHLIGHTS RUNWAY SAFETY AND HUMAN FATIGUE IN
ADDRESS TO AIR TRAFFIC CONTROLLERS
Washington, DC – In an address to the National Air Traffic
Controllers Association (NATCA) in Orlando today, NTSB
Chairman Deborah A.P. Hersman lauded controllers for their
role in keeping the number of runway incursions low while
challenging the Federal Aviation Administration to hasten
the pace of its efforts to improve runway safety.

Attributing the decline in runway related incidents and
accidents in part to “robust procedures, safe designs, and
well-trained and alert controllers and pilots,” Hersman said
that “we still have a lot of work to do,” and that the FAA
needs to move more aggressively to lower the risk of runway
accidents.

Hersman chaired the NTSB’s February meeting in which runway
safety was again voted onto its Most Wanted List of Safety
Improvements where it has been since its inception in 1990.
The Safety Board’s recommendations to the FAA includes
providing immediate warnings of probable collisions and
incursions directly to flight crews in the cockpit;
requiring specific ATC clearance for each runway crossing;
requiring operators to install cockpit moving map displays
or an automatic system that alerts pilots when a takeoff is
attempted on a taxiway or a runway other than the one
intended; and requiring a landing distance assessment with
an adequate safety margin for every landing.

Citing an ongoing investigation of an incident in which a
767 landed on a taxiway in Atlanta in October, Hersman said
that the NTSB took a strong interest in the event “because
we want to know what led a professional flight crew to
mistake a taxiway for a runway, whether the controllers
could have detected the misaligned final approach to landing
and intervened, and whether there are technological tools
that can be used to prevent such incidents from ever
occurring in the first place.” Although no one was injured
in the incident, Hersman said that “if this event had
resulted in a fatal collision, there would be – far and wide
– immediate and understandable calls for changes.”

Hersman also cited human fatigue as an area that the Safety
Board has become particularly focused on, saying that “We
are seeing fatigue as a causal or contributing factor in
numerous accidents across all transportation modes.” The
NTSB has made recommendations to the FAA to set working hour
limits for flight crews, aviation mechanics, and air traffic
controllers, and has asked the FAA develop a fatigue
awareness and countermeasures training program for
controllers and those who schedule them for duty.

Recently, NATCA and the FAA established a working group to
collaboratively address the human fatigue issues that the
NTSB has identified. Hersman noted the significance of this
positive step by the leadership of both organizations and
called it a very encouraging development.

Concluding with an invitation for air traffic controllers to
participate in a three-day forum on pilot and controller
excellence that the NTSB will be holding in Washington in
May, Hersman emphasized the value of learning from the
numerous examples of superior job performance by
controllers. “Through our work we are very good at finding
out what went wrong, but frankly, it is just as important to
know what is going right, because we want to replicate that
throughout the entire national airspace system,” she said.

The complete text of Chairman Hersman’s speech may be
obtained on the Board’s website at
http://www.ntsb.gov/Speeches/hersman/daph100323.html

###

For Immediate Release
March 23, 2010

FAA Proposes $1.45 Million Civil Penalty against Northwest Airlines

WASHINGTON, D.C. – The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has proposed a $1.45 million civil penalty against Northwest Airlines for operating a number of its Boeing 757 aircraft without proper windshield wiring inspections.

A 1990 FAA airworthiness directive on Boeing 757s required inspections for the presence of undersized wires in the heating system for both the captain’s and first officer’s windows, and replacement if needed. Left uncorrected, the problem could cause overheating, smoking and possibly a fire.

Northwest wrote maintenance instructions for its mechanics in April 1990 that omitted the required inspection of the wires under the first officer’s window. As a result, 32 of the carrier’s 757s flew more than 90,000 passenger flights between December 1, 2005 and May 27, 2008, while not in compliance with the airworthiness directive.

“Safety is the number one priority for the Department of Transportation,” said Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood. “The FAA has airworthiness directives for a reason and carriers cannot pick and choose when they want to comply.”

On May 28, 2008, Northwest discovered it had not performed the proper inspections and revised its maintenance instructions. However, the instructions did not require the work be performed before further flight, but at the next planned overnight layover. As a result, 29 of the 32 aircraft flew 42 passenger-carrying flights while they were still out of compliance with the airworthiness directive.

