NTSB Member Wants Part 91/135 Included

An NTSB safety recommendation issued last week that calls for airline pilots to cross-check heading references ends with a notation from Safety Board member Kathryn O’Leary Higgins that highlights its failure to include Part 91 and Part 135 operators. Issued in reaction to the August 27 crash of Comair Flight 5191 (a CRJ-100) in Lexington, Ky., in which 49 people died, the recommendation also calls for Part 121 operators to provide specific guidance to pilots on the runway lighting requirements for nighttime takeoffs–something Comair failed to do, according to the Safety Board. The NTSB registered its concern that a Safety Alert for Operators issued by the FAA on September 1 that offers techniques and procedures for consideration does not mandate compliance, and Higgins noted that all operators–not only those flying under Part 121–should “take a serious look at runway and takeoff procedures and take necessary measures to increase vigilance and awareness.”