NTSB to Urge Safety Changes in Crash’s Wake: THE TRAGEDY OF FLIGHT 5191

By Janet Patton, The Lexington Herald-Leader, Ky.

Jun. 7–WASHINGTON — Federal investigators looking into the fatal crash of Comair Flight 5191 will recommend safety changes on July 26 when they meet to determine the probable cause of the accident.

National Transportation Safety Board chairman Mark Rosenker said yesterday that the recommendations, which he did not outline, are necessary because the problems that contributed to the Lexington crash “must never happen again.”

Rosenker spoke at a congressional hearing on the Federal Aviation Administration’s lack of action on previous safety recommendations known as the NTSB’s “Most Wanted.”

During the hearing, members of Congress expressed concern that years of vigilance may not be enough to prevent future accidents without more federal action. Rep. Jim Oberstar, D-Minn., chairman of the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, pressed FAA officials on the need for a system to give pilots an immediate warning when they are in the wrong place.

The Comair flight crashed after the pilots attempted to take off from the wrong, too-short runway. The pilot, flight attendant and 47 passengers were killed; only the co-pilot, who was severely injured, survived.

Margaret Gilligan, FAA associate administrator for aviation safety, defended the agency’s progress, saying that surface awareness lighting systems are being tested and global-positioning satellite devices will soon be allowed in commercial cockpits.

“New technology is under review, and we do have airlines committed to putting that technology in their flight deck once it’s approved,” Gilligan said.

“That’s in the aftermath of the Kentucky accident,” Oberstar pointed out. He added, “Situational awareness on the ground is critical as well as in the air.”

Oberstar said that at least 140 airports have confusing runway-taxiway systems and asked what the agencies are doing “to improve training and awareness for pilots.” He did not mention Blue Grass Airport specifically as having a confusing runway.

“Clearly we are very interested in that,” Rosenker responded. “We’re making recommendations we’ll be presenting in our ‘sunshine’ meeting on the 26th of July on the Comair accident in Lexington. … We will have a determination of probable cause and be making recommendations concerning that specific accident, but many of these recommendations could apply to other situations as well.”

When a plane, vehicle or person strays into the wrong place on a runway, it is considered a “runway incursion,” and there are hundreds every year. The Lexington crash would be considered a runway incursion under international aviation rules, which the FAA is adopting.

The NTSB has put high public priority on preventing incursions since 1990, but Rosenker said it is only in the last two years that the FAA has taken action. “The FAA is doing a great job testing these systems,” he said. “The question we have is, when will you finally implement that technology?”

The NTSB has already issued two sets of recommendations stemming from the Comair crash. In December, the board urged the FAA to order airlines to require pilots to cross-check instruments to ensure they are on the right runway and to give pilots specific instructions for runway lighting requirements at night.

In April, the NTSB called for revising air traffic controller schedules to help them get more sleep.

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Copyright (c) 2007, The Lexington Herald-Leader, Ky.

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