Flight Safety Information April 28, 2017 - No. 086 AOPA, NTSB MEET ON AVIATION SAFETY, ACCIDENT REPORTING First EASA, CAAC safety conference promotes aviation safety improvements FAA BEGINS DRONE MAP RELEASE FAA and Aireon Announce Space-Based ADS-B Flight Test Success Security chief for Chicago Dept of Aviation fired United Reaches Settlement With Man Pulled Off Airplane You're Never Going to Get $10,000 for Your United Airlines Seat U.S. Customs Needs Pilots American Airlines delays Boeing, Airbus jet deliveries Northern California Business Aviation Association (NCBAA) Safety Day - May 9 New Graduate Research Survey Graduate Research Survey -2. Graduate Research Survey Request-3 SAFE Encourages Pilot Input on GA Runway Incursions (Survey) AOPA, NTSB MEET ON AVIATION SAFETY, ACCIDENT REPORTING The National Transportation Safety Board will participate in periodic meetings with AOPA and other aviation organizations in a joint effort to improve flight safety by establishing a regular channel for airing concerns and proposing solutions. The NTSB's Robert Sumwalt, Earl Weener, John DeLisi, and Tim LeBaron visit with AOPA's Mark Baker, Richard McSpadden, Ken Mead, Jim Coon, Katie Pribyl, Tom Haines, and other AOPA staff April 21, 2017, in Frederick, Maryland. Photo by David Tulis. AOPA hosted Acting NTSB Chairman Robert L. Sumwalt, Board Member Earl F. Weener, Office of Aviation Safety Director John DeLisi, and Senior Aviation Investigator Tim LeBaron in a visit to AOPA headquarters April 21, where they joined AOPA President Mark Baker and a senior management delegation from AOPA and the Air Safety Institute in a wide-ranging discussion of aviation safety. For all the latest in GA news, start your AOPA Pilot Magazine subscription now. The discussion touched on ways to most accurately characterize the probable causes published in NTSB accident reports. AOPA had expressed concerns to the NTSB in March about several accident reports in which findings of pilot medical incapacitation did not appear to be supported by the evidence. There was agreement that it was important for accident investigation reports to "connect the dots" to avoid any appearance of speculation about the probable cause. Baker shared with the NTSB members AOPA's work with the FAA and industry on ways to more effectively equip the general aviation fleet with modern safety equipment. Simplifying certification pathways "will help with continuing the downward trajectory of fatal accidents that we have experienced over the past 20 years," and could help eliminate loss-of-control accidents from the NTSB's list of most-wanted safety improvements. In September 2016, the NTSB released statistics confirming that GA accidents continued to decline, noting that the GA fatality rate for 2015 was the lowest it had been in many years. The total number of accidents declined from 2014, as did the rate of accidents per 100,000 flight hours, the agency said. The NTSB officials toured AOPA headquarters and viewed a presentation about AOPA's 78-year history of supporting GA and promoting aviation safety and education. They were briefed on the Air Safety Institute's work to serve as the leading influence in pursuit of a world without fatal GA accidents. The presentation also highlighted the AOPA Fly-Ins that have been attended by 44,000 people and 6,000 aircraft (with the 2017 fly-in schedule set to begin in Camarillo, California, on April 28 and 29); and an introduction to AOPA's You Can Fly initiative. You Can Fly is AOPA's umbrella program that pursues targeted efforts to build the pilot population by supporting flying clubs and flight schools; advancing high school science, technology, engineering, and math education; and getting lapsed aviators flying again through the seminars of the Rusty Pilots program. Baker expressed appreciation for Sumwalt's leadership and for his and the NTSB's "willingness to listen and address our concerns." Representatives from AOPA will pay a return visit to the NTSB at the first quarterly meeting to discuss aviation safety. https://www.aopa.org/news-and-media/all-news/2017/april/26/aopa-ntsb-meet-on-aviation- safety-accident-reporting Back to Top First EASA, CAAC safety conference promotes aviation safety improvements The executive director of the European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA), Patrick Ky, and the vice administrator of the Civil Aviation Administration of China (CAAC), Li Jian, opened the joined safety conference organized by the two organizations on April 27, 2017, bringing together leading CEOs from the European and Chinese aviation industry. The conference marks a new high in aviation ties between Europe and China. EASA PhotoThe conference marks a new high in aviation ties between Europe and China. EASA Photo The conference marks a new high in aviation ties between Europe and China. These have steadily grown closer over recent years. In the presence of CAAC administrator Feng Zhenglin and the European commission director general for mobility and transport Henrik Hololei, leading members of the aviation community discussed progress on establishing a future Bilateral Air Safety Agreement (BASA). More uniform standards, agreed through the BASA, will make it easier for companies to sell their aviation products in China and Europe, while maintaining the high safety record that both regions benefit from. Trends defining the future of aviation safety were discussed in the different panels of the conference taking place in Shanghai. Topics included implementing efficient safety management systems for maintenance, new technologies and developments in the field of aircraft navigation systems and efforts to promote the use of rotorcraft more widely in China for essential emergency medical services for example. Successful joint cooperation initiatives include the bi-annual airworthiness management meeting, a newly established flight standards dialogue between CAAC and EASA that took place for the first time in the same week of the conference and the EU-China Aviation Partnership Project that supports the ongoing dialogues between the authorities and industry with concrete