NTSB to put detailed records for all accidents online

Starting this week, the National Transportation Safety Board will begin posting the entire public dockets of its accident investigations, even before the investigations are complete. The policy change – and expected flood of new information – comes as the agency is trying to do a better job complying with federal public records laws, it said in a news release. Previously, the NTSB released public dockets only for high-profile plane crashes, such as February’s Colgan Air crash in Buffalo, N.Y. The dockets contain far more information than the preliminary reports, factual reports and probable cause reports that the NTSB has provided for years in an online database. The docket information often includes flight data recorder information, cockpit and air traffic control transcripts, maintenance logs, weather information and interview notes. The NTSB has not said how long it will take to post the dockets on all accidents currently under investigation. For several years, the NTSB has had a backlog of 1,000 or more records requests, many of which are broad requests for information about a specific accident. By posting all that information online, the agency’s small staff responsible for such tasks won’t have to cull through it for just one person. The NTSB’s list of public docket materials for selected accidents Categories: Accidents, NTSB Tags: foia, NTSB, public dockets —

NTSB: Helicopter pilots didn’t see each other before 2008 crash in Arizona

Two medical helicopters arriving simultaneously at the Flagstaff Medical Center in June 2008 crashed into each other, killing seven people, because the pilots did not follow standard see-and-avoid practices. The National Transportation Safety Board’s probable cause report into the accident also singled out one pilot for not reporting his position by radio to the hospital. The other pilot approached from the south, while the standard procedures at that airport were to arrive from the north and east. The NTSB pointed out that neither helicopter had traffic alerting systems installed, something that could have prevented the accident. The deaths were among dozens in air ambulance flights over the last two years, a trend that prompted a series of NTSB recommendations related to improving the safety of those flights. Last month, the FAA said it was considering rules that would require terrain alerting equipment in all medical helicopters.

NTSB wants Zodiac LSA grounded after string of in-flight breakups

Six crashes of the Zodiac CH-601XL in the last three years are all related to an aerodynamic design problem and the planes should be grounded, the National Transportation Safety Board said last week. The light sport planes are vulnerable to aerodynamic flutter, in which the ailerons and elevator vibrate in flight, over-stressing the plane and causing structural failure. Ten people died in the six crashes the NTSB reviewed; in all of the crashes, the planes broke up, often during cruise flight. In two of the accidents, the wings “collapsed” or “folded up,” the NTSB said. Because the Zodiac was certified as a Special LSA, it did not have to go through the FAA’s certification process. Instead, the manufacturer just had to say the plane met industry design standards. In a posting on its Web site, Zenith said it doesn’t think flutter is an issue if the plane’s control cables are adjusted correctly. The company is considering the issues the NTSB raised, though it noted that the probable cause of every accident has not been established yet. The FAA is reviewing the NTSB’s recommendations but has not taken any action and therefore, the planes can continue flying for now.

The National Transportation Safety Board is expressing concerns about the increase in accidents and fatalities for Part 135 air taxi flights last year. A total of 56 accidents killed 66 people, the greatest number since 2000, even though the rate of accidents per 100,000 flight hours was flat, the board said in a news release. Some of the on-demand Part 135 crashes were of air ambulance helicopters, an issue the NTSB has been reviewing in recent months – though it didn’t single out a source of the increase in crashes when it released the 2008 figures. In other flight categories, accident figures for 2008 were similar to 2007. Commuter airlines had seven accidents and no fatalities last year, compared with three accidents in 2007; there were 28 accidents involving Part 121 airline flights last year. The general aviation accident rate was similar last year, with one fewer fatality — a total of 495 deaths — compared to 2007.

The Cessna 162 SkyCatcher damaged in a crash March 19 was conducting power-on, cross-controlled spin testing beforehand, the NTSB and Cessna said last week. When the plane couldn’t recover, the test pilot deployed a ballistic airframe parachute, the NTSB’s preliminary report said. But when the plane stabilized, the pilot found he was unable to jettison the parachute and resume normal flight. The plane landed in a field and wind dragged the plane and parachute about half a mile before it came to a rest upside-down against a fence. Two SkyCatcher test planes have now been involved in crashes during spin testing, but that isn’t deterring the company from pushing forward with certifying the model, Cessna said in a news release. The company said it has collected valuable information about the plane’s spin behavior and about the function of the parachute as a result of the two crashes.

The NTSB is downplaying the role icing played in the Feb. 12 crash of a turboprop that killed 50 people as it approached Buffalo, N.Y. The board’s investigation so far has found that the plane would have encountered light or moderate icing, but that would have had a “minimal impact on the stall speed of the airplane.” And the NTSB’s latest update confirms earlier reports that one of the pilots pulled back sharply on the control column when the stick-shaker engaged. The NTSB will hold a hearing in May to review many aspects of the accident. Besides icing and weather, the board is reviewing the flight crew’s actions, training, recent flights and fatigue, as well as looking more broadly at Colgan Air’s training programs and other procedures for pilots.