“When an air carrier realizes that an airworthiness directive is not being followed the problem must be corrected immediately,” said FAA Administrator Randy Babbitt. “Safety cannot wait for the next scheduled maintenance.”

The airline has 30 days from the receipt of the FAA’s civil penalty letter to respond to the agency.

###

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: March 18, 2010
SB-10-08

NTSB SAYS NORTHWEST PILOTS’ DISTRACTION LED TO OVERFLIGHT OF MINNEAPOLIS, NOTES ATC SHORTCOMINGS; ISSUES RECOMMENDATIONS ON ATC PROCEDURES

Washington, DC – The National Transportation Safety Board has determined that Northwest Airlines flight 188 overflew its destination airport of Minneapolis by more than 100 miles and failed to maintain radio communications because the pilots became distracted by a conversation unrelated to the operation of the aircraft. The NTSB’s accident brief, released today, also note air traffic control shortcomings during the event, and the Board issued two safety recommendations to address those shortcomings.

On October 21, 2009, Northwest Airlines flight 188, an Airbus A320 (N374NW) operating as a scheduled flight between San Diego and Minneapolis, did not communicate with air traffic control for approximately one hour 17 minutes. While in this NORDO (no radio communications) state, it flew past its intended destination at a cruise altitude of 37,000 feet. The crew subsequently re-established radio communications and landed without further incident. There were no injuries.

The NTSB said that the pilots continued to fly through several air traffic control sectors without replying to any radio commands. The investigation found that the pilots had become engaged in a conversation dealing with the process by which pilots request flight schedules and during the conversation each was using his personal laptop computer, contrary to company policy. The pilots were not aware of the repeated attempts by air traffic controllers’ and the airline to contact them until a flight attendant used the intercom to inquire about the progress of the flight.

The NTSB also found that the lack of national requirements for recording ATC instructions when using automated flight tracking systems, such as directing an aircraft to switch frequencies or to indicate that an aircraft has checked in on an assigned frequency, was a factor in the controllers delay in performing necessary actions and notifications required by lost communications procedures. In addition, because NORDO events of a short duration are not uncommon, the Safety Board found that controllers and managers may have become complacent in completing necessary NORDO actions and required notifications in a timely manner.

As a result of deficiencies in ATC communications procedures revealed in this investigation and an accident involving a Pilatus PC-12/45 that crashed in Butte, Montana on March 22, 2009, the Safety Board is making recommendations to the FAA to address the following issues:

The lack of standard procedures for identifying flight crew-ATC communications in ATC facilities that use automated flight tracking systems.
The lack of standard phraseology for identifying the emergency nature of emergency ATC radio transmissions.
The Safety Board’s probable cause finding, with factual narrative, can be accessed at the following link on the Board’s website: http://www.ntsb.gov/ntsb/brief.asp?ev_id=20091022X00120&key=1

The Safety Recommendation letter can also be found on the Board’s website at: http://www.ntsb.gov/Recs/letters/2010/A10_42_43.pdf.

Previously, the Safety Board has addressed the potential hazards created by the use of personal electronic devices by transportation operators. Last month, following the Board’s investigation of the Colgan Air 3407 accident near Buffalo, NY, the Board issued a safety recommendation to the FAA to require all Part 121, 135, and 91K operators to incorporate explicit guidance to pilots, including checklist reminders as appropriate, prohibiting the use of personal portable electronic devices on the flight deck. Details of Safety Recommendation A-10-30 can be accessed at: http://www.ntsb.gov/Recs/letters/2010/A10_10_34.pdf.

Recent accidents and incidents such as the midair collision over the Hudson River last August, Colgan Air flight 3407, and the Northwest pilot’s overflight of the Minnesota airport have demonstrated the clear hazards to aviation safety when pilots and air traffic controllers depart from standard operating procedures and established best practices.