technical cooperation activities. The conference brought all these efforts together by signing a joint declaration to promote international aviation safety, a letter of intent supporting the implementation of the EU-China Aviation Partnership Project for its second year and the memorandum of cooperation for the newly established flight standards dialogue. https://www.verticalmag.com/press-releases/first-easa-caac-safety-conference-promotes- aviation-safety-improvements/#sthash.VW2q9MAl.dpuf Back to Top FAA BEGINS DRONE MAP RELEASE The FAA on April 27 began to publish electronic maps for airports across the country that detail where and at what altitudes remote pilots may hope to achieve clearance to fly unmanned aircraft in certain types of controlled airspace. This information will be useful to all sorts of pilots. The FAA is publishing maps like this one for airports across the country, detailing altitude limits on unmanned aircraft operations in grid squares. Image courtesy of the FAA. The maps lay foundation for the Low Altitude Authorization and Notification Capability (LAANC), a system for drone traffic control that the FAA hopes to have online by the end of 2017. Remote pilots are expected to benefit from more rapid access to airspace where currently the time required to gain authorization makes many operations near airports impractical, while manned pilots also will have more information available to them about where routine unmanned aircraft system (UAS) operations are expected to occur. Part 107, which governs unmanned aircraft, restricts operations in Class B, C, D, and E surface area airspace, though the FAA has authorized many unmanned operations in controlled airspace on a case-by-case basis since the regulation for small UAS took effect in August. A rapidly growing number of remote pilots who wish to operate within controlled airspace have submitted requests through the FAA online system, though with little guidance or insight on how the FAA evaluates each airspace authorization request. The agency expects a huge surge in drone activity, particularly commercial operations conducted under Part 107, in the coming 20 years, and is working to automate the UAS airspace authorization procedure as much as possible. More efficiency will allow the agency to scale up and meet growing demand for airspace authorizations; agency staff currently need three to four weeks to process an authorization request, and LAANC could bring that down to minutes in some cases. The digital maps being made public through the FAA UAS Data Delivery System include a grid overlay that depicts acceptable altitude limits for UAS operations near airports around the country. Remote pilots can reference this information when planning flights and preparing to submit online authorization requests, with the expectation being that a request designed to conform with the local limits will be more likely to achieve rapid approval. Operations outside of the defined limits may still be approved, but will require more detailed review. Manned pilots also can glean useful information studying the UAS facility maps for airports they use, as the maps will show where UAS operations may be more likely. Hobbyist drone pilots can use the UAS facility maps as a resource to identify what acceptable altitudes are around airports more generally, including airports with no control tower. The facility maps studied by AOPA to date are consistent with Part 77 protections. Google Earth base map with FAA data overlay. The area around each airport is divided into a grid with an associated altitude limit, such as "400" for a grid square where there is no local altitude restriction (Part 107 operations are generally limited to 400 feet agl, except in close proximity to a structure, or as authorized by a waiver) or "200" for a grid where UAS operations may be possible at or below 200 feet. Grids marked with a "0" are deemed too close to manned operations to allow any UAS operations. The grids will be updated on the same 56-day cycle that applies to other aviation charts. The FAA plans to have all facility maps published by Oct. 31. AOPA has studied several facility maps and determined they are consistent with obstruction protections that limit construction of structures (obstacles) near airports, as well as the protections provided for instrument approaches. AOPA continues to advise remote pilots to pay attention to detail when submitting airspace authorization requests, as many applications filed to date have been rejected or delayed by incomplete or inaccurate information. Requesting an operation that fits below the designated ceiling for UAS operations depicted on a facility map does not guarantee approval. https://www.aopa.org/news-and-media/all-news/2017/april/27/faa-begins-drone-map-release Back to Top FAA and Aireon Announce Space-Based ADS-B Flight Test Success Aireon global space-based ADS-B diagram. Photo: Aireon Aireon and the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) announced a successful flight test of space-based Automatic Dependent Surveillance-Broadcast (ADS-B) technology, collecting data to be used as part of a larger validation effort exploring the new system's capability from Low Earth Orbit (LEO). The flight took place on March 30, using the FAA's "flying laboratory" Bombardier jet, know as N47, with three AireonSM payloads available to receive data. A total of 2,462 ADS-B messages were received and decoded, providing comparable data to that of terrestrial ADS-B stations. According to the FAA, the flight test was highly choreographed and precisely located and timed within the Washington and New York Flight Information Regions (FIRs) to help provide validation of the capabilities of the Aireon system. Made possible by the FAA's NextGen program, the coordinated flight test involved trials of 125- watt top and bottom-mounted antennas on the FAA's N47. The FAA retrofitted the aircraft with calibrated antennas, flight-data test equipment, and recorders. Based out of the FAA William J. Hughes Technical Center in Atlantic City, New Jersey, the N47 aircraft helped begin the evaluation and verification of