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Aircraft safety - accident investigation and reports A Layman's Introduction to Human Factors in Aircraft Accident and Incident Investigation This web site provides access to an Australian Bureau of Air Safety Investigation Research and Analysis Report B20060094 written by David Adams dated June 2006. This information paper seeks to provide people without an in-depth knowledge of the practice of ‘Human Factors’ a general plain English explanation of what Human Factors is, how it has evolved, and how it is applied to aircraft accident and incident safety investigations. The paper also gives a brief explanation of international agreements and Australian law as they apply to aircraft accident and incident investigations. Human Factors, which includes ‘Ergonomics’ as it is called in some industries, is the practice of applying scientific knowledge from varied, mostly human science disciplines such as Psychology, Medicine, Anthropometrics and Physiology to designing, building, maintaining and managing systems and products. In general use, the application of human science knowledge to systems and products is to provide the best match between the characteristics of people, with the operation of the systems and products they use. The purpose of applied Human Factors is to build better and safer products and systems. In aircraft accident and incident investigation, the specific purpose of Human Factors is to understand in detail how and why people make errors (including slips and lapses) or commit violations that lead to accidents. In the development of aviation, the scope of Human Factors has evolved from focusing predominantly on the interface between the pilot and the aircraft to the broader application of considering all the human activities of the system that is involved in the placing and supporting the pilot in the operation of the aircraft. This broader focus considers not only the actions of the pilot, but also, the cabin crew, the maintenance crews, air traffic controllers, and the management of the organisation that controls the activities of the aircraft. The Australian Transport Safety Bureau (ATSB) must, with as much certainty as possible, be able to determine not only what happened in any given accidents, but more importantly, why it happened. This information is critical to the ATSB role in making safety recommendations aimed at improving transport safety. The role of the ATSB is clearly defined in the Australian Transport Safety Investigation Act 2003 (TSI Act) which reflects Australian agreement to the international standards and practices for aircraft accident investigation. Both the TSI Act and international agreements state that the investigation of aircraft accidents by safety agencies such as the ATSB is not an activity for apportioning blame or liability, but rather for the purposes of maintaining or improving safety. [Taken by abstract]. The full text is available in PDF format so Adobe Acrobat software will be required in order to read it. Accident Investigation Board Norway : Report on Kato Airline Dornier 228-200 The full text of this accident report is availabe in PDF format in Norwegian with English summary. Kato Airline flight KAT603, an aircraft of the type Dornier 228-202 with registration LN-HTA, was to fly a regular scheduled flight from Røst airport (ENRS) to Bodø airport (ENBO). When the plane approached Bodø extensive lightning activity developed quickly. The aircraft was struck by a very powerful lightning. The lightning struck the aircraft’s nose area and passed to the tail. The Accident Investigation Board Norway issues three safety recommendations in this report. Accident Investigation Board of Finland This site provides background details about the Accident Investigation Board of Finland which investigates all major accidents regardless of their nature as well as all aviation, maritime and rail accidents and their incidents. Accident reports are written in Finnish with English summaries. An English version is prepared from important reports, for example, the MV Estonia (available in full-text). Reports are available in PDF format. Accident on 25 July 2000 at "La Patte d'Oie" in Gonesse (95) to the Concorde registered F-BTSC operated by Air France : Final Report This report, prepared by the Bureau Enquetes-Accidents (BEA), was published 25th July 2002. It presents the final technical conclusions reached by the BEA on the circumstances and causes of the accident involving Air France Concorde F-BTSC on 25th July 2000. This is an English language translation from the original French. It should be noted that the original French report is the reference text. The report is available in english in PDF format only. Links to appendicies are also provided. Accident on 25 July 2000 at "La Patte d'Oie" in Gonesse (95) to the Concorde registered F-BTSC operated by Air France : Preliminary Report This document is based on the initial data collected on the circumstances of the Concorde accident. It has been translated and published by the Bureau Enqutes-Accidents from the original French language text. It should be noted that the French language version is the reference text. The report is available in HTML and and PDF format. Accident on 25 July 2000 at "La Patte d'Oie" in Gonesse (95) to the Concorde registered F-BTSC operated by Air France : Second Interim Report This document updates the progress made on the technical investigation into the Concorde accident as of 10 July 2001, adding to the preliminary report and the interim report already published. This is an English language translation of the original French report, provided by the Bureau Enqutes-Accidents. It should be noted that the original text in French is the work of reference. The report is available in HTML and PDF formats. Accident on 25 July 2000 at "La Patte d'Oie" in Gonesse(95) to the Concorde registered F-BTSC operated by Air France : First Interim Report This document reports on the progress of the technical investigation in to the Concorde accident as of 15 December 2000, and adds to the preliminary report published by the Bureau Enquetes-Accidents on 31 August 2000. This is an English language translation from the original French. It should be noted that the original French report is the reference text. The report is available in HTML and PDF format. Accident Prevention This is a monthly newsletter published by the Flight Safety Foundation, an independent body devoted to improving flight safety. Each issue of presents an in-depth examination of a single accident. This is based on an official accident investigation report from the US National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB), the UK Air Accidents Investigation Branch, the Transportation Safety Board of Canada or their equivalents in other countries. The report's essential facts and findings are edited to give a clear narrative of the accident and the subsequent investigation. A full text archive of issues back to January 1995 is available in PDF format. It was superseded by AeroSafety World in 2006. Agenzia Nazionale per la Sicurezza del Volo (ANSV) The Italian Air Safety Board is a public institution, with an autonomous decision making authority and is an independent body within the Civil Aviation System. The ANSV has two main tasks: to conduct technical investigations for civil aviation aircraft accidents and incidents and to issue safety recommendations as appropriate (with the exclusion of accidents and incidents to State aircraft); and, to conduct studies and surveys aimed at increasing flight safety. The site describes the ANSV's role, responsibilities and organisation and provides access to the text of the legislative decree by which it was instituted. There are featured news stories, press releases, and copies of the annual report. The site also provides access to the text of accident and incident reports and there is a small collection of links to sites of related interest. Air Accident Investigation Branch Bulletins The United Kingdom Air Accidents Investigation Branch (AAIB) is part of the Department for Transport (DfT) and is responsible for the investigation of civil aircraft accidents and serious incidents within the UK. This site provides access to the full text (PDF) of the monthly Bulletins which are published in order to inform both industry and the public the facts as far as they are known, of accidents and serious incidents. The previous six months' worth of bulletins are available from the menu on the page. They are available back to January 1996 on a database that is searchable by key details such as date, aircraft type, registration, and location. They include information such as type of aircraft, number of people on board, details of any injuries sustained, history of the flight, and any recommendations. Air Accident Investigation Inspector's Investigations (Formal Reports) The United Kingdom Air Accidents Investigation Branch (AAIB) is part of the Department of Transport and is responsible for the investigation of civil aircraft accidents and serious incidents within the UK. This site provides access to the full text of the Reports which are published in order to inform both industry and the public the facts, as far as they are known, of accidents and serious incidents. The six most recent reports are available in full. Air Accident Investigation Institute This is the independent authority responsible for air accident investigation in the Czech Republic. The site provides access to the founding legislation and statutes, an organisational chart and several presentational overviews of the Institute. Information resources available for downloading include copies of annual reports as well as recent accident and incident reports. Other sections describe the history of air accident investigation in the Czech Republic and present an overview of civil aviation development in that country. Air Accidents Investigation Branch (AAIB) The United Kingdom Air Accidents Investigation Branch (AAIB) is part of the Department of the Environment, Transport and the Regions (DETR), and is responsible for the investigation of civil aircraft accidents and serious incidents within the United Kingdom. The home page provides information on the procedures for reporting accidents, the full text of the Civil Aviation (Investigation of Air Accidents and Incidents) Regulations 1996, and the full text of the bulletin reports and formal reports in HTML format and links to various associations. Air Safety Home Page Airsafe.com is a personal web site, created by an airline safety analyst. It includes an analysis of serious air transport accidents, by airline and by aircraft type, since 1970. There are very brief summaries of the latest major accidents, and where available reference to further information sources on selected incidents. The site also provides access to the author's own Airsafe Journal, which is intended to highlight safey issues for, and on behalf of airline passengers. Aircraft Accident Investigation Board (AAIB) The Rannsóknarnefnd flugslysa (RNF), translated as the Aircraft Accident Investigation Board, is responsible for aircraft accidents, aircraft incidents and air traffic incidents investigations in Iceland. The site contains a copy of the act which defines the legal framework in which the Board operates, and provides access to the appropriate reporting and notification forms. There is also a very lengthy set of links to other aviation related sites. Aircraft Accident Investigation Branch Bulletin July 2007 : Cessna F150L, G-BABB, 19 July 2006 This is the full-text, in PDF, of this report on an accident at Southend Airport of a student who was training towards the issue of a Private Pilot’s Licence, on his second solo flight. Having established the aircraft on final approach, the student was instructed to go around so that a faster aircraft approaching to land behind his aircraft would not catch up with it. Both the controller’s instruction and the student pilot’s acknowledgement involved non-standard RTF phrases. In order to avoid any possibility of conflict between the two aircraft the student was then instructed to turn away from the final approach track. During this manoeuvre, the student flew level at low altitude and it is likely that the aircraft remained in the approach configuration with insufficient power applied to maintain flying speed. In level flight, the aircraft stalled at a height from which recovery was impossible and it struck the ground in a public park approximately 1 nm from the airport. The student pilot was fatally injured. Four safety recommendations were made. Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau (AAIB) The Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau (AAIB)have been pronounced by the Swiss Parliament in 1960. It is integrated into the General Secretariat of the Federal Department for the Environment, Transport, Energy and Communications. The development of civil aviation has shown that it is necessary to draw up international regulations which guarantee that civil aviation and the air traffic infrastructure comply with the same Standards. This website provides useful information regarding accidents reports which are provided in PDF format, statistics in relations with aircraft accidents and links to other investigation boards and aeronautical organizations. Aircraft Accident Report 11/2006 : Helios Airways Flight HCY522 Boeing 737-31S This is the full text (PDF format) of the Greek Air Accident Investigation and Aviation Safety Board (AAIASB) into the Helios Airways Flight HCY522 Boeing 737-31S at Grammatiko, Greece on 14th August 2005. Aircraft Accidents and Railway Investigation Commission The Aircraft and Railway Accidents Investigation Commission was established to investigate the causes of aircraft and railway accidents from the viewpoint of a fair and impartial stance, and help to prevent accidents. The commission assembled on October 1,2001 from the previous Aircraft Accidents Investigation Commission. It is part of Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport in Japan. The major duties of the commission are to conduct investigation to ascertain the cause of aircraft and railway accidents. The commission has to investigate into aircraft and railway serious incidents(situations which are recognized to carry the risk of an accident),from the point of view of preventing accidents. Also to make recommendations and proposals for measures to prevent aircraft and railway accidents on the based of the results of the investigation. Finally, to conduct the research and studies necessary in order to carry out these duties. Aircraft Maintenance Incident Analysis This provides access to a UK Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) paer 2009/05 dated July 2009. Final report on the analysis of an 11 year sample of maintenance related mandatory occurrence reports (MORs) for fixed wing jet aircraft above 5700kg MTOW, performed for CAA by DHAC-Avia Ltd. The study comprised a literature review, the development of a maintenance incident taxonomy and the analysis of 3982 maintenance related MORs covering the period January 1996 to December 2006. [Taken from abstract]. The full text is available in PDF format so Adobe Acrobat software is required in order to read it. Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association Air Safety Foundation : 2001 Nall Report The report describes general aviation accident trends and factors for 2000. It is based on an analysis of National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) accident reports involving fixed wing general aviation aircraft weighing less than 12,500 pounds. The report is dedicated to Joseph Nall, an NTSB Board member, who was himself a victim of an air accident in 1989. Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association Air Safety Foundation : The Joseph T. Nall Report This annual safety report presents an overview of the previous year's general aviation accident statistics, including trends and contributing factors. It is based on an analysis of National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) accident reports involving fixed wing general aviation aircraft weighing less than 12,500 pounds. The report is dedicated to Joseph Nall, an NTSB Board member, who was himself a victim of an air accident in 1989. The site provides access to the full text of these report from 1997 onwards. Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association The United States Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association (AOPA) is a not-for-profit organisation concerned with General Aviation (GA). The site contains background information about the AOPA and its activities, and a news service. Other information resources provided include table of contents of the current issue of AOPA journals including AOPA Pilot Magazine and AOPA Flight Training. The full text is only available to AOPA members, although access is provided to an archive of feature articles. Other sections of the site cover what's new, advocacy actitities, and information on learning to fly. A link is also provided to the AOPA's Air Safety Foundation. Some services are available to members only. Please look at the site map for more information on the restricted access resources. Aircraft Reciprocating-Engine Failure : Analysis of Failure in a Complex Engineered System This web site provides access to an Australian Transport Safety Bureau Research and Analysis Report No.B20070191 dated November 2007. Reciprocating-engine powered low-capacity transport aircraft (8 to 10 passengers) provide an important public transport connection throughout regional Australia. In the period January 2000 to December 2005, twenty powertrain structural failures of high-power (300 to 375 brake horsepower) horizontally-opposed, reciprocating engines were associated with air safety occurrences reported to the ATSB. These occurrences ranged in severity from; in-flight engine shutdown; engine failure and forced landing; engine failure combined with in-flight fire and fracture of both upper engine mounts; to the fatal accident of a regular public transport flight following the structural failure of both engines to ditching at night. It is evident that the reliability of high-power reciprocating engines is an important requirement for the safe operation of this class of aircraft. This research investigation is a study of the factors that affect reciprocating engine reliability. The study found that powertrain structural failure was not restricted to one engine model, one engine manufacturer, or one powertrain component. The events that initiated sequences that led to engine in-flight failure could be grouped into three categories: combustion chamber component melting; bearing breakup; and powertrain component fatigue cracking. Analysis of the factors that were associated with each category of initiating event revealed that powertrain component reliability is affected by the development of shockwaves during combustion, the response of bearings to boundary lubrication and out-of-plane alternating loads, the increase in component alternating stress magnitudes, and creation of stress-concentrating features in components during engine operation. These factors may act singly, but on many occasions it is the synergistic effect of the presence of multiple factors that result in a sequence of events ending with engine in-flight failure. The recurrence of powertrain component structural failure events suggests that the corrective actions that are a part of the airworthiness assurance system may have been ineffective. Corrective action is dependent on accurate analysis and feedback. It is evident that analysis is affected by the complexity of reciprocating engine systems and feedback requires a broad view of the interaction of systems and a detailed view of the components of a system. [Taken from abstract]. The full text is available in PDF format so Adobe Acrobat software will be required in order to read it. Airprox in UK Airspace Involving General Aviation Pilots An Airprox is a situation in which, in the opinion of a pilot or a controller, the distance between aircraft as well as their relative positions and speed have been such that the safety of the aircraft involved was or may have been compromised. The UK Airprox Board’s (UKAB) primary objective is to enhance flight safety in the UK, in particular in respect of lessons to be learned and applied from Airprox occurrences reported within UK airspace. The reports available from this site contain selected abstracts from UKAB reports for use by General Aviation (GA) pilots. Their purpose is to identify for the GA community some of the flight safety lessons arising from Airprox events which occurred in UK airspace. The site provides access to reports from the period Jan - Jun 2003 to Jul - Dec 2004. AirSafe Journal This full text electronic journal is produced by an airline safety analyst named Todd Curtis. It is aimed primarily at airline passengers in order to highlight relevant safety issues. The views expressed are very much those of the author. The site offers an index to all the issues available which are in HTML format. Publication appears to have ceased in 2003. The site also provides advice pages, links to accidents and incidents of selected US airliners taken from the FAA (Federal Aviation Administration) incident database and the NTSB (National Transportation Safety Board) accident and serious incident database and fatal events by airline since 1970. American Airlines Flight 587 This site is provided by the US NTSB (National Transportation Safety Board) and brings together resources connected with its investigation into its crash. The site provides brief introductory information and several updates on the investigation. Photographs of recovered components are available, as is background information on cockpit voice recorders (CVR) and flight data recorders (FDR). More generally, the full text of NTSB press releases and advisories is made available, as are details of family assistance provision, the investigative process and aviation accident synopses. Analysis of Airprox in UK Airspace An Airprox is a situation in which, in the opinion of a pilot or a controller, the distance between aircraft as well as their relative positions and speed have been such that the safety of the aircraft involved was or may have been compromised. The UK Airprox Board’s (UKAB) primary objective is to enhance flight safety in the UK, in particular in respect of lessons to be learned and applied from Airprox occurrences reported within UK airspace. Twice a year, the UKAB's findings for a six-month period are compiled and distributed in both book and CD format, throughout the UK (civil and military) aviation community. These reports are also available on this website. The aim is to raise awareness and understanding by sharing widely the unfortunate experiences of the few for the benefit of the many. The site provides access to the Analysis of Airprox in UK Airspace compilation reports from the period Jul - Dec 2003 to the present. Analysis of Fatality Trends involving Civil Aviation Aircraft in Australian Airspace between 1990 and 2005 This web site provides access to an Australian Transport Safety Bureau, Aviation Research Paper (B2005/0388), dated March 2006. The research report examined fatal accidents and fatalities involving civil aviation aircraft in Australian airspace between 1990 and 2005. The purpose of the report was to provide accurate data to industry and the public by identifying key trends and characteristics. Specifically, the objectives of the paper were to (1) identify trends for fatal accidents and fatalities from 1990 to 2005, (2) examine the number of fatal accidents from 1990 to 2005 by pilot licence type, type of operation, level of proficiency, and aircraft type, and (3) examine the number of fatalities from 1990 to 2005 by pilot licence type, type of operation, level of proficiency and aircraft type. A summary is available in HTML and this provides a link to the full text document in PDF format (294 Kb) Analysis, Causality and Proof in Safety Investigations This provides access to an Australian Tranpsort Safety Bureau Research and Analysis Report AR 053 published March 2008. The quality of a safety investigation's analysis activities plays a critical role in determining whether the investigation is successful in enhancing safety. However, safety investigations require analysis of complex sets of data and situations where the available data can be vague, incomplete and misleading. Despite its importance, complexity, and reliance on investigators' judgements, analysis has been a neglected area in terms of standards, guidance and training of investigators in most organisations that conduct safety investigations. To address this situation, the Australian Transport Safety Bureau (ATSB) developed a comprehensive investigation analysis framework. The present paper provides an overview of the ATSB investigation analysis framework and concepts such as the determination of contribution and standard of proof. The paper concludes by examining the nature of concerns that have been raised regarding the ATSB analysis framework and the ATSB consideration of these concerns. The ATSB believes that its investigation analysis framework is well suited to its role as an independent, no-blame safety investigation agency. It is hoped and expected that ongoing development and provision of information about the framework can help the safety investigation field as a whole consider some important issues and help develop the best means of conducting safety investigations to enhance future safety. [Taken from abstract]. The full text of the report is available in PDF format so Adobe Acrobat software is required in order to read it. Analysis, Causality and Proof in Safety Investigations This gives access to an Australian Transport Safety Bureau Research and Analysis Report (AR2007053) dated 26th June 2008. The quality of a safety investigation's analysis activities plays a critical role in determining whether the investigation is successful in enhancing safety. However, safety investigations require analysis of complex sets of data and situations where the available data can be vague, incomplete and misleading. Despite its importance, complexity, and reliance on investigators' judgements, analysis has been a neglected area in terms of standards, guidance and training of investigators in most organisations that conduct safety investigations. To address this situation, the Australian Transport Safety Bureau (ATSB) developed a comprehensive investigation analysis framework. The present report provides an overview of the ATSB investigation analysis framework and concepts such as the determination of contribution and standard of proof. The report concludes by examining the nature of concerns that have been raised regarding the ATSB analysis framework and the ATSB's consideration of these concerns. The ATSB believes that its investigation analysis framework is well suited to its role as an independent, no-blame safety investigation body. It is hoped and expected that ongoing development and provision of information about the framework can help the safety investigation field as a whole consider some important issues and help develop the best means of conducting safety investigations to enhance future safety. [Taken from abstract]. The full text is available in PDF format so Adobe Acrobat software will be required in order to read it. Application of DNA Profiling in Resolving Aviation Forensic Toxicology Issues This provides access to a Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) Office for Aerospace Medicine report DOT/FAA/AM-09/19 written by A.K Chaturvedi ...[et al]and dated October 2009. Biological samples from the victims of aviation accidents are submitted to the Civil Aerospace Medical Institute (CAMI) for toxicological evaluation. Body components of aviation accident fatalities are often scattered, disintegrated, commingled, contaminated, and/or putrefied at accident scenes. These situations may impose difficulties in victim identification and tissue matching, thereby in the toxicological analysis of authentic samples and the interpretation of the associated analytical results. The use of DNA typing has been exemplified in the literature to resolve the sample misidentification issue. However, the prevalence of this type of issue in relation to aviation accident forensic toxicology has not been well-established. Therefore, the CAMI toxicology database was searched for the period of 1998-2008 for those accidents/cases wherein DNA profiling was performed. During this period, samples from 3523 accidents were received by CAMI. Of these, there were 3366 aviation accidents wherein at least one fatality had occurred. Biological samples from a total of 3319 pilots were received. Of these, 3275 were fatally injured. The 3319 pilots translated into the equivalent number of aviation accidents. Of the 3319 accidents, there were only 15 (approximately 0.5%) accidents wherein DNA profiling was performed on the biological samples. Six occupants (four fatalities and two injured victims) were involved in one accident and five (two fatalities and three injured victims) in another. Three fatalities occurred in three accidents each, two fatalities in eight accidents each, and one fatality in one accident. In one accident, there were two occupants with non-fatal injuries. DNA profiling was conducted upon the requests of families in two accidents, of accident investigators in three, and of pathologists in four. In six accidents, contradictory toxicological findings—such as selective presence of analytes in samples—led the CAMI laboratory to initiate DNA profiling. The requests made by families and investigators were primarily triggered by the inconsistency between the toxicological results and the history of the use of the drugs by the victims, while by the pathologists because of the commingling of samples. In three (20%) of the 15 accidents, at least one submitted sample was misidentified or mislabeled. The low number of the accident cases requiring DNA profiling suggests that the sample-submitting agencies take extensive precautionary measures to ensure that the origin of the submitted biological samples are correctly identified. Furthermore, the present study confirms that DNA typing can be used as a tool for establishing the authenticity of the aviation biosamples, thereby their associated toxicological conclusions. [Taken from abstract]. The full text is available in PDF format so Adobe Acrobat software is required in order to read it. Asia Pacific Cabin Safety Working Group The Cabin Safety Working Group (CSWG) is a voluntary initiative of the Australian Society of Air Safety Investigators (ASASI). It comprises accident investigators, aircrew, airline safety representatives, aviation regulators, psychologists, training providers and legal specialists. The CSWG web site is intended to act as a contact point for Cabin Safety Working Group (CSWG) members as well as an information centre for cabin safety issues and public education. The site features electronic discussion forums, an events calendar, safety tips, and links to related sites of interest. There is also a publications section which provides access a number of cabin safety related papers. This includes a PDF format paper on the Flammability of cabin crew uniforms by Palak Bhatt, dated 16 November 2000. Australian Transport Safety Bureau (ATSB) : Aviation Safety The ATSB is Australia's prime agency for the independent investigation of civil aviation accidents, incidents and safety deficiencies. In addition to investigating accidents and incidents, the ATSB investigates safety deficiencies based on occurrence trends that could lead to a future accident. The ATSB also participates as an accredited representative on investigations of accidents and serious incidents involving Australian-registered aircraft overseas. The ATSB's Aviation Safety web site provides access to a range of information resources including sections on statistics, investigation procedures, aviation safety investigation reports, accident and incident notification and reporting, legislation and regulations, weekly summaries of accidents and incidents; a large collection of ATSB publications, and information on the Aviation Safety Research Grants Programme. Australian Transport Safety Bureau (ATSB) The Australian Transport Safety Bureau (ATSB) is an independent Division-level unit within the Department of Transport and Regional Services that deals with the non-regulatory aspects of air, sea, rail and road safety. ATSB investigates accidents, incidents and safety deficiencies, and analyses safety data to prevent repeat occurrences and to minimise the effects of those that do eventuate. The web site contains a range of information resources including: ATSB Strategic Business Plan and a media archive. The site provides links to the ATSB Aviation Safety Web Site; ATSB Rail Safety; ATSB Road Safety, as well as the Marine Incident Investigation Unit. Aviation Accident Statistics - National Transportation Safety Board This web site provides access to a set of aviation accident statistics produced by the United States National Transportation Safety Board. These include: Summary of Air Carrier and General Aviation Accidents; U.S. Airline Accidents by NTSB Severity Classification; U.S. Airline Passenger Injuries and Injury Rates; U.S. Airline Aircraft Destroyed; U.S. Air Carriers Operating under 14 CFR 121, Scheduled and Nonscheduled Service (Airlines); U.S. Air Carriers Operating under 14 CFR 121, Scheduled Service (Airlines); U.S. Air Carriers Operating under 14 CFR 121, Nonscheduled Service (Airlines); U.S. Air Carriers Operating under 14 CFR 135, Scheduled Service (Commuter Air Carriers); U.S. Air Carriers Operating under 14 CFR 135, Nonscheduled Service (On Demand Air Taxis); U.S. General Aviation; and, Fatal Accidents Involving U.S. Air Carriers. Most of these tables include figures back to 1982. There are also listings of Accidents Involving Passenger Fatalities, 1983 - Present; Most Recent Monthly Statistics; Year-to-date chart; and Statistical Reports. Aviation Safety : Fourteenth Report This full text report from the UK Select Committe on Environment, Transport and Regional Affairs examines the impact of the deregulation of the UK air transport industry on aviation safety. The report finds that the industry has an excellent safety record, but does highlight some areas of concern. The current regulatory regime is discussed, as are training and recent aviation accidents. The report was ordered to be printed on 14th July 1999 and is available in HTML format. Aviation Safety Data Exchange The Aviation Safety Data Exchange web site is sponsored by The Experimental Aircraft Association (EAA) with data assistance from the FAA to provide a source of important Safety Information for General Aviation, Amateur Built and Ultralight Aircraft. Many of the service difficulty reports, which are available upon request, are those which have been submitted by individual aircraft owners/builders and are not available at other locations. The site includes daily accident reports; relevant FAA Advisory Circulars; Airworthiness Directives; Service Difficulty Reports; safety tips and notes, and a listing of amateur-built aircraft kits. There is also a link to NTSB and non-USA accident reports. Aviation Safety Foundation Australia (ASFA) Based in Victoria, Aviation Safety Foundation Australia was launched in February 1997 as an independent, non political organisation. Its aims are to promote air safety, coordinate and facilitate independent air safety resources in Australia and establish standards of practice within the industry. It is supported by the Australian Transportation Safety Bureau, Airservices Australia, the Civil Aviation Safety Authority and the Australian Defence Force. The Web site provides details of its current activities, news, products and services, and forthcoming seminars. Aviation Safety Indicators 2005: Report on Safety Indicators Relating to Australian Aviation This web site provides access to an Australian Transport Safety Bureau Research and Analysis Report (B2005/0046) dated June 2005. This report presents data concerning Australian aviation activity, the aviation industry, aviation accidents and incidents and highlights broad trends and developments in aviation safety. The data are presented graphically in time series figures. Data on aviation accidents and incidents were collected from the ATSBs aviation database. Data concerning aviation activity, the aviation industry, accidents and specific incident types were collected from three main sources: the Bureau of Transport and Regional Economics, part of the Department of Transport and Regional Services, the Civil Aviation Safety Authority and Airservices Australia. [Taken from abstract]. The full text is available from in PDF format and is provided by the Australian Transport Safety Bureau web site. Aviation Safety Network : Aviation Safety Database The ASN Safety Database, updated every week, contains descriptions of over 10,000 airliner, military transport category aircraft and corporate jet aircraft safety occurrences since 1943. The database can be accessed in different ways - type indexes (jets, turboprop aircraft and piston aircraft), geographical region/country index, (contributory) cause index and airlines index (alphabetical listing by country), and by year of accident. It is provided by the Aviation Safety Network. Aviation Safety Network Aviation Safety Network (ASN) is a privately maintained personal interest web site aimed at anyone with a professional interest in airline accidents and safety. The site provides access to a range of information resources. The Airliner Accident Database contains descriptions of over 5900 airliner write-offs in accidents since 1945. A list of aircraft types that have been included can be found in the Type Index. This provides brief aicraft specifications, plus a chronological list containing all aircraft accidents for that model in which the aircraft has been damaged beyond repair. ASN also provides links to a wealth of safety related information sources including: aircraft accident reports; Cockpit Voice Recorder (CVR) / Air Traffic Control (ATC) transcripts; features on a number of significant accidents and safety issues; accident statistics, publications; and an image gallery. The site also includes an Aircraft Accident Digest notification e-mail list and a moderated electronic discussion forum. Aviation Safety Reporting System This is a cooperative program established by the FAA, and administered by NASA. The ASRS collects, analyzes, and responds to voluntarily submitted aviation safety incident reports in order to lessen the likelihood of aviation accidents. ASRS data are used to: Identify deficiencies and discrepancies in the National Aviation System (NAS) so that these can be remedied by appropriate authorities; Support policy formulation and planning for, and improvements to, the NAS; Strengthen the foundation of aviation human factors safety research. The web site provides access to a range of information resources. There are twenty-seven ASRS Database Report Sets on topics of interest to the aviation community. Each Report Set consists of 50 ASRS Database records, preceeded by a note of introduction, caveats on use of ASRS data, and standard abbreviations and definitions used in ASRS Database records. ASRS produces two regular safety publications, CALLBACK and ASRS Directline. The site provides HTML and Adobe Acrobat versions of CALLBACK from December 1994 to present, and HTML and Adobe Acrobat versions of all ASRS Directline issues. The site also contains an ASRS programme overview and a more detailed briefing. Aviation Safety Review 1990 - 1999 The site provides access to a Civil Aviation Authority Paper, CAP 701, prepared by the CAA Safety Regulation Group, October 2000. The paper presents a review of UK aviation safety over the last 10 years. The document is divided into a number of sections covering aeroplanes and helicopters, public transport and non-public transport operations, police, ambulance and rescue services, foreign aircraft in UK airspace, and gliders, microlights, gyroplanes, balloons and airships. The first section provides an international context, and examines accident and fatality trends worldwide. The text of the document is available in PDF format. Aviation Safety Review 1992 - 2001 This provides access to a UK Civil Aviation Authority Publication Civil Aviation Paper CAP 735, 1st edition, October 2002. This Aviation Safety Review examines UK civil aviation safety over the last 10 years, 1992 to 2001, and serves as an update to specific UK information contained in the previous Review, CAP 701 issued in October 2000. It brings together aviation safety related information into a single source document, to be used by the aviation community for statistical references. The text is available in PDF format (2.6 mb) from the CAA's publications web site. Aviation Safety Review This provides access to a UK Civil Aviation Authority Publication Civil Aviation Paper CAP 673, produced in May 1997 (reprinted May 2002). CAP 673 brings together aviation safety related information into a single source document. It is primarily aimed for use by the CAA Safety Regulation Group and the aviation community to ensure that common and consistent safety information is used. However, this review is different from earlier documents in that it presents UK aviation safety in a broader, worldwide perspective, it introduces some new risk measures and also relates aviation to other modes of transport so that comparisons can be made. The text is available in PDF format (366 kb) from the CAA's publications web site. Aviation Safety Vortex Aviation Safety Vortex, a helicopter safety bulletin, was published every two-four months by Safety and Security, Transport Canada. Safety information tailored to the helicopter community can now be found in the Aviation Safety Letter from 2005. This site contains back issues of Vortex which contains news, features and accident synopses. The full text of issues dating back to 1997 are available online in HTML format and from 2000 - 2004 in PDF format. Also, there is a CD-ROM available containing all English and French issues of Aviation Safety Vortex from 1976 to 1999. These back issues are in PDF format. There is a link to Runway Incursion Prevention Tools which includes Runway incursion Awareness Posters and Aviation Safety Letter Articles, amongst others. There is also a link to Safety Management Systems which includes articles like Safety Management System Assessment Guide and many more. Aviation Security International : the Journal of Airport and Airline Security This bimonthly magazine covers security issues within the aviation industry. Although only subscribers can view the full text of the magazine, there is a considerable amount of content that can be viewed free of charge. This includes the editorial of each issue and 'Airwatch', a record of incidents of hijacks, attempted hijacks, air rage, sabotage and airport attacks. A buyers guide provides details of suppliers of products such as weapons detector devices, access control products and baggage reconciliation equipment. Aviation Statistics 1 January 1998 to 30 June 2008 This web site provides access to an Australian Transport Safety Bureau statistcal report dated 26th September, 2008. The report provides aviation accident and incident, collectively termed occurrence, data for the period 1 January 1998 to 30 June 2008. This data was provided to the Australian Transport Safety Bureau by 'responsible persons' as defined in the Transport Safety Investigation Regulations 2003, Part 2.5. The data excludes non-VH registered operations in the sports aviation category, and is current as at 30 June 2008. [Taken from abstract]. The full text is available in PDF format so Adobe Acrobat software is required in order to read it. Aviation statistics : 1 January 1998 to 31 December 2008 This provides access to Australian Transport Safety Bureau statistical data dated February 2009. This report provides aviation accident and incident, collectively termed occurrence, data for the period 1 January 1998 to 31 December 2008. This data was provided to the Australian Transport Safety Bureau by 'responsible persons' as defined in the Transport Safety Investigation Regulations 2003, Part 2.5. The data excludes non-VH registered operations in the sport aviation category, and is current as at 31 December 2008 [Taken from abstract]. The full text is available in PDF format so Adobe Acrobat software is required in order to read it. Aviation statistics : 1 January 1999 to 31 March 2009 This provides access to an Australian Transport Safety Bureau Research and Analysis Report dated April 2009. This report provides Australian aviation accident and incident, collectively termed occurrence, data for the period 1 January 1999 to 31 March 2009. This data was provided to the Australian Transport Safety Bureau by responsible persons as defined in the Transport Safety Investigation Regulations 2003, Part 2.5. The data excludes non-VH registered operations in the sport aviation category (except for Tables 1 and 2 which shows all occurrences), and is current as at 31 March 2009. [Taken from abstract]. The full text is available in PDF format so Adobe Acrobat software is required in order to read it. Aviation statistics : 1 January 1999 to 31 March 2009 This provides access to a Australian Transport Safety Bureau Research and Analysis report dated April 2009. This report provides Australian aviation accident and incident, collectively termed occurrence, data for the period 1 January 1999 to 31 March 2009. This data was provided to the Australian Transport Safety Bureau by 'responsible persons' as defined in the Transport Safety Investigation Regulations 2003, Part 2.5. The data excludes non-VH registered operations in the sport aviation category (except for Tables 1 and 2 which shows all occurrences), and is current as at 31 March 2009. [Taken from abstract]. The full text is available in PDF format so Adobe Acrobat software is required in order to read it. Benefit Analysis for Aircraft 16-g Dynamic Seats : Final Report This provides access to a Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) report, DOT/FAA/AR-00/13, by Ray Cherry, Kevin Warren, and Aaron Chan, dated April 2000. The objective of this study was to assess the number of serious injuries and fatalities that might have been avoided from the use of 16-g dynamic seats during the period of 1984 to 1998 for survivable accidents involving transport category aircraft operating under 14 CFR Part 121. The full text of the report is available in PDF format from the online catalogue of the FAA William J. Hughes Technical Center Library. Board of Inquiry Into The Accident Involving Nimrod MR2 XV230 The findings of the independent review into the crash of Nimrod aircraft XV230 over Afghanistan on 2 September 2006, in which 14 Service personnel were killed, has been published on the 28th October 2009. The review consists of 11 PDF files available via the UK MOD website. Bureau Enquetes Accidents (BEA) The BEA is the official French organisation responsible for technical investigations of civil aviation accidents and incidents. The site provides a brief introduction to the Bureau and also includes press releases and other news items. There is a searchable database of accident reports. Most of the reports are in French, although some are also in English. The reports are available in HTML and PDF formats. There is a link to reports recently released in english Business Jet Safety Research : Statistical Review and Questionnaire Study of Safety Issues This provides access to a UK Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) document dated March 2009. This document describes a study of business jet safety, based on analysis of safety data supplemented by externally contracted research that involved personal industry visits and a questionnaire sent to operators and pilots to obtain feedback on any safety related issues. The study makes a number of recommendations, some of which have already been addressed. [Taken from abstract]. The full text is available in PDF format so Adobe Acrobat software is required in order to read it. CAP 731 : Approval, Operational Serviceability and Readout of Flight Data Recorder Systems (FDRs) The purpose of this publication is to provide general advice and guidance to operators of aircraft equipped with FDRs and to the facilities that provide an FDR data readout service, of their respective responsibilities to achieve correlation of this activity. It provides simple guidance on: the interpretation of the current operational rules; what is required to be established prior to the issuance of the Certificate of Airworthiness (CofA) for individual aircraft; and the need to identify scheduled tasks to ensure the continuing serviceability of the FDR system whilst the aircraft is in operational service. Issue 1 was published in May 2004. The document is available in PDF format. CAP 762 : The Effectiveness of Image Recorder Systems in Accident Investigations This technical report was published by the UK Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) in November 2006. The CAA initiated research to determine whether flight deck image recorder systems would provide useful additional information for accident investigations. CAP 762 provides a detailed analysis into the pros and cons of image recorders and concludes that if properly installed and appropriately analysed, flight deck image recording systems could provide useful additional information in certain accident scenarios. [Taken from abstract]. The full text is available in PDF format so Adobe Acrobat software will be required in order to read it. CAP 780 : Aviation Safety Review 2008 This provides access to a UK Civil Aviation Authority publication dated November 2008. The Aviation Safety Review examines the safety of civil aviation in the UK, European Union and worldwide. Key statistics relating to reportable and fatal accidents, serious incidents and incidents are provided. Collectively, these safety events are known as "occurrences". The Review follows on from CAP 763 (1995 - 2004) and previous publications (CAPs 673, 701 and 735). It brings together aviation safety related information into a single source document to be used by the aviation community for statistical references. [Taken from abstract]. The full text is available in PDF format so Adobe Acrobat software is required in order to read it. CFIT: Australia in context 1996 to 2005 This provides access to a Australian Transport Safety Bureau Reseach and Analysis Report B20060352 dated December 2007. Controlled flight into terrain (CFIT) has been identified as one of 'aviation's historic killers', claiming the lives of more than 35,000 people since the emergence of civil aviation in the 1920s. The purpose of this report was to provide an overview of CFIT from an international perspective, to examine current and potential CFIT preventative strategies, and to specifically identify those characteristics associated with CFIT in Australia. A search of the Australian Transport Safety Bureau's (ATSB) aviation safety database identified 25 CFIT accidents and two CFIT incidents in the period 1996 to 2005. General aviation accounted for the greatest proportion of CFIT accidents, fatal accidents and fatalities. Only one CFIT occurrence over the reporting period (VH-TFU, Lockhart River, Queensland, 7 May 2005) involved regular public transport operations, but this accident accounted for nearly one-third of all CFIT fatalities. This highlights the catastrophic impact one CFIT accident involving passenger operations can have. In line with international experience, nearly two-thirds of CFIT accidents and incidents in Australia occurred in the approach phase of flight, of which half of these were during an instrument approach. When compared with the total number of accidents recorded by the ATSB over the 10-year period, the results of the study indicate that CFIT in Australia is a rare event. However, when CFIT does occur, the likelihood of it resulting in fatalities is high. [Taken from abstract]. The full text of the report is available in PDF format so Adobe Acrobat software will be required in order to read it. Civil Aviation (Investigation of Air Accidents and Incidents) Regulations 1996 The site provides access to the full text of the The Civil Aviation (Investigation of Air Accidents and Incidents) Regulations 1996. The regulations were published as Civil Aviation Statutory Instrument 1996 No. 2798. The SI came into force on 21st November 1996. The text is available online in HTML format. Civil Aviation Department Hong Kong (CAD) The CAD is responsible for the safe operation and regulation of the air transport system in Hong Kong. The site provides background information on the CAD's mission, values, and organisational structure, and includes a corporate video (requires RealPlayer 8 or above). Information on the site is arranged under a series of headings: topical issues, such as security, aircraft noise management, air traffic control safety, aircraft registration and licence and certificates; publications and press releases; which includes Airworthiness Requirement and Aircraft Accident Reports; Facts and Statistics, including air traffic statistics; Public Services; Recruitment; Tender Notices; FAQ; Links and Photo Gallery. The Hong Kong Aeronautical Publication is available online with amendments, and there are also descriptions of the various courses offered by the Hong Kong Civil Aviation Training Center. Columbia accident investigation board report : Volume 1 The Columbia accident investigation board (CAIB) reports which constitute Volume 1 are available from the NASA Columbia website. They are available in PDF format in different resolutions (low, medium or high) and as the full-report or seperate sections. Details of how to purchase a CD-ROM of the report are also available at this site. Columbia accident investigation board reports : all volumes The Columbia accident investigation board (CAIB) reports are available from the NASA Columbia website. Commercial Aviation Safety Team (CAST) The Commercial Aviation Safety Team (CAST) is made up of US government organisations, industry associations and aerospace companies with the aim of reducing commercial aviation fatal accident rates. Background information to the project is given, as are details of the participants and a description of the organisation and its procedures. Charts, showing statistics such as US airline fatalities and accident rates by world region are provided as Powerpoint files. Communication in context: A conversation analysis tool for examining recorded voice data in investigations of aviation occurrences. This web site provides access to an Australian Bureau of Air Safety Investigation Research and Analysis Report B20050118 written by Maurice Neville and dated June 2006. This report presents a tool for representing and analysing recorded voice data in investigations of aviation occurrences, or other transport occurrences. The report is one part of a research consultancy project conducted by the author for the Australian Transport Safety Bureau (ATSB). The two project outcomes are the result of around one month’s full-time activity, conducted over March to June 2006. The overall aim of the project is to explore the potential value of an established sociological academic research methodology, called conversation analysis (often CA), for representing and analysing recorded voice data for investigations of aviation or other transport occurrences. The project can expand the level of understanding that investigators can obtain from a voice recording as part of an investigation. Conversation analysis may be especially valuable for investigating transport occurrences because it focuses on examining the details of communication in context, as it actually occurs in real time. The project has two parts. The first part is a series of sample transcriptions and analyses of recorded voice data from five occurrences previously investigated by the ATSB or BASI . The second part is this report, and is a tool for using conversation analysis to inform and guide analysis of recorded voice data in investigations. [Taken from abstract]. The full text is available in PDF format so Adobe Acrobat software will be required in order to read it. Compilation of Accident statistics in General Aviation for the Period 1997-2005 for Aircraft with a Maximum Mass of 2 250 Kg These statistics have been compiled by the Secretariat of the European Civil Aviation Conference (ECAC) dated 22nd November 2006 as presented at ACC/24 meeting. The data collected from the different Forms are presented in the different spreadsheets providing figures for the 3 categories of aircraft (aeroplanes, helicopters and gliders). The download is available in Excel format. Compilation of Statistic Accidents in General Aviation for 2003 with a comparison with the years 2001 and 2002 These statistics have been compiled by the the Secretariat of the European Civil Aviation Conference (ECAC), 2004. The publication of these statistics follows the circulation of a questionnaire (State letter EC 9/14.5/6.24-0460 of 3 June 2004) to collect statistics concerning aircraft with a maximum mass of 2,250 Kg for the year 2003. The compilation of accident statistics for that year is presented with a comparison for 2001 and 2002. The data is reported in a series of tables. Accidents and their consequences: data are presented per aircraft type (i.e. aeroplanes, helicopters and gliders). Accidents per flight phase: data are presented per aircraft. Casualties per flight phase data from are presented per aircraft type. Causal factors data are reproduced in Attachment 4 and Remarks/Deviations which have been reported by Member States are reported in Attachment 5. The text is available in PDF format. Compilation of Statistic Accidents in General Aviation for 2004 With a Comparison With the Years 2002 and 2003 Further to the circulation of the questionnaire (State letter EC 9/14.5/6.25-0469 of 17 May 2005) to collect statistics concerning aircraft with a maximum mass of 2 250 Kg for the year 2004, the Secretariat has prepared a compilation of accident statistics for that year with a comparison with the years 2002 and 2003. A related document 'Compilation of Accidents Statistics 1997-2004 as presented at the ACC/23 meeting' is also available. The text is available in PDF format from the ECAC website. Cost of Aviation Accidents and Incidents This is an Australian Bureau of Transport and Regional Economics (BTRE) report, BTRE Report 113, prepared by Quentin Reynolds, February 2006. This report provides estimates of the total cost to Australia of aviation related accidents and incidents that occurred in the financial year 2003/04. It also reports the cost per accident and the cost attributable to a fatality. It is an update of Cost of Civil Aviation Accidents and Incidents published by the Bureau of Transport Economics in 1998, which estimated costs for 1996. Accident and fatality costs are used as inputs to various policies and programmes. With inflation and rising standards of living, the values per life and per accident are higher than in 1996. The text of the report is available in PDF format from the BTRE's web site. Current Procedures for Collecting and Reporting U.S. General Aviation Accident and Activity Data This is a National Transportation Safety Board Safety Report NTSB/SR-05/02, April 29, 2005. Unlike Part 121 and scheduled Part 135 air carriers, general aviation operators and on-demand Part 135 operators (air taxis) are not required to report actual flight activity data to DOT. Instead, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) uses its annual General Aviation and Air Taxi Activity (GAATA) Survey to query a sample of registered aircraft owners, either through the Internet or by mail. The National Transportation Safety Board and others rely on GAATA Survey activity estimates to calculate accident rates and statistics that form the basis for assessing general aviation safety in the United States. Congress, government agencies, the aviation industry, and other researchers frequently cite accident rates when evaluating the need for safety initiatives. Valid activity data are necessary to compare the accident rates for different aircraft types and types of operations, to establish baseline measures that can be used to identify and track accident trends, and to assess the effectiveness of safety improvement efforts. Because of a critical need for accurate activity measures, and the perception of possible problems with current general aviation activity estimates, the Safety Board analyzed several general aviation exposure measures to determine the relationship of trends over time. The results of that analysis are included in this report. The full text of the document is available in PDF format. Danish Aircraft Accident Investigation Board The AIB investigates accidents and serious incidents of civilian aircraft in Denmark, including Greenland and the Faero Islands. The site makes some information available in English too, including reports and bulletins back to 1999. Depressurisation, Accidents and Incidents Involving Australian Civil Aircraft; 1 January 1975 to 31 March 2006 This web site provides access to an Australian Transport Safety Bureau (ATSB) Research and Analysis Report B20060142 written by David G. Newman dated June 2006. Commercial aircraft involved in high altitude operations are generally pressurised to protect the occupants from the adverse effects of hypoxia, decompression illness and hypothermia. Failure of the pressurisation system is a potential threat to flight safety. The purpose of this study was to determine the prevalence and consequences of aircraft decompression events in Australian civil aviation. The aim was to document the prevalence, nature, type, degree and extent of decompression events in Australian civil aviation, as well as the consequences of such events, especially hypoxia and pressure-related medical effects. A search of all incidents and accidents on the ATSB database was made for pressurisation failure events between 1 January 1975 and 31 March 2006. A total of 517 pressurisation failure events were found (two accidents, eight serious incidents and 507 incidents). Only one pressurisation failure event was fatal (0.2 per cent of the total events). Hypoxia was reported in four of the events, and ear barotrauma was also reported in four events, due to the subsequent emergency descent. A total of 10 events involved death, hypoxia or minor injury. Mechanical factors were responsible for the majority of pressurisation system failures (73 per cent). The average rate of cabin pressure change was 1,700 feet per minute, and the average maximum cabin altitude reached was 10,978 feet. In general, the results of this study show that there is a high chance of surviving a pressurisation system failure, provided that the failure is recognised and the corresponding emergency procedures are carried out expeditiously. Aircrew should maintain a high level of vigilance with respect to the potential hazards of cabin pressurisation system failure. [Taken from abstract]. The full text is available in PDF format so Adobe Acrobat softwarew ill be required in order to read it. Developing Temporal Markers to Profile Operational Errors This technical report (DOT/FAA/AM-6/20) was published by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) in August 2006 and was written by J. Pounds, M. D. Rodgers, D. Thompson and D. Jack. A commonly held view is that system and human vulnerabilities, whether they emerge at a common moment or over a situation, can form links in a chain of events resulting in an air traffic operational error (OE). However, this truism has not led to the development of better techniques for profiling this progression. If we generally accept that OEs evolve over time, then OEs have temporal characteristics. [Taken from abstract]. This is a PDF file, so Adobe Acrobat software will be required in order to read it. Development of a Laboratory-Scale Test for Evaluating the Decomposition Products Generated Inside an Intact Fuselage During a Simulated Postcrash Fuel Fire This provides access to a Federal Aviation nAdministration (FAA) report DOT/FAA/AR-TN07/15 written by Timothy Marker and Louise Speitel and dated August 2008. This report summarizes the research effort undertaken by the Federal Aviation Administration to develop a laboratory-scale test method for evaluating the products of combustion inside an intact transport category fuselage during exposure to a simulated external fuel fire. An oil-fired burner, configured in accordance with Title 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 25.856(b) Appendix F Part VII, was used to simulate the fuel fire, and a 4- by 4- by 4-foot steel cube box was used to mount representative test samples. The cube box simulated an intact fuselage and served as an enclosure to collect emitted gases during fire exposure. Test samples representing a variety of fuselage constructions were evaluated, including a noncontemporary prototype structural composite material (without thermal acoustic insulation). A typical cross section consists of a 40- by 40-inch aluminum panel representing the fuselage skin and the accompanying thermal acoustic insulation blanket behind the skin. Two thermal acoustical configurations were also tested. The first contained a heat-stabilized polyacrylonitrile fiber blanket. The second contained a ceramic paper barrier sandwiched under a fiberglass blanket. Each was encased by a thin metallized polyvinylfluoride moisture barrier. These burnthrough-resistant configurations were primarily run to provide a baseline for comparing the emitted gas concentrations with that of the prototype structural composite material. A specialized Fourier Transform Infrared/total hydrocarbon gas analysis system was used to continually measure the products of combustion collected within the enclosure. Additional analyzers continuously measured the amount of carbon monoxide, carbon dioxide, and oxygen in the collected stream. During the testing, it was determined that a prototype multi-ply structural composite material produced minimal quantities of toxic and flammable gases during a 5-minute fire exposure. Approximately 7 plies of the 13-ply composite material were delaminated by the fire exposure. By comparison, the aluminum skin/insulation configurations generated higher gas concentrations. Subsequent full-scale testing of these material systems will provide gas scaling factors. The goal is to use this laboratory-scale test and scaling factors to predict decomposition products for an aircraft postcrash fuel fire. [Taken from abstract]. The full text is available in PDF format so Adobe Acrobat software is required in order to read it. Disruptive Behaviour on Board UK Aircraft Analysis of Incident Reports April 1999 - March 2000 Disruptive Behaviour On Board UK Aircraft: Analysis of Incident Reports April 1999 - March 2000, published by the the UK Department for Transport, 14 July 2000. At the request of the Department for Transport (DFT), UK airlines have since April 1999 reported incidents of disruptive behaviour on board their aircraft to the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA), on a common reporting basis. The CAA has analysed the data submitted for the seven-month period April 1999 to March 2000, and this note summarises the outcome. The full text of this note is available online in HTML format. Disruptive Behaviour on Board UK Aircraft Analysis of Incident Reports April 2000 - March 2001 The report was published by the the UK Department for Transport, dated 16 July 2001. At the request of the Department for Transport (DFT), UK airlines have since April 1999 reported incidents of disruptive behaviour on board their aircraft to the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA), on a common reporting basis. The CAA has analysed the data submitted for the year April 2000 to March 2001. This note summarises the outcome. The full text of this note is available online in HTML format, and can be downloaded in PDF (68 Kb) and MS Word (40 Kb) formats. Dutch Transport Safey Board The Board, (Raad voor de Transportveiligheid), was set up by statute in the Netherlands on 1st July 1999. Its remit is to conduct independent investigation into the causes of accidents or incidents in all transport sectors (aviation, shipping, rail, road traffic and pipe lines). The site provides an introduction to the work of the RvTV, and includes a section which describes its powers, procedures and investigative methods. The activities section provides access to the full text of accident and incident reports, including aviation reports from 1999 to the present. The text of these is presented in PDF format. The site also contains press releases and news items. Epidemiology of Toxicological Factors in Civil Aviation Accident Pilot Fatalities, 1999-2003 This technical report (DOT/FAA/AM-05/20) was produced by the Federal Aviation Administration's (FAA) Office of Aerospace Medicine in November 2005 and was written by Arvind K. Chaturvedi, Kristi J. Craft, Dennis V. Canfield and James E. Whinnery. Prevalence of drug and ethanol use in aviation is monitored by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA). Under such monitoring, epidemiological studies for the 1989-1993 and 1994-1998 periods indicated lower percentages of the presence of illegal (abused) drugs than that of prescription and nonprescription drugs in aviation accident pilot fatalities. In continuation of these studies, an epidemiological assessment was made for an additional period of 5 years. [Taken from abstract]. This is a PDF file, so Adobe Acrobat software will be required in order to read it. Evaluating Accident Models using Recent Aerospace Accidents : Part I Event-Based Models, Part II Model Based on Control Theory This working paper (ESD-WP-06) was published by the Massachusetts Institute of Technology Engineering Systems Division in 2002 and was written by Nancy Leveson. Accident models are used to explain how accidents occur. The explanations of the etilogy of accidents embodied in accident models forms the basis for investigating accidents, preventing future ones, and determining whether existing systems are suitable for use (risk assessment). The models impose patterns on an accident and thus will influence both the data collected and the facts identified as causative. While accident models are a way to organise data and set priorities in accident investigations, at the same time they may either act as a filter in the collection of data that narrows the investigation or they may expand the investigation forcing consideration of factors that are often omitted. The report is deivided into two parts. Part I considers event-based accident models including domino and single event, chains of events, and Part II will look at the new proposals for models based on control theory. [Taken from abstract]. This is in PDF format so Adobe Acrobat will be required in order to read it. FAA : Data and Statistics This is part of the Federal Aviation Administration's (FAA) web site. The site provides access to a number of aviation safety resources including accident and incident data, aviation data and statistics, aviation forecasts, funding and grant data, passenger and cargo information and safety resources. FAA Aviation News A freely available aviation safety magazine from the FAA. You can subscribe to receive each issue automatically, or visit the site to view the full text of issues back to 2001, via a clickable table of contents page. FAA Aviation Safety Information : Aviation Safety Data Accessibility Study This is a report on issues related to public interest in aviation safety data. It is dated January 20th, 1997, and was prepared for the Office of System Safety, Federal Aviation Administration. This study examines the issues related to increasing the accessibility of aviation safety data. The issues addressed include identification of safety data resources, format of safety data, analysis and interpretation of safety data, experiences of other Federal agencies with safety data, and public access to safety data. It is available in HTML format. FAA Office of Accident Investigation : Preliminary Aviation Incident Reports Preliminary Aviation Incident Reports produced by the Federal Aviation Administration's Office of Accident Investigation. The web site presents the data in tabular format. It provides access to 10 days of preliminary accident data and incident data organised into several categories, including: All Aircraft Accidents, Fatal and Serious Injuries, All General Aviation, All Helicopters, and by aircraft manufacturer. The 10 days of data is also available in dbf format (dBase and FoxPro) for downloading and use in databases or spreadsheets. FAA Office of Accident Investigation The Office of Accident Investigation (AAI) is the principal organisation within the FAA with respect to aircraft accident investigation and all activities related to the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB). As such, AAI's mission is to investigate aviation accidents and incidents to detect unsafe conditions and trends and to coordinate the corrective action process. The site provides access to new NTSB Safety Recommendations. The Office of Accident Investigation is responsible for coordinating and tracking FAA responses to safety recommendations issued by the National Transportation Safety Board. The FAA's responses to these safety recommendations will be made available through the FAA's National Aviation Safety Data Analysis Center's (NASDAC) internet site, which is updated monthly. The Office of Accident Investigation also provides Preliminary Accident Data and Incident Data, which is available as ASCII text in several report categories for the last ten working days. The 10 days of data is also available in dbf format (dBase and FoxPro) for downloading and use in databases or spreadsheets. FAA Office of System Safety - Safety Reports This is part of the web site of the Federal Aviation Administration's Office of System Safety. The web site provides access to selected current reports and studies. The Weather Study includes all accidents where the NTSB has determined weather to be a causal or contributing factor. The Aviation Safety Data Accessibility Study, examines a range of issues related to increasing the accessibility of aviation safety data. The Aviation Safety Statistical Handbook contains information on national airspace incidents and accidents. System Indicators provides information on the current status and trends in the National Aviation System operations. The data include accident and incident rates and measures of efficiency, inspector activity, compliance and environmental factors. The annual System Indicators report is available for downloading in Microsoft Word 6.0 format. Spreadsheet files(Microsoft Excel ver. 4.0) containing System Indicators data, updated quarterly, are also available. First Consultation on the Proposed Regulation on Investigation and Prevention of Accidents and Incidents in Civil Aviation This provides access to a United Kingdom Department for Transport Consultation document published by the UK Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) in January 2010. The closing date for replies is 3rd March 2010. The Department for Transport is seeking your views to inform the UK’s position on the European Commission’s recently issued legislative proposal1 to update and replace Directive 94/56/EC2 establishing the fundamental principles governing the investigation of civil aviation accidents and incidents. Other documents included are : Annex C: Impact Assessment of the Proposed Air Accident Investigation Consultation; Commission of the European Communities Impact Assessment; Commission of the European Communities Summary Assessment; Commission of the European Communities Air Accident Investigation Regulation Proposal. [Taken from abstract]. The full text is available in PDF format so Adobe Acrobat software is required in order to read it. Fixed and Rotary-Wing Aircraft Accidents Involving Private Operations This provides access to an Australian Transport Safety Bureau Research and Analysis Report B20070099 dated June 2007. This study provides an overview of accidents involving private aircraft operations between 2001and 2005. With approximately 400,000 flying hours conducted annually, private flying accounts for around a quarter of general aviation activity. Within private operations, rotary-wing activitynow contributes about 10 per cent of all hours flown. The accident rate in private aviation activities generally declined over the five-year study period, but the fatal accident rate for fixed-wing aircraft remained generally stable. There was an apparent increase in the rotary-wing fatal accident rate.The pattern of accident types showed similarities for both fixed-wing and rotary-wing aircraft. Most accidents can be classified against a small number of accident types: collisions, loss of aircraft control, airframe, and powerplant issues. Additionally, collision accidents and those involving a loss of aircraft control account for most of the fatal accidents. Differences between fixed-wing and rotary-wing aircraft occurrences are more apparent when accidents are examined by phase of flight. More than half of all fixed-wing accidents occur in the landing phase of flight, but manoeuvring and cruise are among the most common phases of flight for accidents involving rotary-wing aircraft. These phases of flight are also associated with fatal accidents. [Taken from abstract]. The full text is available in PDF format so Adobe Acrobat software is required in order to read it. Flight Data Monitoring This provides access to a UK Civil Aviation Authority Publication Civil Aviation Paper CAP 739, 1st edition, 29 August 2003. CAP 739 provides guidance to aircraft operators, national aviation authorities, system suppliers and other interested parties on the provision of Flight Data Monitoring (FDM) as part of an Operator's accident prevention and flight safety programme. FDM is the systematic, pro-active and non-punitive use of flight data from routine operations to improve aviation safety. The text is available in PDF format (546 kb) from the CAA's publications web site. Flight Safety Information This resource is provided by Curt Lewis, a US flight safety professional. It produces a daily electronic newsletter on current topics concerning flight safety from around the world. The newsletter consists of article summaries from newspapers, websites, and other sources containing information on the latest accidents, incidents, recommendations, and industry information. It also publishes a quarterly aviation safety journal via email called 'Flight Safety Information Journal'. Back issues are available back to 2002 in PDF format. Flightfax Publication of this title ceased with the January-February 2007 issue. However, back issues from 1996 onwards are still available. Provided by the United States Army Safety Program, Flightfax was a magazine which was published monthly, and was concerned with army aviation risk management. Each issue is available to download in PDF format Fuel Properties : Effect on Aircraft and Infrastructure This report describes the results of a study performed by Task Group 6/7 on Fuel Properties for the Federal Aviation Administration's (FAA) Aviation Rulemaking Advisory Committee's (ARAC) Fuel Tank Harmonization Working Group. The Task Group was charged with assessing the feasibility of using jet fuel with a higher flash point in the civil transport airplane fleet than required by current Jet A/Jet A-1 Specification, as a means of reducing the exposure of the fleet to flammable/explosive tank vapours. The impacts on Engines, Auxiliary Power Units, hardware manufacturers, jet fuel availability and cost are based on evidence and information drawn from surveys conducted of refiners in the United States, Europe and Japan, as well as responses from other international refiners. The text is available in PDF format. General Aviation Fatal Accidents : How Do They Happen? : A Review of General Aviation Fatal Accidents 1991 to 2000 The aim of the Australian Transport Safety Bureau is to maintain and improve transport safety and public confidence. This is the full text (1,514 KB PDF) of an Aviation Safety Research report number B2004/0010 published in June 2004. Australian aviation is, by world standards, extremely safe. Fatal accidents in regular public transport (RPT) operations are low and, since the late 1960s, have been confined to low capacity operations. Australia has not had a high capacity RPT fatal accident since 1968 and has not had a RPT jet fatal accident. The vast majority of Australian civil fatal aircraft accidents occur in general aviation (GA) operations. This study examined Australian civil GA fatal accidents for the period 1991 to 2000, and covers fatal accident numbers and rates by aircraft type and operational grouping, timing of accidents, injury levels, pilot demographics and fatal accident types. German Federal Bureau of Aircraft Accidents Investigation (BFU) The task of the BFU is to investigate accidents and serious incidents to civil aircraft in Germany and to determine the causes of the occurrences. The site provides background information on the BFU including the legal framework in which it operates and its organisational structure. The text of recent accident and incident investigation reports can be accessed on the site. These can be browsed by date or by various category headings including airplanes, helicopters, powered gliders, glider and balloons. There is also a page of links to related sites of interest. Global Fatal Accident Review This provides access to a UK Civil Aviation Authority Publication Civil Aviation Paper CAP 681, produced in March 1998 and reprinted in May 2002. The document summarises an analysis of 621 global fatal accidents to jet and turboprop aeroplanes above 5700kg between 1980 and 1996 inclusive, which resulted in 16,849 fatalities. The study highlights the most important causal and circumstantial factors, and should help to focus attention on necessary changes in operating and training practices and indicates areas for regulatory action. The text is available in PDF format (203 kb) from the CAA's publications web site. History of Aviation Safety Oversight in the United States This provides access to a US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) technical report DOT/FAA/AR-08/39 written by Mark Hansen, Carolyn McAndrews and Emily Berkeley ddated July 2008. A core mission of the Federal Aviation Administration is safety oversight—the process of ensuring that airmen, airlines, aircraft, manufacturers, and a host of others who are engaged in aviation perform their functions safety and responsibly. This report surveys the history of aviation safety oversight in the United States and how decision makers and stakeholders have perceived its performance over time. This report takes a generally chronological approach, dividing the history into seven main epochs. The effort was motivated by the premise that present efforts to re-engineer the oversight system, to be effectual, required understanding and respect for the how the present system evolved. The performance goals of the present oversight system, and the measures by which goal attainment is assessed, are embedded in this history. [Taken from abstract]. The full text is available in PDf format so Adobe Acrobat software is required in order to read it. House of Lords Committee to review Chinook ZD 576 crash The site brings together a collection of information relating to the investigation of The House of Lords Select Committee. Appointed on 2nd July 2001, the Committe was tasked "to consider the justification for the finding of those reviewing the conclusions of the RAF Board of Inquiry that both pilots of the Chinook helicopter ZD 576 which crashed on the Mull of Kintyre on 2 June 1994 were negligent". The site includes minutes of eveidence, and the full text of the report of the RAF Board of Inquiry parts 1-5, and the AAIB statement, which forms Annex Q to the Board's report, which were released into the public domain on 10 August 2001. The Select Committe is to report to the House of Lords by 31 January 2002. Human Factors Issues in Aircraft Maintenance and Inspection This page provides access to a selection of full text documents published by the Federal Aviation Administration Human FActors in Aviation Maintenance and Inspection research programme. Documents available include research reports from 1997, the Human Factors Guide for Aviation Maintenance and Inspection version 3.0 (1998), the FAA/AAM Human Factors in Aviation Maintenance and Inspection Research Phase Reports (1991-1999), Human Factors Issues in Aircraft Maintenance and Inspection Meeting Proceedings (1989-1998), Strategic Program Plan 1998, the National Transportation Safety Board Maintenance Accident Report Infobase, research reports published 2000 and 2001, a bibliography of publications 1989-1998 and the Powerpoint presentations from the Advances in Aviation Safety Conference and Exposition, 2000. Identification of Sildenafil (Viagra®) and Its Metabolite (UK 103,320) in Six Aviation Fatalities This technical report (DOT/FAA/AM-6/3) was produced by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) Office of Aerospace Medicine in February 2006 and was written by R. D. Johnson and R. J. Lewis. During the investigation of aviation accidents, postmortem samples from victims are submitted to the Federal Aviation Administration's Civil Aerospace Medical Institute for toxicological analysis. This report presents a rapid and reliable method for the identification and quantitation of sildenafil (Viagra®) and its active metabolite, UK-103,320. This procedure utilizes sildenafil-d8 as an internal standard for more accurate and reliable quantitation. [Taken from abstract]. This is a PDF file, so Adobe Acrobat software will be required in order to read it. Injury Prevention in Aircraft Crashes: Investigative Techniques and Applications This is Research and Technology Organization(RTO) AGARD Lecture Series, AGARD-LS-208, dated February 1998. It is sponsored by the Aerospace Medicine Panel and the Consultant and Exchange Programme of AGARD, presented on 24-25 November 1997 in Farnborough, UK, and 1-2 December 1997 in Madrid, Spain. This Lecture Series addresses a critical aspect of the investigations related to the factors implied in the prevention of potential injuries among aircraft occupants as a consequence of impact and post-crash fires, heat and toxic fumes. It comprises a review of the critical aspects of injury prevention. The topics covered include a description of the acceleration vectors involved, how they may have an influence on the aircraft, and how the acceleration forces might be tolerated by the aviator. In addition, the physical analysis of impact and crash survivability is discussed, focusing on what happens during a mishap. Furthermore a review is made on how to evaluate the tolerable deceleration forces and occupiable space required to sustain life. A part of this LS is devoted to answering questions such as, when did the injury occur, the nature of the forces that produced the injury, and their relationship to a mishap. Injury types related to the thermal and intrusive impact of the deceleration forces are also discussed, as are aspects related to the collection of medical information that would help identify the potential causes and the effects on an individual; in particular, the way in which the occupant moves in response to the forces applied. These forces may have a profound effect upon the nature and severity of the injury. Bibliographic and abstract details are available in HTML format. A table of contents, and the full text of the document can be accessed online in PDF format. The document is contained in the RTO's Full Text Publication Library. Isoperformance : an Alternative Design Methodology for Engineering Systems This working paper (ESD-WP-01.22) was published by the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in 2003 and was written by Olivier L. de Weck. Tradeoffs between performance, cost and risk frequently arise during architecting and design of complex Engineering Systems such as aerospace vehicles. A paradigm shift is occurring from the pure performance optimisation approach of the past towards satisfying of performance targets under concurrent risk and cost minimisation. This paper proposes 'isoperformance' as a set based approach to designing engineering systems by first identifying the acceptable performance invariant set of designs from which a final design is chosen. This is in contrast to a multiobjective cost-risk minimisation under performance equality constraints. [Taken from abstract]. This is in PDF format so Adobe Acrobat software will be required to read it. Jet Airliner Crash Data Evaluation Center (JACDEC) This web site has been created by two air accident specialists, C.Wolf and J.Richter. JACDEC provides a range of aviation data and information services. The site provides up to date accident / incident news. An archive is also available. The site includes a hull loss database which contains details of civil jet aircraft write offs arranged by year. A statistics section brings together data relating to airlines, aircraft types, regions / countries, a Worldmap of hull losses, commerical airliner fatalities, worst 25 airliner accidents, and an ageing aircraft tables which shows the ages of hull lost aircaft. The media section contains details of books and other publications, and there is a page of links and a site map. Landings: Reports and Alerts This resource is provided by the Landings aviation directory services. It contains links to a wide variety of reports and alerts, from sources such as the FAA (Service Difficulty Reports (SDRs), Airworthiness Directives, Airworthiness Alerts, aviation safety databases, continued airworthiness information); NTSB (Accident Briefs, Aviation Accident Synopses, Accident Abstracts) and NASA (ASRS Program, ASRS Callback Program ); UK Air Accident reports (AAIB); Bureau of Air Safety Investigation - Australia (BASI), Transportation Safety Board of Canada Aviation Occurrence Reports, and many others. For many of these resources, Landings has developed its own search interfaces. Light Utility Helicopter Safety in Australia The aim of the Australian Transport Safety Bureau is to maintain and improve transport safety and public confidence. This is the full text (1,016 KB PDF) of an Aviation Safety Research report number BE04/73 published in June 2004. Light utility helicopters made up half the fleet of registered helicopters in Australia, yet were involved in 72 per cent of helicopter accidents between January 1985 and December 2003. This report compared the relative safety of four light utility helicopter models. These are the: Robinson R22, 47G (made variously by Bell Helicopter Company, Agusta SPA Costruzioni or Kawasaki Heavy Industries), 269 (made by Hughes Helicopters or Schweizer Aircraft Corporation) and Hiller UH-12E. These helicopters are primarily single engine, reciprocating engine aircraft and the demand for them in Australia is high. The number of light utility helicopters on the civil register grew by 36 per cent between 1990 and 2002. The aim of this report was to determine if any particular light utility helicopter model has a higher risk profile than similar aircraft. For each of the light utility helicopter models the report compared accident trends (fatal and non-fatal), accident rates per registered aircraft, fatal accident rates per hours flown and accident rates per hours flown. The report also reviewed the type of flying operation where accidents occurred and the accident outcomes for each of the models of interest. Managing Disruptive Passengers : A Survey of the World's Airlines This provides access to the text of a London Guildhall University, Department of Psychology paper by Robert Bor, Morris Russell, Justin Parker, and Linda Papadopoulos, dated 2000. The paper addresses a number of issues related to air rage, and presents the results of a 1999 survey of 206 airlines. The objectives of the survey were to find out whether incidents are reported, crew are trained and have guidelines to deal with disruptive passengers, and the extent to which there are shared views about the possible causes of air rage. The text of the paper is available from the Skyrage Foundation's web site in PDF format. Mass Loading Effects on Fuel Vapor Concentrations in an Aircraft Fuel Tank Ullage This provides access to a Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) technical note, DOT/FAA/AR-TN99/65, by Steven M. Summer, dated September 1999. The note describes experiments performed within a simulated fuel tank approximately 1/20 the size of a typical Boeing B-747 center wing fuel tanl (CWT). The full text of the report is available in PDF format from the online catalogue of the FAA William J. Hughes Technical Center Library. Mining for Information in Accident Data This technical report (DOT/FAA/AM-06/26) was published by the Federal Aviation Administration in November 2006 and was written by Nelda J. Milburn, Lena Dobbins, Julia Pounds and Scott Goldman. This project evaluated WinMine, an analytic tool developed by Chickering, Heckerman, Meek, Platt, and Thiesson (2000) to determine its usefulness for identifying higher-order relationships in research data from dynamic and high-consequence aviation events. Traditionally, researchers have relied on several types of analyses to better understand the relationships between factors related to an outcome. However, researchers need an analytic approach that can clearly illustrate the interactions among causal factors as probabilities associated with the chain of events. [Taken from abstract]. This is a PDF file, so Adobe Acrobat software will be required in order to read it. NASAs Space Shuttle Columbia: Synopsis of the Report of the Columbia Accident Investigation Board Written by Marcia S. Smith and published in September 2003, this CRS Report for Congress provides a brief synopsis of the conclusions, recommendations, and observations made by the Columbia Accident Investigation Board's (CAIB) accident report. It is available in PDF format. National Aviation Safety Data Analysis Center (NASDAC) The purpose of this web site is to provide the public with access to several of the principal aviation safety data and information sources the Federal Government uses for various purposes. Subjects covered by this site include aviation accident information, aircraft information, statistical data and voluntary reporting systems. Several databases are available for interrogation, including the Air Registry, the Aviation Safety Reporting System, Bureau of Transportation Statistics and the FAA Incident/Accident Data System, amongst others. There are reports available on studies like Aviation Safety Data Accessibility; NTSB Weather Related Accidents; Review of Aviation Accidents occuring in the State of Alaska, 1992-2001; and Turbulence Study. National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) : Board Meetings The Members of the National Transportation Safety Board meet in a public session to discuss and adopt major accident reports, special investigation reports, safety studies, and other Board products. This web site contains a variety of information resources including: Schedule of forthcoming meetings and details of previous meetings, including associated information materials, such as abstracts, press releases, and docket items. National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) : Public hearings The NTSB, as part of its investigation into certain accidents, may hold a public hearing to record evidence presented by persons involved in the accident and by parties to the investigation. These hearings are held for the purpose of supplementing the facts discovered during the on-scene and subsequent follow-up investigation of the accident. Public hearings generally are held with regard to a major accident in which there is wide and sustained public interest, or significant safety issues. The web site provides on-line access to exhibit items and other detailed information from previous hearings. The aircraft accident hearings available include: American Airlines Flight 1420; Korean Air Flight 801; and TWA Flight 800. National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) : Safety Recommendations This is part of the National Transportation Safety Board web site. Safety Recommendations are issued as a result of the investigation of transportation accidents and other safety problems. They identify specific problems uncovered during a safety investigation and indicate how problems and deficiencies should be rectified. Letters containing the recommendations are directed to the organisation best able to act on the problem. The web site provides access to a most wanted list of transportation safety improvements. This includes recommendation numbers, status, and coverage of current and past items. The Most Wanted List is browsable by mode of transport. The site also provides statistical information on safety recommendations. These include acceptance rates (eg by mode of transportation and comparisons by year), as well as numbers of safety recommendations issued (by mode and by year). There is a searchable archive of Safety Recommendation Letters, and it is possible to subscribe to an NTSB mailing list in order to receive copies of Safety Recommendations. National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) Aviation Accident/Incident Database The NTSB is an independent Federal agency charged by Congress with investigating every civil accident in the United States and significant accident in the other modes of transportation -- railroad,highway, marine and pipeline.NTSB accident/incident database is the official repository of aviation accident data and causal factors. In the database, an event is classified as an accident or an incident. "Aircraft accident" means an occurrence associated with the operation of an aircraft which takes place between the time any person boards the aircraft with the intention of flight and until all such persons have disembarked, and in which any person suffers death or serious injury, or in which the aircraft receives substantial damage. The NTSB defines "incident" as an occurrence other than an accident, associated with the operation of an aircraft, which affects or could affect the safety of operations. The NTSB database contains only selected incident reports. The database is updated monthly. National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) publication : We Are All Safer The web site provides access to the full text of the NTSB report: We Are All Safer, 2nd ed, July 1998. The report presents some of the major lessons learned through Safety Board investigations, as well as changes that have been made to prevent future accidents. Aviation safety issues addressed in the report include: ground proximity warning systems, fire safety, windshear, icing, midair collisions, rejected takeoffs, runway overruns, alcohol and aviation, parachuting safety, aircraft seats, seatbelt integrity, regional and commuter airlines, crew resource management, aircraft design, structural fatigue and corrosion, uncontained engine component failure, off-wing escape slides, pitot-static system blockages, helicopter safety, fuel tank explosions, turbopropeller airplane safety, flight safety in Alaska, and space. The report is available online in PDF format (1.1M). National Transportation Safety Board : Aviation Accident Database and Synopses The NTSB aviation accident database contains information from 1962 and later about civil aviation accidents and selected incidents within the United States, its territories and possessions, and in international waters. Generally, a preliminary report is available online within a few days of an accident. Factual information is added when available, and when the investigation is completed, the preliminary report is replaced with a final description of the accident and its probable cause. Full narrative descriptions may not be available for dates before 1993, cases under revision, or where NTSB did not have primary investigative responsibility. National Transportation Safety Board : Publications This web site provides access to formal report publications produced by the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB). The site covers Aviation, Highway, Marine, Railroad Pipeline/Hazardous Materials accident reports and studies. The aviation reports section is sub-divided into the following: Most recent accidents, Older accidents, Studies and Statistical. Some of the more recent documents are available online in full text. Some of these PDF publications are quite large. National Transportation Safety Board The National Transportation Safety Board is an independent Federal agency that investigates every civil aviation accident in the United States and significant accidents in the other modes of transportation, conducts special investigations and safety studies, and issues safety recommendations to prevent future accidents. The web site provides access to a wealth of information resources. An "About" section includes the NTSB's mission, history, strategic plan, Board members, organisation chart, and a description of NTSB data and information products. These include Safety Recommendations, Accident Reports, Accident Synopses, Accident Studies, Statistical Analyses, Public Hearings, and News and Events, such as major investigations, press releases and forums and symposia. Nationwide Indicators of Surface Safety at Towered Airports This technical report (DOT/FAA/TC-07/23) was produced by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) in July 2007 and was written by Jacques Press. This document introduces a time-based method to aggregate airport incident information into nationwide indicators of safety. The objective is to revise how incidents are summarized conventionally today. Although the typical towered airport serves ascontext here, the idea is general enough to extend to facilities where incident numbers are used to measure safety performance. The document promotes time as a key variable in the incident tracking process. Accordingly, it recommends days between incidents as a measure of choice, besides the incident counts themselves. Extensive analysis of the Federal Aviation Administration Runway Safety Database from Fiscal Year 2000 to 2006 eventually points to three indicators. They are the monthly (a) incident count collected from each airport, (b) median number of days between incidents for each airport, and (c) percentage of incident considered serious. Collectively, the three are taken to portray the state of safety based on incidents in the national airport system. [Taken from abstract]. This is a PDF file, so Adobe Acrobat software will be required in order to read it. Occurrence Reporting in Civil Aviation This site provides access to a UK Department For Transport (DfT) consultation paper, published on 20 January 2005. This has been prompted by a European Commission requirement that member states implement Directive 2003/42/EC on occurrence reporting in civil aviation by 4 July 2005. The UK Government has prepared a draft Air Navigation (Amendment) Order to implement the provisions of the Directive. The proposed Order does not substantially change current UK occurrence reporting requirements but the presentation of the requirements has been altered to reflect the structure of the Directive. A number of documents are provided including the covering letter; Annex A - Directive 2003/42/EC on occurrence reporting in civil aviation (PDF 1272 Kb); Annex B - Draft Air Navigation (Amendment) Order (PDF 116 Kb); Annex C - Consultation document; Annex D - Code of practice on consultation, and, Annex E - List of consultees. The deadline for comments on the on the proposed amendment Order was 25 February 2005. Pathological Aspects and Associated Biodynamics in Aircraft Accident Investigation This is a full text report (PDF or FTP format) from the NATO Research and Technology Organisation, report number RTO-EN-HFM-113. It was published in 2005 and supports a lecture series presented on 28-29th October 2004 in Madrid, Spain. The development of effective crashworthiness design and design criteria, personal protective equipment and in-flight escape systems depends on obtaining accurate injury data from aircraft crashes and ejection. The depth and quality of injury data collected by member nations is sporadic and usually lacking in the determination of the injury mechanism. This lecture series reviews several aspects of aircraft accident investigation that are key for the investigator. Special attention is paid to aspects related to the role of the FS and Investigator, how behave at the crash site, what data should be collected and how to proceed in relation to the analysis of the injuries. A review of injury mechanisms, how to analyse them and how they might be scored to identify patterns of injury as a viable tool for accident reconstruction is also undertaken. Toxicological and pathological findings related to the material to be investigated and the post-mortem diagnosis were explained and the appropriate interpretation used as a particularly remarkable evidence for further clarification of the correct sequence of events. Finally human tolerance and crash survivability has been explained and basic principles of crashworthiness and crashworthy design by using the CREEP model extensively discussed. PlaneCrashInfo This site is a personal interest site maintained by Richard Kebabjian. It contains a lot of information relating to aircraft accidents around the world. The site includes a searchable database of aircraft accidents, details about the 100 worst accidents of all time, photographs, transcripts of cockpit voice recordings with some sound (requiring RealPlayer), statistics, safety ratings by airline, accidents by aircraft type and by airline, and links to other relevant sites. Power Loss Related Accidents Involving Twin-Engine Aircraft This web site provides access to an Australian Transport Safety Bureau Research and Analysis Report (B2005/0085) dated June 2005. The twin-engine power loss accidents were analysed to identify the types of accidents that occurred. Ten of the 11 fatal accidents subsequent to a power loss in twin-engine aircraft were the result of an in-flight loss of control. In contrast, the majority of non-fatal accidents subsequent to a power loss were primarily the result of degraded aircraft performance and resulted in aircraft being forced landed. When a twin-engine aircraft sustains a loss of power, the resulting power output can produce a power condition that is either asymmetric or non-asymmetric. The twin-engine power loss accidents were grouped based on whether the aircraft was being powered asymmetrically or non-asymmetrically when the accident occurred. [Taken from abstract]. The full text is available in PDF format and is provided by the Australian Transport Safety Bureau web site. Reportable Accidents to UK Registered Aircraft and the Foreign Registered Aircraft in UK Airspace, 1991 This provides access to a UK Civil Aviation Authority Publication Civil Aviation Paper CAP 626 produced January 1994 (reprinted May 2002). CAP 626 provides details of accidents involving UK and foreign registered aircraft which occurred in 1991 and were reportable in accordance with the provisions of the Civil Aviation (Investigation of Air Accidents) Regulations, 1989. The text is available in PDF format (390 kb) from the CAA's publications web site. Review of General Aviation Fatal Accidents 1985-94 This provides access to a UK Civil Aviation Authority Publication Civil Aviation Paper CAP 667, produced in March 1997 (reprinted May 2002). The review concentrates on fatal accidents to UK registered aeroplanes and helicopters of 5700kg maximum take-off mass and below. Microlights, gyroplanes and gliders were excluded. The report focuses on the causal factors of the accidents, to help reduce such events in the future, and makes recommendations to Safety Regulation Group management for appropriate consideration and action. The text is available in PDF format (581 kb) from the CAA's publications web site. Revisions to Cockpit Voice Recorder and Digital Flight Data Recorder Regulations This is the full text of a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) from the FAA. It proposes to amend the cockpit voice recorder (VCR) and digital flight data recorder (DFDR) regulations for certain air carriers, operators, and aircraft manufacturers. This proposed rule would amongst other points, increase the duration of of CVR and flight data recorder (FDR) recordings. The FAA also makes a press release and a fact sheet available. RGW Cherry & Associates : Aeronautical and Safety Engineers R.G.W. Cherry & Associates Limited is a consultancy company formed from widely experienced Aeronautical Engineers, established in 1992. The company delivers reports to airworthiness authorities, academic bodies, aircraft manufacturers and equipment suppliers. It has technical expertise in the following areas: Independent Safety Auditing, Cabin Safety research, Aircraft certification and design support, Flight Test Support. The company also develops and maintains the International Cabin Safety Research Technical Group Aircraft Accident Database under the sponsorship of Transport Canada, the FAA and the UK CAA which is freely available to use. The database currently contains information on 3,164 accidents and of these, textual information is available on 954. RisingUp Aviation Resources This is an aviation directory service based in the United States. It includes links to databases relating to aircraft performance and medical examiners reports, and practice FAA exam papers. It contains a discussion list and a section on useful printed texts. There is also a section of links to other related resources. Safety in the Skies : Personnel and Parties in NTSB Aviation Accident Investigations At the request of the Safety Board, the RAND Corporation conducted an independent review of two critical areas of the Safety Board's activities. In addition to evaluating employee workload, staffing levels and training, RAND also reviewed the manner in which the Board conducts its investigations using the party system. The site provides access to the abstract, with an opportunity to purchase the full report. Safety Study of Wire Strike Devices Installed on Civil and Military Helicopters This provides access to a Federal Aviation Administration (FAA)technical report DOT/FAA/AR-08/25 written by Vengalaottore Nagaraj and Inderjit Chopra dated September 2008. Military and the National Transportation Safety Board databases. The objective of the research was to conduct a study on wire strike accidents of civil and military helicopters between 1994 and 2004 to establish trends, assess the potential of existing technology for reducing wire strike accidents, and to recommend solutions that could substantially reduce the number of wire strike accidents. Trends in accidents were established for both military and civil wire strike accidents. The age group and experience profiles of the pilots involved in civil helicopter wire strike accidents were found to be similar to those found in an earlier study. Devices available for warning pilots about the proximity of wires are described and their relative merits assessed. Recommendations are made for reducing the number of helicopter wire strike accidents. [Taken from abstract]. The full text is available in PDF format so Adobe Acrobat software is required in order to read it. Situation Awareness: Limitations and Enhancement in the Aviation Environment This is Research and Technology Organization (RTO) AGARD Conference Proceedings report, AGARD-CP-575, dated January 1996. These proceedings include the Technical Evaluation Report, two keynote addresses and 25 papers from the Symposium sponsored by the Aerospace Medical Panel and held in Brussels, Belgium 24-27 April 1995. Situational Awareness is seen as key to mission success and aircraft safety. There are several questions that the Symposium addressed: how effectively Situation Awareness can be measured, whether it is possible to select for it and whether training strategies can improve it. The Symposium also examined the research carried out into the contribution of new Cockpit Technologies to enhance it. Los s of Situation Awareness has been the predominant cause of fatal accidents in both military and civil aviation and several examples were cited where the aircraft had been lost or put in jeopardy due to pilot error. These proceedings will be of interest to those involved in cockpit system design, human performance, human perception, cognition and accident investigation. For individual titles, see N96-25907 through N96-25932. Bibliographic and abstract details are available in HTML format. A table of contents, and the full text (71 kB) of the document can be accessed online in PDF format. The document is contained in the RTO's Full Text Publication Library. Special Bulletin : S1/2007 Aerospatiale SA365N Dauphin 2, G-BLUN This page provides the full text in PDF format of a special bulletin produced by the UK Air Accidents Investigation Branch into the helicopter accident in the Morecambe Bay gas field on 27th December 2006. This bulletin contains facts which have been determined up to the time of issue. Staffing Standards for Aviation Safety Inspectors This is a full text book made available by National Academies Press written by Committee on Federal Aviation Administration Aviation Safety Inspector Staffing Standards, William C. Howell and Susan B. Van Hemel, Editors, National Research Council and dated 2006. The Committee on FAA Aviation Safety Inspector Staffing Standards was consequently established at the National Research Council to examine the models and methods used to determine inspector staffing needs for these two FAA units. The objective of the study is to determine the strengths and weaknesses of the methods and models that the FAA now uses in developing staffing standards and projections of ASI staffing needs and to advise on potential areas for improvement. The term “staffing standards” is used in this report to denote the FAA’s concept of sheer numbers of personnel required to fill specified jobs, without regard for quality or skill levels. While the term is often used to refer to levels of qualifications or skills needed by individuals for particular jobs, it is not used in that way by the FAA. The FAA uses “staffing standards” to refer to the numbers of personnel of various job categories deemed appropriate to staff its facilities. [Taken from abstract]. The full text is available to read online in open book format. Standard Inputs for EUROCONTROL Cost Benefit Analyses : 2005 Edition This document provides values for commonly used data items in cost-benefit analyses, together with details of the sources and a discussion of the applicability and use of the values. The data includes, Operational Values: delay costs, passenger value of time, cancellation cost, diversion cost, passenger distribution, flight duration, IFR flight distance, passenger load factor, overall load factor, rate of fuel burn, aircraft operating costs; Accident-Related: Accident / incident statistics, value of avoided fatality, value of avoided injuries; Economic: cost of fuel, exchange rates, discount rate; Environmental: Amount of pollutants released by fuel burn, cost of pollutants, cost of noise. The values have been compiled from publicly available documents. They are average values and may not be appropriate in all circumstances. This is edition 2.0, release 01/02/05. The text is available in PDF format. Suitability of CF3I to Replace Halon 1301 as the Inerting Agent in Wing Fuel Tanks on the F-16 Aircraft This paper by R.G. Gann was presented at the Halon Options Technical Working Conference, Sandia National Laboratory, May 13-15, 2003, Albuquerque, NM. The paper describes the investigation of an Independent Review Panel (IRP) to assess the implementation of CF3I as a possible substitute for halon 1301 as an inerting agent. The paper examines four technical areas which were identified as critical to the assessment: materials compatibility, low temperature performance, human toxicology, and atmospheric chemistry. The full text of the paper is available from the web site of the Building and Fire Research Laboratory in PDF format (431 K). Swedish Board of Accident Investigation : Statens haverikommission Statens haverikommission - the Board of Accident Investigation - was established in Sweden on July 1, 1978 for investigation of aircraft accidents and incidents. The mandate includes accidents with military, as well as civil aircraft. The site provides access to aircraft accident reports, some of which are available in English (full-text, pdf files.) Access is to the reports is provided via a searchable database. Swiss Air Accident Investigation Bureau This is the website of the Swiss Air Accident Investigation Bureau. It provides a database of full text investigation reports which is searchable by aircraft model and category, flight category, date and location. In addition yearly statistics are available since 2002 and cover all accidents reported by Swiss-registered civilian aircraft at home and abroad, as well as foreign aircraft in Switzerland. Teardown Evaluation of Areas of Interest From the T-34A N141SW Aircraft Wreckage This technical report (DOT/FAA/AR-TN05/57) was published by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) in March 2006 and was written by Melinda Laubach and Dale Cope. To aid with the assessment of aging acrobatic aircraft, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) teamed with the National Institute for Aviation Research of Wichita State University to teardown and inspect areas of interest from the T-34A N141SW accident aircraft. Due to the recent history of fatigue cracking and failure, a destructive evaluation of the T-34A would be useful to the FAA to specifically address the T-34A concerns, and in a general sense, to assess the condition of a high-time acrobatic category aircraft. The following four areas of interest from the N141SW accident aircraft were examined for cracks and corrosion: right wing front carry-through lower spar, horizontal and vertical stabilizer attachment points, right wing rear spar lower cap wing station 66, and right wing rear spar lower bathtub fitting. Cracks found on these areas of the accident aircraft were opened, and the crack faces were analyzed to determine failure mode. Surrounding structure was also inspected microscopically for additional defects. [Taken from abstract]. This is a PDF file, so Adobe Acrobat software will be required in order to read it. Technically Advanced Aircraft : Safety Training This is an Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association (AOPA) Air Safety Foundation Special Report, dated 2005. It contains a preliminary review of Technically Advanced Aircraft (TAA) accidents and attempts to address three questions: What is a TAA?; What adaptations will be required for the general aviation (GA) training structure as TAA enter the fleet in significant numbers?; and Do the earliest returns on GA accidents involving TAA show any trend that can be used to direct strategies for reducing GA accident rates in the future? The text is available in PDF format (851 Kb) from the AOPA's web site. Appendix A contains edited National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) accident reports (PDF format 432 Kb), and Appendicies B-E contain articles from AOPA Pilot, ASRS reports, data link suppliers, avionics displays (PDF format 776 Kb). The Human Factor in System Reliability : Is Human Performance Predictable? This web site povides access to a Research and Technology Organization (RTO) Meeting Proceedings, RTO-MP-032, dated November 2000. The report contains papers from the Human Factors and Medicine Panel (HFM) Workshop held in Siena, Italy from 1-2 December 1999. The aim of the workshop was to inform the task of Working Group 30, Human Reliability in Safety Critical Systems, by providing a review of human factors research carried across multiple domain areas. Bibliographic and abstract details are available in HTML format. A table of contents, and the full text of the document (1.11 Mbytes) can be accessed online in PDF format. The document is contained in the RTO's Full Text Publication Library. The LC/MS Quantitation of Vardenafil (Levitra®) in Postmortem Biological Specimens This technical report (DOT/FAA/AM-6/17) was published by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) Office of Aerospace Medicine in July 2006 and was written by R. D. Johnson, R. J. Lewis and M. K. Angler. During the investigation of aviation accidents, postmortem specimens from accident victims are submitted to the Federal Aviation Administration’s Civil Aerospace Medical Institute (CAMI) for toxicological analysis. As new medications are introduced to the market and are subsequently used by aviation accident victims, CAMI’s forensic toxicology laboratory is tasked with developing analytical methods for the determination of these compounds. [Taken from abstract]. This is a PDF file, so Adobe Acrobat software will be required in order to read it. The Nimrod Review: an independent review into the broader issues surrounding the loss of the RAF Nimrod MR2 aircraft XV230 in Afghanistan in 2006 report RAF Nimrod XV230 was on a routine flight in southern Afghanistan on 2 September 2006, when it suffered a massive mid-air fire, leading to the total loss of the aircraft and the deaths of the 14 people on board. An RAF Board of Inquiry in 2007 concluded that the loss was caused by a fuel escape and its ignition by contact with an exposed element of the Cross-Feed/Supplementary Cooling Pack (SCP) duct. This Review was set up to examine the processes for ensuring airworthiness and safe operation of the Nimrod MR2, the responsibilities for any failure and what lessons can be learned. The Review concludes the most likely source of fuel was an overflow during air-to-air refuelling and confirms the finding of the RAF review regarding the source of ignition. The review goes on to describe design flaws in the XV230 aircraft and the failure to act on previously potentially relevant incidents. The Review criticises BAE Systems, the MoD Nimrod Integrated Project Team, QinetiQ and names individual personnel from those organisations involved in the safety case. Organisational causes are also identified. Recommendations are made for a new approach in principles (leadership, independence, people, simplicity); the airworthiness regime; safety cases; aged aircraft; personnel strategy; industry strategy; procurement; safety culture. The Potential for Fuel Tank Fire and Hydrodynamic Ram from Uncontained Aircraft Engine Debris This final report (DOT/FAA/AR-96/95) was produced by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) in January 1997, and was written by N. A Moussa et al. It addresses the potential consequences of the impact and penetration of fuel tanks by debris from uncontained engine failures on commercial jet aircraft. Reviews of previous accidents and the potential for fuel tank ignition and hydrodynamic ram are examined and possible mitigation measures are recommended. This is a PDF file, so Adobe Acrobat software will be required in order to read it. Transport Accident Investigation Commission (TAIC) The Transport Accident Investigation Commission (TAIC) was established by Act of New Zealand's Parliament on 1 September 1990. The commission investigates all aviation, rail or marine accidents and incidents within New Zealand. They also consider the circumstances of which have or are likely to have significant implications for transport safety. The investigation is known as a safety investigation (some other agencies refer to a safety investigation as a technical investigation). As the sole purpose of every TAIC investigation is to determine the causes and circumstances of the accident or incident with a view to avoiding similar occurrences in future, rather than to ascribe blame to any person, other agencies in New Zealand (for example the transport regulatory authorities: Maritime Safety Authority, Land Transport Safety Authority, and Civil Aviation Authority) and the Police may also investigate the same accidents for blame or law enforcement purposes. Enforcement investigations may also be called judicial investigations. The commission is independent of all organisations and has an arm's-length relationship with the Police, transport operators, transport regulatory authorities, unions, insurers and any other organisations that may have some involvement in the investigation or in the occurrence under investigation. The website provides useful links to annual reports since 2000 in PDF format, reports on accident investigations , as well as career services. TranStats : Aviation Data Library This is a compilation of air transport related statistical data sources which are contained within the TranStats database produced by the United States Department of Transportation (DOT) Burueau of Transportation Statistics. Access is provided to the following set of resources: Air carrier financial reports, (Form 41 Financial Schedule), consisting of financial information on large U.S. certified air carriers including balance sheet, income statement, cash flow, aircraft inventory, aircraft operating expenses and operating expenses. Air Carrier Statistics (Form 41 Traffic), contains monthly data reported by certificated U.S. and foreign air carriers on passengers, freight and mail transported. Also includes aircraft type, service class, available capacity and seats, and aircraft hours ramp-to-ramp and airborne. Other resources include: Air Carrier Summary Data, Airline On-Time Performance Data, Airline Origin and Destination Survey, American Travel Survey (ATS) 1995, Aviation Accident Database and Synopses, Aviation Support Tables, Commodity Flow Survey, Hazardous Material Incident Reporting System (HMIRS), Small Air Carrier Statistics (Form 298C Traffic Data), Air Carrier Employees, Aviation Accident Statistics, Canadian Travel to the U.S., Census of Fatal Occupational Injuries, Commercial Space Licensing and Launches, Employment by Industry and Occupation, Federal Transit Administration Grant Assistance Programs, Gross Domestic Product (GDP) by Industry, International Visitor Arrivals Program (I-94), U.S. Greenhouse Gas Emissions and Sinks, and U.S. International Air Traveler Statistics (I-92). TranStats : The Intermodal Transportation Database TranStats aims at providing transportation researchers and analysts, with a "one stop shop" solution for access to transportation statistical data. Produced by the United States Bureau of Transport Statistics, TranStats offers a number of features including: a Searchable Index of over 100 transportation-related data bases across every mode of transportation, with many social and demographic data sets that are commonly used in transportation analysis; Selective download, the ability to choose variables of interest and download the data directly to your PC for analysis using any data base, spreadsheet, or statistical package; Online data documentation, profiles on each data base, summary information about the tables that comprise a data base, data definitions and code information for data variables; Interactive analytical tools, the ability to do simple statistical summaries, create time series or cross tabulations, generate graphics online, and cut/paste results into reports; Interactive mapping, to help visualize geographic data and a Mapping Center with the full National Transportation Atlas Data Base, as well as applications for easily mapping US Department of Transportation (DOT) Grants and several other key data sets. These is a data finder which presents a view of the the individual databases organised by transport mode, by subject and by transport agency. Trends in Immediately Reportable Matters Involving Charter Operations 2001 to 2006 This provides access to a Australian Transport Safety Bureau Research and Analysis Report No.AR2007057 dated April 2009. This study reviewed safety trends in the Australian aviation charter industry for the period 1 January 2001 to 31 December 2006. It builds on a previous descriptive study that reviewed immediately reportable matters (IRMs) for regular public transport (RPT) aviation operations. Together, charter and RPT operations make up the air transport sector in Australia. Similar to the previous report, a subset of generally more serious IRMs were reviewed including: accidents; violations of controlled airspace (VCA); breakdowns of separation (BOS) and airproxes; fire, smoke, explosions or fumes; crew injury or incapacitation; fuel exhaustion; and uncontained engine failures. Charter flying activity, measured as flying hours and number of charter operators, was also reviewed. Hours flown in charter operations initially declined over the study period with an increase across 2004 to 2006. However, the number of hours flown in 2006, the latest year reviewed, was not as high as the historical peak in charter hours observed in 1999. The number of charter operators decreased in 2005 and 2006, so fewer operators conducted more of the hours flown in those years. Total IRMs reported and the IRM categories examined, were generally stable with the exception of accidents. The rate of accidents decreased significantly between 2001 and 2006. Occurrences involving fire, smoke or fumes, and airspace-related occurrences such as VCA and BOS/airprox, remained stable with no statistically significant increase in the rate across 2001 to 2006. The rate of fuel exhaustion occurrences for the period was 0.4 occurrences per 100,000 hours flown. The other IRM categories; crew injury/incapacitation and uncontained engine failures, were rare. This review provided encouraging data on the charter accident rate, emphasised the stability of the rate of airspace related occurrences, and the rarity of uncontained engine failures and crew incapacitation in charter operations. [Taken from abstract]. The full text is available in PDF format so Adobe Acrobat software is required in order to read it. Ueberlingen Accident Investigation Report This page makes available the full text in PDF format of the investigation report of the German Federal Bureau of Aircraft Accidents Investigation on the accident near Ueberlingen on 1 July 2002. Appendices 1 and 3 and Appendices 2-10 are also included. UK Airprox Board (UKAB) The agreed definition of an Airprox is a situation in which, in the opinion of a pilot or a controller, the distance between aircraft as well as their relative positions and speed have been such that the safety of the aircraft involved was or may have been compromised. The role of the UKAB is to provide a start point for an investigation process into each incident, to analyse what happened and determine the main causal factors, to assess the risk levels involved, and to publish and distribute full reports twice a year. The site describes the UKAB's activities, and provides access to news items and the published reports. Other sections of the site describe the process which is followed on receipt of an Airprox report, causal factors and risk ratings, lessons identified, safety recommendations and statistics. Warwick Air Accident Database The database contains accidents in which aircraft were totally lost or sustained major damage, and covers commercial fixed wing aircraft engaged in both scheduled and non-scheduled flights. Details of accidents related to passenger, cargo, positioning and ferry flights are included for jet, turboprop and piston aircraft which seat at least 15 passengers and/or have a maximum take-off weight of greater than 12,500lbs. The current database, which contains accidents from 1977 to the end of 1997, includes about 2000 accidents. The database includes information on the nature of the accidents and the events that contributed to them, together with details of the location, airline, phase of flight and environmental conditions. Please note that the information provided in this database is intended for workers and researchers within the aircraft industry, and is provided free of charge. Eligible individuals may apply for access by clicking the 'Register' icon. |
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