The Safety Board will convene a 3-day public forum on professionalism in aviation to address methods for ensuring excellence in pilot and air traffic controller performance. The forum is intended to raise awareness by promoting an open discussion between the Safety Board and invited panelists drawn from industry, labor, academia, and government on the importance of developing and reinforcing professionalism in the aviation industry. The forum is scheduled for May 18-20, 2010. More information regarding the forum will be announced in the coming weeks.

– 30 –

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
WASHINGTON, DC/March 11, 2010 – Today, the U.S. Office of Special Counsel (OSC) transmitted to the President and Congress the Department of Transportation’s (DOT) response to whistleblower allegations that Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) managers at Detroit Metropolitan Airport (DTW) compromised the safety of the flying public by operating an air traffic approach and departure configuration known as the “Southwest Flow” in an unsafe manner and in violation of FAA policy, and that FAA officials provided disingenuous information in response to a Congressional request.

The whistleblower, Air Traffic Controller Vincent Sugent, also disclosed that management guidance to controllers for directing traffic on an airport taxiway was contradictory and unclear, and that procedures for segregating jet and propeller aircraft departures were unsafe.

The June 2009 report and supplemental reports from DOT to OSC found that for a period of approximately six months, a critical segment of DTW’s “Southwest Flow” operation was often non-compliant with FAA Order 7110.65, which prescribes aircraft separation standards for intersecting runways, thus allowing a potentially unsafe condition to persist, in part as a result of DTW management’s failure to provide controllers with proper instruction on its safe operation. The report also determined that for two months during the same time period as referenced above, a DTW Operations Manager knowingly allowed the non-compliant operation to occur.

The report also substantiated that DTW managers provided wording for FAA’s September 2007 response to an inquiry from Senator Carl Levin about the Southwest Flow that was, at a minimum, disingenuous. FAA sent a clarifying letter to Senator Levin in April 2008, only after OSC referred Mr. Sugent’s concerns for investigation. The report also found that the “hold short” lines on Taxiway Quebec, and as depicted on controller monitor screens, were insufficient for controllers to comply with DTW guidance for directing traffic on this taxiway. In addition, DTW’s guidance and Operating Manual contain contradictory language, which creates confusion for controllers. Finally, the report found that DTW management had not implemented necessary changes to written guidance provided to controllers for segregating jet and propeller aircraft departures.

FAA pledged to take appropriate corrective and administrative action in response to the findings of the report. DTW has ceased operation of the Southwest Flow, the DTW managers have been counseled, and changes have been made to FAA and DTW guidance concerning Taxiway Quebec and jet and propeller departures. An audit of the corrective actions was completed by FAA’s Air Traffic Safety Oversight Services in November 2009 and a report is expected soon.

OSC determined that the agency’s reports contain all the information required by statute and the findings appear reasonable.

For Immediate Release
March 12, 2010
WASHINGTON, D.C. – The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) is seeking to collect three proposed civil penalties totaling $787,500 from American Airlines for maintenance violations.

In the first case, which occurred in April 2008, the FAA alleges American Airlines mechanics diagnosed problems with one of two Central Air Data Computers (CADCs) on a McDonnell Douglas MD-82 jetliner. Instead of replacing the computer, mechanics improperly deferred this maintenance under the airline’s DC-9 Minimum Equipment List (MEL) by noting that the auto-throttles were inoperative. The MEL, however, does not allow deferral of an inoperative CADC.

The airline subsequently flew the plane on 10 passenger flights before the computer was replaced. During this time, flight crews were led to believe that both computers were working properly.

The FAA proposes a civil penalty of $625,000 in this case.

In the second case, the FAA found that in March 2008, American failed to correctly follow an Airworthiness Directive involving the inspection of rudder components on certain Boeing 757 aircraft. As a result, four 757s operated by American Airlines did not comply with the requirements of the Airworthiness Directive.

The FAA alleges that after American was advised of the situation, the company said it would cease flying the planes until they were repaired. However, during the following two days, the airline flew two of the planes on a total of three passenger flights. The FAA is seeking a penalty of $75,000 in this case.

In the final case, the FAA alleges that in May 2009, American’s mechanics returned an MD-82 aircraft to service, even though several steps of a scheduled B-check maintenance visit had not been checked off as completed. The airline also replaced a landing gear door without noting it in the aircraft’s logbook.

