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HELPFUL NTSB RESOURCES & LINKS

NTSB Top 10 Most Wanted List

The NTSB’s Most Wanted List (MWL) highlights transportation safety improvements needed now to prevent accidents, reduce injuries, and save lives. Adopting NTSB safety recommendations associated with these safety items will save lives.

For business and general aviation operators, the NTSB recommends:

Require and Verify the Effectiveness of Safety Management Systems in all Revenue Passenger-Carrying Aviation Operations
Install Crash-Resistant Recorders and Establish Flight Data Monitoring Programs

Flight Data Monitoring (FDM)

When planes crash, we want to know what happened. The good news is that there’s technology available today that would give us the answers. The bad news is that the FAA has not mandated that aircraft operators install it [the tech], citing privacy, security, cost, and other concerns.

Commercial airliners are required to have only flight data recorders and cockpit voice recorders, commonly called “black boxes”, but the NTSB has long called for cockpit image recorders, as well. Such video would have been extremely helpful in determining flight crew actions in recent crashes in Texas, Indonesia, and Ethiopia.

Safety Management Systems (SMS)

In 2015, the FAA required commercial airlines to develop a comprehensive safety management system (SMS) to improve safety for the flying public. An SMS is an organization-wide system that ensures operators are properly identifying, assessing, and mitigating the conditions that exist for an accident to occur. The FAA, however, has yet to require the same for revenue passenger-carrying operations under Title 14 Code of Federal Regulations Parts 91 and 135, leaving passengers on these flights at unnecessary risk.

Accident Data for Aviation Safety

Most people are familiar with the nightly news image of NTSB investigators at the scene of an accident, searching for the “black (orange) box.” The flight data recorder (FDR), which records aircraft control inputs and operational conditions, and the cockpit voice recorder (CVR), which records pilot conversations, are at the heart of modern aviation accident investigations on all airline aircraft. The devices have helped to improve the safety of airline operations tremendously. They are used, of course, in crash investigations but most airlines also use them routinely to monitor pilot and aircraft performance and correct problems before they result in a crash.

NTSB SMS VIDEO

Implementing an SMS in Small to Midsized Aviation Operations

On May 11, 2023, Member Graham hosted a webinar on safety management systems for small to midsized aviation operations. It included a panel discussion with six aviation operators who discussed how they implemented an SMS in their operations.

“Require and Verify the Effectiveness of Safety Management Systems in all Revenue Passenger-Carrying Aviation Operations” is currently on the NTSB’s Most Wanted List

NTSB FDM VIDEO

NTSB MWL Roundtable: Safeguard Your Flights—Practical FDM Solutions for Smaller Operators Highlights

On October 20, 2022, NTSB Vice Chairman Bruce Landsberg moderated a roundtable discussion with experts from government and industry about the benefits and proven value-added of flight data monitoring (FDM) programs for any sized operation.

They discussed how small and medium-sized operators can use data to improve the safety of their operations and prevent accidents. Four small aviation operators showed how they successfully implemented an FDM.

This 35-minute video captures the key moments and takeaways from the 2-hour long discussion.

NTSB Information