Public helicopter safety, prevention of loss of control in general aviation aircraft and commercial pilot compliance are on the NTSB’s Ten “Most Wanted” list of needed transportation safety improvements for 2015. The U.S. safety investigation body released this year's list on January 13 during the Transportation Research Board annual meeting.
It added helicopter safety to the list last year, but this year the NTSB narrowed the focus to public helicopters. The Safety Board, which has investigated more than 130 public helicopter crashes, believes the number of accidents could be curbed by implementing safety management systems, scenario-based training and fatigue management. Safety also can be improved through helicopter technology and crash-resistant recorder systems, it said.
General aviation safety also has been on the list in recent years. This year’s focus is on loss of control. “Pilots of non-airline flights and their passengers still die by the hundreds in general aviation accidents every year due to pilot loss of control,” the NTSB said, adding the accidents could be reduced through continuing pilot education, flight currency, self-assessment and vigilant situational awareness.
Also on this year’s list is pilot compliance. The NTSB points to more than a dozen commercial airline or charter accidents stemming from procedural, training and compliance failures. Such accidents could be prevented through collaboration, effective procedures and training, and compliance “every flight, every day,” it said.