The aircraft was operated on two passenger flights with the logbook error. An FAA inspection of the aircraft revealed several discrepancies in the tail section, including loose screws, a missing nut plate and a right hand elevator torque tube binding and making noise. As a result of these discrepancies, the FAA proposes a civil penalty of $87,500.

American Airlines has 30 days from the receipt of the FAA’s civil penalty letter to respond to the agency.

Updated: 2:12 pm ET March 10, 201 Randy Babbitt, FAA Administrator announced that the FAA Air Traffic Organization is now managing under a safety management system to handle National Airspace System changes. This involves procedure modifications utilizing a new methodology for the FAA to “identify, assess and manage safety risks associated with changes to the National Airspace System.”

The Safety Management System is made up of four components:

• safety policy – how implementation is carried out, and functions, processes, and responsibilities.
  

• safety assurance reviews, evaluations, audits, inspections, investigations, and data tracking and analysis measuring safety
  

• safety risk management hazard identification and mitigation
  

• safety promotion. safety education and training

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: March 9, 2010

NTSB STUDY SHOWS INTRODUCTION OF ‘GLASS COCKPITS’ IN GENERAL
AVIATION AIRPLANES HAS NOT LED TO EXPECTED SAFETY
IMPROVEMENTS

Washington, DC — Today the National Transportation Safety
Board adopted a study concluding that single engine
airplanes equipped with glass cockpits had no better overall
safety record than airplanes with conventional
instrumentation.

The safety study, which was adopted unanimously by the
Safety Board, was initiated more than a year ago to
determine if light airplanes equipped with digital primary
flight displays, often referred to as “glass cockpits,” were
inherently safer than those equipped with conventional
instruments.

The study, which looked at the accident rates of over 8,000
small piston-powered airplanes manufactured between 2002 and
2006, found that those equipped with glass cockpits had a
higher fatal accident rate then similar aircraft with
conventional instruments.

The Safety Board determined that because glass cockpits are
both complex and vary from aircraft to aircraft in function,
design and failure modes, pilots are not always provided
with all of the information they need — both by aircraft
manufacturers and the Federal Aviation Administration — to
adequately understand the unique operational and functional
details of the primary flight instruments in their
airplanes.

NTSB Chairman Deborah A.P. Hersman highlighted the role that
training plays in preventing accidents involving these
airplanes.

“As we discussed today, training is clearly one of the key
components to reducing the accident rate of light planes
equipped with glass cockpits, and this study clearly
demonstrates the life and death importance of appropriate
training on these complex systems,” said Hersman. “We know
that while many pilots have thousands of hours of experience
with conventional flight instruments, that alone is just not
enough to prepare them to safely operate airplanes equipped
with these glass cockpit features.”

Today, nearly all newly manufactured piston-powered light
airplanes are equipped with digital primary flight displays.
And the number of older airplanes being retrofitted with
these systems continues to grow.

“While the technological innovations and flight management
tools that glass cockpit equipped airplanes bring to the
general aviation community should reduce the number of fatal
accidents, we have not — unfortunately — seen that happen,”
said Hersman. “The data tell us that equipment-specific
training will save lives. To that end, we have adopted
recommendations today responsive to that data —
recommendations on pilot knowledge testing standards,
training, simulators, documentation and service difficulty
reporting so that the potential safety improvements that
these systems provide can be realized by the general
aviation pilot community.”

Based on the study findings, the NTSB made six safety
recommendations to the FAA: 1) enhance pilot knowledge and
training requirements; 2) require manufacturers to provide
pilots with information to better manage system failures; 3)
incorporate training elements regarding electronic primary
flight displays into training materials and aeronautical
knowledge requirements; 4) incorporate training elements
regarding electronic primary flight displays into initial
and recurrent flight proficiency requirements for pilots of
small light general aviation airplanes equipped with those
systems, that address variations in equipment design and
operations of such displays; 5) support equipment-specific
pilot training programs by developing guidance for the use
of glass cockpit simulators other than those that are
approved by the FAA as flight training devices; and 6)
inform the general aviation community about the importance
of reporting malfunctions or defects with electronic flight,
navigation and control systems through the Service
Difficulty Reporting system.

