NTSB Most Wanted List

The NTSB puts out a “Most Wanted” list that states what areas they believe need to be addressed to increase safety. This year’s list has cockpit image recorders, prevent loss of control in flight, fatigue related accidents, reducing distractions, and medical fitness in that order. However, from my experience, I believe this order does not make sense for the industry. From the pilot’s perspective I believe the order should be listed in this order to represent the best safety interest for the industry. I would list the order as fatigue related accidents; prevent loss of control in flight, medical fitness, reducing distractions, and cockpit image recorders. This is because I believe fatigue is a large issue that directly causes crashes, as well as, increases the likelihood of issues in other areas. While cockpit image recorders are trivial and wont actively increase safety like the other issues will.

I believe that cockpit image recorders should not be listed on the NTSB’s “Most Wanted” safety improvements. While the idea sounds possible when thinking from an outside perspective, the overarching theme is baseless and is mainly a ploy to prove to the general public that the safety has been improved. “Premature overreaction … Cockpit image recorders will not improve safety and could, in fact, impede it by diverting limited resources that could be used for more valuable safety enhancements” (Air Traffic Management, 2015). The overall concept is irreverent. The staple of the argument is the Malaysian air flight, which was never discovered, and having a camera in the cockpit would not have solved that issue.

            While the NTSB did a good job ensuring the objective and also preparing this list creates a good baseline for the rest of the industry in safety. I believe they should remove the cockpit image recorder. The Air Line Pilots Association, “also specifically notes ‘pilot inattention due to workload, distractions or complacency, and a lack of understanding how a stall actually relates to exceeding a wing’s critical angle of attack (AOA)’" (Bellamy, 2016). This further shows the importance of maintaining control of the aircraft versus using cameras to scapegoat the pilots, and prevent them from working in a positive and productive environment. I believe the focus should be on better enabling pilots with knowledge and the capacity to provide the optimal level of performance. This is why I believe the NTSB should have included runway incursions to their list. Runway incursions are a large hazard and are common in general aviation. Runway incursions directly put the pilots and passengers of both aircraft in danger, and need to be mitigated as much as possible. 

            I believe the FAA is most likely to respond to, the reevaluating of the fatigued rules imposed on the crew. It is very common to hear from pilots that they have awful crew rest rules, and that they are not able to execute as well when tired. Additionally, it causes a loss of efficiency by pilots costing the airlines in fuel and timeliness. So it is in the best interest of everyone to have pilots utilize a proper duty rest period that allows themselves to fly safely and efficiency to their destination.

References

Air Traffic Management. (2015, January 27). NTSB repeats calls for cockpit video. Retrieved from http://www.airtrafficmanagement.net/2015/01/ntsb-repeats-calls-for-cockpit-video-surveillance/

Bellamy, W., III. (2016, January 14). NTSB's 5 Most Wanted Aviation Safety Improvements in 2016 Retrieved from http://www.aviationtoday.com/av/commercial/NTSBs-5-Most-Wanted-Aviation-Safety-Improvements-in-2016_86948.html#.Vwr8cRIrImJ