The National Transportation Safety Board and Aviation Safety Essay

critically and thoroughly. Although the board was made up of 12 people in JPL, NASA and the main

Since the beginning of aviation, aircraft have been used for other intentions besides carrying passengers and cargo. They have been used as weapons of war dating all the way back to the first world war, and the use of aircraft has enlightened the advancement of the aviation. “Throughout the history of aviation, the greatest progress in flight has been made during time when either war or the threat of war was present” (Millspaugh, et al., 2008, p. 33). However, the war we face today has been triggered by the deliberate use of aircraft to cause death, destruction, and mayhem.

The National Transportation Safety Board determines that the probable cause of this accident was the failure

At times, it is easy to miss the bigger picture. Time is spent wasted on “more important” things that seem to fit one’s personal opinion. In the case concerning the bombing at Port Fourchon, energy is spent wasted on possible terrorist threats, or the possibility of underground groups being behind the initial attack. The safety checklist is the underdog of the situation. It holds the maintenance records and the information about things that happen behind the scenes. It is easily overlooked or dismissed because it seems to have a lack of relevance regarding the bombing. It is mundane and seemingly insignificant. Due to time restraints, looking for the culprit of the crime is put at the top of the list. Also, since it is a successful company that suffered, it is almost expected that safety or maintenance problems would not even be an issue. Finally, because of the diverse natures of the two events that occurred, it

Aviation Security is a huge concern in the United States. With increasing threats of terrorist plots, especially after the September 11th terrorist attacks, the Department of Homeland security has made huge leaps to keep America’s travelers, airports, and airways safe. With growing concerns of terrorism and other issues, the Department of Homeland Security put in place an organization known as TSA (Transportation Security Administration) and other federal regulations under the Aviation and Transportations Security Act of 2001. It has been 10 years since the establishment of TSA and the new rules of air travel, even though recently they have fallen into a realm of criticism with their new body scan techniques. After the September 11th, 2001 terrorist attacks aviation security has been one of the biggest issues in the world. There are several ways in which airports and cargo shipments are protected and there are different types of technologies that are currently being used to assist in these efforts to keep airports and cargo shipments safe guarded.

Ever since September 11th, 2001 airport security efforts have been under the microscope. Rightfully so, because that day changed a lot on how people viewed safety in terms of flying. On that day, nearly 3,000 people were killed in a series of coordinated terrorist attacks in New York, Pennsylvania, and Virginia. It’s long been said that flying is the safest transportation mode amongst the varying models there are. According to www.journalistsresource.org, from 2000-2009 the average annual death of aviation fatalities was 548, compared to 26, 678 in regards to cars and light trucks. “A person who was in a motor vehicle for 30 miles every day for a year faced a fatality risk of about 1 in 12,500. Relative to mainline trains, buses and commercial

Everyday millions of people fly on airplanes. It is an easy and fast way of traveling for work, vacations or to see family members. Statically air travel is safer than traveling by car, airplanes have higher fatality accidents. The reasons airplanes crash vary and can happen during takeoff, landing or during flight. “August 1985 witnessed more passenger and crew deaths on commercial airlines than any other month.” [http://www.bbc.com/news/magazine-33931693.]

Airport safety is one of the Federal Aviation Administration's biggest concerns. They are tasked with tracking over 10,400,000 commercial flights every year, not including military and non-commercial flights (Canavan). Collisions and crashes are the two major causes of injuries and death. Air travel accidents date all of the way back to 1908 (Old). Orville Wright, one of the original inventors of the airplane, was flying a demonstration for the military when a propeller suddenly was ripped off of the airplane. The passenger, Lieutenant Selfridge was killed when the plane hit the ground (Old). The Federal Aviation Administration has come a long way since the 1960’s to improve safety (Mission). They have implemented various systems such as the United States program, NextGen Program, and the Air Transportation

