Air Transport

Status quo for top safety worries: NTSB

By John Croft

The US National Transportation Safety Board lamented the limited progress being made by the FAA in getting its top safety recommendations codified into rules.

The observations were part of the Board’s annual review of its “Most Wanted” safety concerns for all transportation modes. Of the 46 recommendations on its list, 19 are directed to the FAA and the most remain “open” with an “unacceptable” response in the NTSB’s listing.

On the list this year, as last year, are calls to increase runway safety, prevent icing-related crashes, inert fuel tanks, boost the capabilities of voice and data recorders, introduce video recorders and eliminate workplace fatigue in pilots, mechanics and controllers.

Frustrations centred on FAA rulemakings that continue to be delayed, including a mandate, first proposed in 2004, to inert centre fuel tanks with Nitrogen gas to prevent fuel tank explosions.

The final rule, which is slated to be released on 8 February 2008, has been delayed numerous times in part due to the cost-benefit analysis, said Tom Haueter, the NTSB’s director of aviation safety, adding: “Staff is concerned that costs are overstated and benefits are understated.”

Haueter said a new FAA rule to remove ignition sources inside fuel tanks may not be sufficient to prevent the explosions as new failure modes appear.

NTSB said there are four aircraft – two 737s and two 747s -- with operating inerting systems in “daily airline service” as part of a successful two-year test of the reliability of the equipment, which costs between $150,000 and $250,000.

Other rulemakings delayed or not yet started include new rules to reduce fatigue, a requirement for on-demand Part 135 pilots to receive crew resource management training, and a rule to increase the duration of cockpit voice recorders from 30 minutes to 2h.