'To make an intractable problem go away - redefine it.' - Anonymous The plan to provide a stable vision of progress toward a higher level of safety is itself unstable, with some measures of safety performance dropped and others likely to be modified significantly to put the best face on an expected ...

"The sensitivity of the system is critical and needs to be addressed." Safety Board Member Debbie Hersman Modifications are needed to nearly 500 Airbus A300-600 and A310 aircraft in order to provide pilots with greater protection from hazardous rudder pedal inputs at high airspeeds that ...

Airbus disagrees sharply over cause of Flight 587 crash The outcome of a bitterly contested investigation into a crash that occurred 10 years ago should guide the probable cause of an investigation that is being resolved this week, according to American Airlines [AMR] officials. The current case ...

A backlogged safety recommendation is less likely to be resolved satisfactorily than one that is settled routinely, according to an ASW analysis of about three dozen cases in which National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) officials met with the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) counterparts ...

Earlier breeding > more young birds > more strikes with aircraft BALTIMORE, Md. - Global warming may be involved in the explosive growth of certain bird populations, placing new pressure on airport wildlife control programs to mitigate the hazard of bird strikes to aircraft. Although couching ...

Loss of flight controls need not be a death sentence, as engine thrust can be used as a fallback means of bringing a stricken airplane to a reasonably safe landing. More than 1,000 aircrew and passengers have been killed over the years when primary flight control systems failed, pilots were forced ...

A recommendation to modify the Airbus A300-600 rudder travel limiter (RTL) to prevent excessive aerodynamic loads could be the first of more calls to improve the airplane's rudder control system. The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) issued a May 28 recommendation based on its findings ...

Traffic alert and collision avoidance system (TCAS) technology will not be required on cruising aircraft separated vertically by 1,000 feet, according to a final rule on domestic reduced vertical separation minimum (DRVSM). Nor has the rule been issued with a complete and final safety analysis, as ...

Awkward emergency equipment and erratic displays complicate coping There is nothing like the whiff of something burning to have an effect on a pilot akin to a jolt of chilled water to the heart. Fire, and especially an electrical fire - with its potential to directly attack the "nervous system& ...

Aviation industry lags rail, maritime sectors in use of video recordings The cameras are coming. In the not-too-distant future transport category aircraft might well be equipped with closed circuit television systems to cover both interior spaces and the exterior of the aircraft as the technology ...