The National Transportation Safety Board doesn’t have the engineering expertise or financial resources to investigate an accident on its own. So it asks industry representatives for help. In almost every case, it turns to the manufacturer of the aircraft component that failed or malfunctioned. In other words, the NSTB asks the entity most likely to have
Helicopter Air Ambulance Risks Identified
Flight Safety Foundation has released a study identifying the most significant risks involved in the helicopter air ambulance industry. The safety study was undertaken in response to the industry’s increasingly poor safety record.
According to the 64 page report (pdf), one of the biggest problems is that it’s not clear who is in charge of
Continental (Colgan) Flight 3407: Law Firms Take Different Tacks
Right after the crash of Flight 3407 at Buffalo, investigators focused on the aircraft’s deicing system. The question, as explained by former CNN reporter and pilot Miles O’Brien, was whether ice had accumulated on the plane’s wings faster than the de-icing system could remove it, leading to an aerodynamic “stall,” or loss of lift.
But as the investigation progressed, it began to look as though, just before the pilot lost control of the aircraft, the nose of the plane pitched up — not down as usually happens when ice overwhelms an aircraft. That raised an almost unthinkable possibility: gross pilot error. When an aircraft getsContinue Reading Continental (Colgan) Flight 3407: Law Firms Take Different Tacks
Hawaiian Helicopter Tours: Profit Motive Still Trumps Safety
The Hawaiian Helicopter Tour Industry is Big Business. Each year, more than 1 million people take an aerial tour of Hawaii. That equates to one out of every 10 visitors to the islands. Most of the tours are in helicopters. The business generates more than $200 million annually, and supports countless jobs.
A helicopter is a great way to take in the islands’ natural beauty. And that is what the tour companies sell. "Fly into the heart and heat of an active volcano" advertised one operator. "Fly close enough to feel the waterfall’s cooling mist" offered another.
But the Helicopter Safety Record is Terrible. Flying too close to the terrain features, tangling with the islands’ unpredictable "micro-weather," and substandard maintenance practices have resulted in a long list of fatal accidents. As a result, year after year, Hawaii’s aviation safety record stacks upContinue Reading Hawaiian Helicopter Tours: Profit Motive Still Trumps Safety
Manufacturers’ Immunity from Product Defect Suits under GARA
The General Aviation Revitalization Act, known as “GARA,” immunizes general aviation manufacturers from lawsuits for defectively designed or manufactured aircraft that are more than 18 years old. Regardless of how serious the defect, if the aircraft is more than 18 years old, an injured victim cannot sue its manufacturer.
There are exceptions. An injured
Weren’t They Required to Have Insurance for This?
Accident victims or their families ask me this question a lot. Sadly, the answer is usually: "no."
Pilots: Most states require drivers on our highways to carry a minimum amount of liability insurance in case they injure someone. But pilots are regulated by the federal government, not the states. The federal government does not require pilots
NTSB to FAA: Ground the Zodiac Fleet
Today the NTSB issued an "urgent" safety recommendation, asking the FAA to immediately ground all Zodiac CH-601XL aircraft. The reason: their wings tend to fall off. So far, six have broken up in flight, causing 10 fatalities. The NTSB suspects that the design of the aircraft induces "flutter"– an aerodynamic phenomenon that can destroy an aircraft
More on the NTSB and Air Ambulance Accidents
A reader of this post concerning air ambulance accidents asked, “Can the FAA really get away with ignoring the NTSB?" The answer, to date, is "yes." And there’s nothing the NTSB can do about it.
The whole reason the NTSB exists is to learn from accidents and make safety recommendations so that similar accidents won’t happen again.
US Airways Flight 1549: What Claims Do The Passengers Have?
Some Flight 1549 passengers have reportedly "lawyered-up." What legal claims do they have?
Putting aside the question of whether pursuing the claims is the right thing to do — some say they should simply count their blessings — do the passengers have any claims to begin with?
Well, it depends on the law that applies. For
Jailing Pilots for “Negligence” Does Not Improve Safety
Two years ago, a Garuda Airlines 737 pilot botched a landing at Indonesia’s Yogyakarta airport. The plane crashed and 21 people were killed. Many more were injured.
Indonesia’s legal system focuses more on punishing the careless than on compensating the victims. So, yesterday, the pilot was found "guilty of negligence" and sentenced to two years in prison.
While criminalizing