Midway through the two-year cycle for the National Transportation Safety Board’s Most Wanted List of Transportation Safety Improvements for 2021 and 2022, the agency has been pleased with the increased awareness and public engagement of pressing issues. But only eight of 167 related safety recommendations, and none in the aviation arena, have been successfully closed.
The NTSB released the 2021-2022 list in April of last year, highlighting 10 key safety issues in the aviation, highway, rail, and marine modes. Two of those issues directly involved aviation: “require and verify the effectiveness of safety management systems [SMS] in all revenue passenger-carrying aviation operations” and “​install crash-resistant recorders and establish flight data monitoring programs.”
Since that time, the agency said it has met with officials from associations such as the Helicopter Association International, General Aviation Manufacturers Association, and NBAA, as well as with the Part 135 and 91 communities. Through webinars, podcasts, conference attendance, and other meetings, the NTSB estimated that it has reached more than 1,500 operators nationwide.
“We are pleased by the engagement of so many of our safety advocacy partners, industry groups, and associations in the past year to promote our recommendations and highlight transportation safety concerns,” the association said in a recent update on the Most Wanted List. “Also, we acknowledge that many industry groups and operators are making voluntary efforts to improve safety, including on some of our recommendations. However, without mandates, many others may not act.”
The Safety Board further said it was disappointed by the lack of movement on the recommendations overall. “The longer these authorities wait to implement our recommendations, the greater the risk to the traveling public.“
On the SMS front, the NTSB noted that the FAA has required the safety approach for airlines in 2015 but still not yet extended such a mandate to other passenger-carrying operations. “Although we have seen some voluntary adoption of SMS programs, a vast majority of operators continue operating without an SMS in place. It’s time more got on board. The risk to the flying public is too great not to,” the NTSB said.
The Safety Board has issued 11 recommendations on the issue over five occasions since 2015, and while a few have “open—acceptable response” status, none have been fulfilled completely and closed.
As for crash-resistant recorders and flight data monitoring recommendations, the NTSB said it believes all passenger-carrying commercial aircraft, including those used for charter and air tours, should be equipped with data, audio, and video recording devices. The Safety Board noted it has advocated for visual recorders on aircraft for more than 20 years. In addition, it said that between 2005 and 2020 there was no recording equipment installed in 83 percent of the turbine aircraft crashes in which the flight crew was killed.
The NTSB additionally has issued 11 recommendations in this area.
