Every year the National Transportation Safety Board issues its list of Most Wanted safety improvements. The list is a way of highlighting to various aviation stakeholders–the FAA, airlines, flight schools, manufacturers and, of course, the pilot community–safety problems the Board identified in its accident investigations. The list is a way both to focus attention on these safety issues and to offer potential solutions to the aviation community. The 2015 Most Wanted List covers all modes of transportation under the NTSB’s jurisdiction, not just aviation. But a number of areas do apply to aviation, with one applying to general aviation specifically. For anyone who flies, it’s worth considering these safety recommendations. And they are just recommendations because the NTSB is not a regulatory agency. It doesn’t make the rules. But its analysis of transportation accident data draws on significant and broad expertise. So, if you’re a GA pilot, here’s an opportunity to learn what the NTSB thinks you could do to fly more safely. It’s your decision, but at least take the time to read what the Board’s experts think.

The issues applicable to aviation include: disconnect from deadly distractions, enhance public helicopter safety, end substance impairment in transportation, require medical fitness for duty and strengthen procedural compliance. For example, the NTSB calls on all modes of transportation to disconnect from electronic devices–including cellphones–that are not “mission critical,” avoid over-the-counter drugs that can impair performance and recognize medical issues that could threaten safety of flight. The NTSB has found that pilots are “increasingly testing positive for over-the-counter sedating medications.” These could be medications that pilots take without fully reading the warning labels or that they may take routinely for, say, allergies without realizing that they have sedating effects. 

Another example given by the NTSB in the medical fitness category is sleep apnea. The Board has become increasingly concerned about the potential for sleep apnea to cause fatigue and nodding off, which has been a factor in several accidents across all modes of transportation. The NTSB remains concerned that there is not currently a definitive test for sleep apnea. While this recommendation is directed mostly on medical providers, pilots who know or believe that they might have sleep issues indicating sleep apnea should seek professional help to determine whether they do have the condition. I know that many pilots–commercial and GA–are afraid of finding out about a condition that they feel could jeopardize their medical certificate. I understand this concern. But not knowing could have serious consequences for the safety of that pilot’s operations both to him/herself, passengers and people on the ground.

Procedural compliance is another area highlighted in the 2015 Most Wanted List. This scrutiny is directed at commercial pilots, emphasizing “ways to strengthen procedural compliance, from rooting out inadequate company procedures, to ensuring comprehensive training, to reemphasizing and reinforcing crew compliance.” However, GA pilots can benefit from these recommendations in terms of, for example, acquiring and using checklists appropriate to their aircraft and operations. Faithful use of written checklists is a significant factor in reducing the potential for accidents. We have long known that running through checklists by memory is not an adequate substitute for a written checklist. It is easy to skip or even misremember a step, especially if factors such as time pressure to depart are added.

Preventable Loss of Control

The Most Wanted issue that is specifically targeted at GA is preventing loss of control in flight. The Board notes that pilots and passengers in GA operations still die at alarming rates every year because the pilot lost control of the aircraft. According to the NTSB’s data, 40 percent of general aviation airplane accidents between 2001 and 2011 involved pilot loss of control. 

What to do about the stubborn accident rate in GA is something the Board has struggled with for many years. It’s something we struggled with in the almost 10 years I was on the Board.  Over and over, the cause of many general aviation accidents came down to preventable loss of control. In its discussion of the loss-of-control issue on the 2015 Most Wanted List, the NTSB reflects on a number of things that could help GA pilots. They are:

• be prepared to recognize the warning signs of an impending stall, and be able to apply appropriate recovery techniques before stall onset.

• be honest with themselves about their knowledge level of stalls, and their ability to recognize and handle them.

• use aeronautical decision making (ADM) techniques and flight risk assessment tools during both preflight planning and inflight operations.

• manage distractions so they do not interfere with situational awareness.

• understand, properly train and maintain currency in the equipment and airplanes they operate. They should take advantage of available commercial trainer, type club and transition training opportunities.

 The Board also recommends considering the possibility of installing an angle-of-attack indicator. 

These suggestions, I agree, would benefit GA pilots in avoiding loss of control. But I was particularly heartened to see that the Board put the primary responsibility for avoiding these accidents on the pilots themselves. Much has been written and said about the need for professionalism among professional pilots, and the same can be said for the GA pilot, recognizing, of course, the differences in skills, training and institutional support. In the end, as the Board noted, the GA pilot is responsible for preventing accidents caused by loss of control in flight. While many factors contribute to these accidents, the Board focused on the individual abilities and judgment of GA pilots as key factors. As the Board noted, “individual pilots remain the pieces critical to that reduction, with both the ultimate responsibility and the ultimate opportunity to reduce these needless accidents through ongoing education, flight currency, self-assessment and vigilant situational awareness in the cockpit.”