The NTSB Office of Transportation Disaster Assistance provides family/victim support coordination, family assistance centers, forensic services, communication with foreign governments, and inter-agency coordination to assist communities and commercial carriers in the event of a major transportation disaster. Transportation disasters are unique events in the areas of investigation, victim identification, family interactions, and media and political attention. By federal law, the NTSB is required to investigate all aviation accidents and significant accidents in other modes of transportation such as rail, marine, highway, hazardous materials, and

"A National Transportation Safety Board investigation into the crash, released 11 months later, lays most of the blame for the collision on a local Norfolk Southern crew who were working the line west of Aiken a day earlier. The crew of Train P22 told investigators they were running behind when they reached the Avondale Mills textile plant around 6:10 p.m. the evening of January 5. That did not give them enough time to drop off the cargo of sodium hydroxide (used as a bleaching agent at the Avondale Mills plant) and make the planned trip down to Warrenville without going over their work-hour limit. So after finishing work at the Graniteville plant, the crew took a taxi to a hotel for the night with the intention of returning the following morning. No one noticed that the switch on the main line was still pointed towards the Avondale Mills spur. In fact, the brakeman was insistent that he had moved the switch back so any later trains going through town would still be able to go straight."2 This is a case of pushing the limits to the edge and missing an important detail. The work limits are put into effect to prevent just this kind of over site of missing important details. Unfortunately this one resulted in a major accident with loss of life. When the limits are pushed mistakes are made and the result sounds like; " 'In my mind, when I left [the industry track], everything was properly lined back to the main line. I had no doubts in my mind when I left there, ' the

In today’s world, flying is generally an extraordinarily safe experience. Within the last five years, only one fatal plane crash has occurred. This is an impressive record considering that more than 87,000 flights can be found in United States airspace on any given day (NATCA). However, air safety has not always been as advanced as it is currently. Past accidents and collisions have triggered crucial safety improvements over the years. The 1956 plane crash over the Grand Canyon was a major catalyst for change as it caused the creation the Federal Aviation Agency.

The aviation community has to constantly keep innovating to help ease congestion in the air space, and keep passengers safe. The implementation of the airport modernization act has continued to aid the aviation industry, and as a result we have seen improvement in technology, and airport operations. Human error has continue to be an issue in the aviation industry, as noted by the author in How Traffic Control Keeps you Safe, but airlines still has some of the best safety records amongst the modes of transportation. The article gave great example of the current issues in the aviation industry, and how they are using technology to their advantage to help lesson these risk. There is always going to be accidents in the aviation industry, but taking right steps to make sure that numbers of mistakes are slim to none is something that will help aid to the growth of the

It has been said that one can’t fix a problem if they didn’t know that it existed. The Federal Aviation Administration has to be credited in improving safety in a multitude of ways. The best way to do that is transform safety program from being retroactive to proactive. One of the well-received programs that FAA has created is the Aviation Safety Action Program (ASAP). This program works to the benefit of every airman, as well of most aviation organizations. This program emphasizes why things happen and what can be done to correct it. Parts 121 & 145 environments of the aviation industry have been positively affected by the introduction of the Aviation Safety Action Program. Today, 98 operators have 231 programs covering pilots, mechanics, flight attendants, and dispatchers (Fact Sheet – Aviation Voluntary Reporting Programs, 2013).

The contribution of incident and accident investigation to future safety for aviation industry is crucial to help manage risks to life, the environment, assets and business continuity in the

According to Rodrigues and Cusick (2012) humans are accountable for approximately 70-80% of aviation accidents (p.156). A majority of these are caused by the different variables associated with human performance. Psychological factors have a key role in a pilot’s everyday responsibility. Some of these traits include: perception, memory, attitude, judgment and decision making, as well as ego (Rodrigues & Cusick, 2012, p. 158-160). These qualities can have drastic effects in commercial aviation if they are not recognized and adjusted accordingly. In this paper I will respond to some questions that are raised in aviation safety: