Flight Safety Foundation Flight Safety Digest 2005-2006

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January–February 2006

High Stakes in Language Proficiency 36 pages. [PDF 1.1M]

In an effort to reduce accidents involving communication deficiencies, ICAO is requiring pilots, controllers and aeronautical station operators involved in international operations to be tested for their ability to speak and understand English. At stake are careers, industry investment in training and testing — and safety.

November–December 2005

Unlocking the Potential of a Safety Management System 36 pages. [PDF 796K]

Chief executive officers have comprehensive guidance available to weave a strong safety net from their disparate safety programs. An SMS offers airlines a more realistic picture of operational risks and an objective method to allocate constrained resources, while eventually enabling regulators to focus on system-level oversight.

October 2005

Analysis of Crew Conversations Provides Insights for Accident Investigation 36 pages. [PDF 934K]

New methods of examining recorded voice communications can help investigators evaluate interactions between flight crewmembers and determine the quality of the work environment on the flight deck.

August–September 2005

Lessons From the Dawn of Ultra-long-range Flight 64 pages. [PDF 1.4M]

Validation studies of nonstop flights between Singapore and the United States show that recommended operational guidelines developed by Flight Safety Foundation can help airlines worldwide to expand their operational envelope while maintaining safety.

July 2005

Here Come the Very Light Jets 52 pages. [PDF 1.8M]

Unique training programs are being developed to meet the challenges of safely assimilating the forecast influx of VLJs, many of which will be flown by relatively inexperienced owner-pilots.

June 2005

‘Paperless Cockpit’ Promises Advances in Safety, Efficiency 56 pages. [PDF 1.4M]

Electronic flight bags are eliminating considerable paper from the flight deck while offering the flight crew a wide array of technological assistance. Nevertheless, these still-changing tools require more than casual understanding before flight crews can replace paper with electronics.

May 2005

See What’s Sharing Your Airspace 48 pages. [PDF 3.07M]

Trans-Pacific flights by a nearly 26,000-pound gross weight U.S. Air Force Global Hawk unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) helped drive the current quest for commercial applications. Flying UAVs in civil airspace demands solutions to problems such as collision avoidance and failure of data/communication links with a ground-based pilot thousands of miles from the aircraft.

April 2005

Understanding the Stall-recovery Procedure for Turboprop Airplanes in Icing Conditions 36 pages. [PDF 1.8M]

Current pilot training typically emphasizes powering through a stall recovery with no loss of altitude. Nevertheless, when flying a turboprop airplane that has accumulated ice, lowering the nose to reduce angle-of-attack is imperative. Here’s why.

March 2005

A Roadmap to a Just Culture: Enhancing the Safety Environment 52 pages. [PDF 928K]

Even an organization that promotes a ‘no blame’ culture cannot tolerate irresponsible or careless acts. This report offers guidelines for a ‘just culture’ that balances trust, which encourages reporting of safety-related information, with strict but fair consequences for unacceptable behavior.

February 2005

Line Operations Safety Audit (LOSA) Provides Data on Threats and Errors 36 pages. [PDF 868K]

Structured observations of routine flight operations help reveal an airline’s strengths and weaknesses. The nonpunitive data-collection program — a planned cornerstone of internationally required safety management systems — is being adapted to other areas, including flight dispatch, apron operations and air traffic control.

January 2005

In-flight Medical Incapacitation and Impairment of U.S. Airline Pilots: 1993 to 1998 44 pages. [PDF 961K]

A study by the Civil Aerospace Medical Institute of the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration found that in-flight medical events involving U.S. airline pilots were rare. In the six years covered by the study, 50 medical events occurred involving flight crewmembers; of those, two events resulted in nonfatal accidents.