In her opening address to the FAA International Runway Safety Summit in Washington, US National Transportation Safety Board Chairman Deborah Hersman criticized FAA for failing to act on runway safety recommendations made by the NTSB. Among other questions she asked, “How do safety improvements end up taking 10 years to deliver?…Every day they are delayed could be the day” an accident occurs.

The FAA International Runway Safety Summit is being held at the Omni Shoreham Hotel in Washington, DC. Co-sponsored by the American Association of Airport Executives (AAAE) and The MITRE Corporation, will continue on until December 3rd.

Ongoing discussions, analyses, and reviews of critical issues such as human factors, airport geometry, technology today and tomorrow, the cockpit, ATC procedures, and SMS systems are the expected topics.

Special keynote talks by U.S. Secretary of Transportation Ray LaHood (invited), FAA Administrator J. Randolph Babbitt, and FAA Air Traffic Organization Chief Operating Officer Hank Krakowski will emphasize the importance placed on runway safety in the United States and its aviation partners worldwide. Wednesday’s luncheon presentation will feature Captain Robert Bragg, the sole surviving flight crew member of the Pan Am Tenerife crash.

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Is the so-called upcoming pilot shortage a scare tactic?

Several factors will be contributing to an upcoming pilot shortage:

  • In the summer of 2013, newly hired pilots will be required to have 1,500 hours of prior flight experience—six times the current minimum
  • Upcoming (2014) Federal Safety Rule fatigue laws decrease flight time
  • Senior pilots hitting mandatory retirement at 65
  • Tight airline budgets, costs cut

So the question is is the so-called upcoming pilot shortage a trumped-up scare tactic by the airlines to get themselves wiggle room in the face of regulations they’ve had years to prepare to comply with?

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National Aviation Merger Critiqued


State-run Air India and Indian Airlines merger into National Aviation Company Ltd. has been criticized for being “done without proper homework,” “an unfortunate situation,” and “a stumbling block.”

The differences of aircraft resources are perceived as a stumbling block, and is wasteful of the synergies of both Air India and Indian Airlines.

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Footnote to Fly Safely Thru Turbulence and Rogue Electrics

Politicians aren’t aviation news, but…

Air Force One pilot aborted his first landing in Toledo, Ohio, due to hairy conditions on Wednesday. Plus we hear the flight had experienced turbulence.

And Ann Romney’s plane filled up with smoke after an electrical fire. Safe landing there too.

Good call on firing the TSA Agent who nabbed a passenger’s stolen ipad (including the 380 theft-related TSA firings that didn’t make the news.)

No jokes about the safety incidents. We’re glad the superlative pilots flying both planes brought everyone home safely.

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Aviation Panel Convenes

With the intent of restoring health to the airline industry, the Department of Transportation is convening a committee to discuss the aviation’s future, to deal with the damages suffered by companies, employees, investors, and passengers, and to consider factors like high taxes and globalization. The industry is looking for government help, plans for upgrading to GPS ATC. The projected timeline for the committee is a year to come up with a roadmap for the future.

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