The complete safety study will be available at www.ntsb.gov
in several weeks.

March 5 – March 4, 2010 marked a significant milestone in Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) efforts overseeing the safety of the nation’s commercial space transportation industry with the 201st FAA licensed commercial rocket launch. The vehicle carried into orbit an environmental satellite to improve weather forecasting and help monitor environmental events. FAA’s Office of Commercial Space Transportation safety inspectors were present to monitor operations of the Delta IV booster.

Beginning in the late 1980s, all of FAA’s licensed launches have been completed without any fatalities, serious injuries, or significant property damage to the uninvolved public. This spotless record, spanning over two decades, underscores the total commitment to safe operations throughout the FAA’s full range of activities.

“With, the retirement this year of NASA’s Space Shuttle, the nation will now look to the commercial space industry to take on added responsibilities, including commercial human space flights and replenishing equipment and technologies at the International Space Station,” said FAA Associate Administrator for Commercial Space Transportation George Nield. “Americans can feel confident that FAA’s Office of Commercial Space Transportation will be on the job monitoring and overseeing the safety of these new and exciting activities,” he added.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: March 5, 2010 Washington, DC – National Transportation Safety Board Chairman Deborah A.P. Hersman today encouraged the sleep research and healthcare community to continue their efforts to educate transportation policy makers of the dangers of fatigue in all modes of transportation.

Speaking before the annual conference of the National Sleep Foundation in Washington, D.C., Chairman Hersman remarked that fatigue has been a concern for the Board since the creation of the agency in 1967 and it has been an issue on the Board’s Most Wanted List of Transportation Safety Improvements since the list was established in 1990.

“The work of the National Sleep Foundation and other organizations and individuals is critical to improving transportation safety policy,” said Chairman Hersman. “The NTSB is interested and willing to partner with you in developing a greater awareness of fatigue.”

Hersman highlighted a number of accident investigations across all transportation modes that included fatigue as the probable cause or a contributing factor to accidents. As a result, the Board has made safety recommendations that range from deploying fatigue detection systems to reduce the occurrence of accidents to installing electronic on-board recorders that collect and maintain hours of service data on vehicle operators.

“We can’t always prove fatigue as a cause of an accident, but the frequency with which we now routinely document the presence of fatigue-related factors in transportation operations is alarming,” Hersman stated.

Hersman remarked that while there are still no definitive tools to conclusively identify the degree to which a person is fatigued, the major challenge is to ensure that all those in transportation report to work rested and fit for duty — for their own safety and for the safety of those they are transporting.

src=http://www.ntsb.gov/Pressrel/2010/100305.html

Press Release-March 4, 2010 The National Transportation Safety Board will hold a public Board meeting to consider a study on what effect the introduction of glass cockpits into small light general aviation airplanes is having on the safety record of those
aircraft.

In 2000, almost all new single engine light airplanes were manufactured with conventional analog flight instruments. Today almost all new light planes come equipped with digital flight display avionic systems, also known as “glass cockpits.” The enhanced function and information capabilities of these systems represent a significant change and potential improvement in the way general aviation pilots monitor information needed to control their aircraft.

The NTSB initiated this study to determine if the transition to glass cockpits in light aircraft would improve the safety record of those planes.

For more information…

WASHINGTON — The U.S. Department of Transportation’s (DOT) Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) is holding its 35th Annual Aviation Forecast Conference, “Looking Ahead in Aviation: Rational Rebound or Irrational Instability.” The FAA will release its Aerospace Forecast Fiscal Years 2010-2030, which provides the latest data about activity and growth in aviation products and services, as well as future estimates.

The first day of the conference will begin at 8:30 a.m. and will feature remarks by Secretary LaHood and FAA Administrator Babbitt starting at 12:00 Noon. American Airlines Chairman, President and CEO Gerard J Arpey will keynote the luncheon at 1:00 p.m. The latest agenda including a list of panels cane be found at:http://www.faa.gov/news/conferences_events/aviation_forecast_2010/agenda/

Media wishing to attend the conference should RSVP to Hank Price, hank.price@faa,gov.