the performance of the Aireon system, particularly in high interference and high-density environments. Aireon's space-based ADS-B global surveillance and aircraft tracking technology is largely a combination of FAA NextGen advancements, and the Iridium Next satellite constellation, which hosts the Aireon ADS-B receivers. Aireon's space-based ADS-B system will be operational in 2018, shortly after completion of the Iridium Next satellite constellation. The service will provide Air Navigation Service Providers (ANSPs) with global air traffic surveillance and airlines with real-time flight tracking. http://www.satellitetoday.com/telecom/2017/04/27/faa-aireon-announce-space-based-ads-b- flight-test-success/ Back to Top Security chief for Chicago Dept of Aviation fired CHICAGO - The security chief for Chicago's O'Hare and Midway airports has been fired from the position. The Chicago Tribune reports Jeffrey Redding failed to fully disclose the sexual harassment allegations against him by a female toll collector that prompted the Illinois toll way to terminate him from his job there. The Chicago Dept of Aviation released a statement saying: Effective today, Jeffrey Redding has been terminated from his duties at the Chicago Department of Aviation . Aviation Security Assistant Commissioner Kevin Zator will oversee safety and security operations for the CDA in the interim. Redding had been on the hot seat since city aviation police officers dragged a passenger off a United airlines plane in an incident that went viral. However, his firing today was for not coming clean about the end of his employment at the toll authority. http://wgntv.com/2017/04/27/security-chief-for-chicago-dept-of-aviation-fired/ Back to Top United Reaches Settlement With Man Pulled Off Airplane CHICAGO (AP) - A Kentucky doctor who was dragged off a United flight after he refused to give up his seat to crew members has reached a settlement with the airline for undisclosed amount. David Dao's legal team announced the settlement Thursday in a brief statement. The agreement includes a provision that the amount will remain confidential. Cellphone video of the April 9 confrontation aboard a jetliner at Chicago's O'Hare Airport sparked widespread public outrage over the treatment of Dao. The footage showed airport police officers pulling the 69-year-old father of five from his seat and dragging him down the aisle. His lawyer says he lost teeth and suffered a broken nose and a concussion. http://dfw.cbslocal.com/2017/04/27/united-settlement-man-pulled-off-airplane/ Back to Top You're Never Going to Get $10,000 for Your United Airlines Seat * Carriers have cut down on denied boardings in recent years. * When it does happen, passengers will usually settle for less. The world was horrified to watch a bloodied United passenger dragged off a jet in Chicago earlier this month. While the assault by O'Hare security personnel had zero to do with an oversold flight, 1 linkage to that longstanding policy of putting profit over the occasional ticket-holder was swift. It's been under attack ever since. On Thursday, United and the victimized passenger, Dr. David Dao, settled their dispute out of court. But the repercussions have been much wider, triggering modified overbooking policies and even elimination of the practice altogether at some carriers. Now the bid by airlines to mollify an outraged flying public has culminated with promised, eye-popping payments for your seat when a flight is oversold-up to $10,000 at United Continental Holdings Inc. and Delta Air Lines Inc. But if you're suddenly hatching schemes to snare ten large by purchasing a ticket on a peak Monday morning or Friday night flight, you may want to hold off. There is no "$10,000 jackpot" at the airport waiting to be hit. Not really. Overbooking has become a fundamental component of how carriers manage revenue. It's a rational way to fill every seat in the face of inevitable, everyday issues that cause passengers to miss or skip their flights. Historically when it happens, volunteers are sought with the promise of a free hotel stay and travel vouchers. If no one pipes up, unlucky passengers are selected from among cattle class in back (the wealthy and business travelers up front rarely get bumped.) Those selected get the same hotel room, and maybe some money and other goodies, just like the volunteers. Oscar Munoz, chief executive officer of United Continental Holdings Inc., pauses while speaking to members of the media after a discussion at the U.S. Chamber of Commerce aviation summit in Washington, D.C., U.S., on Thursday, March 2, 2017. The 16th annual summit is entitled Technology, Innovation and the Future of Aviation. Photographer: Andrew Harrer/Bloomberg But back to the new big payout. Neither Delta nor United are likely to dole out $10,000 to solve an oversold flight. For one thing, they won't need to. Two people on the United Express flight to Louisville where Dao received his injuries got less than $1,000 for giving up their seats. A third offered to do so for $1,000. Thus, some amount greatly under $10,000 appears to be a suitable market price for an airline to free up whatever few odd seats it might need. American Airlines, meanwhile, doesn't disclose a maximum compensation, but sets the amount "properly in order to obtain the correct number of volunteers," spokesman Ross Feinstein said. Secondly, in this casino, the house holds all the cards. The airlines decide which flights will be oversold and by how many seats, based on past data. They can curb, expand, or stop the practice as they see fit. United, for one, plans to reduce overbooking; currently only 4 percent of its flights have more ticketed customers ready to board than available seats, the airline said Thursday. Besides, it's a safe bet that the United incident has caused a thorough review of overselling protocols at every carrier that does it. None wants to create customer hostility at the gate, given all the smartphone video cameras, and none wants to write sizable future-travel vouchers. And no one wants the public relations disaster United brought on itself in Chicago. Just ask CEO Oscar Munoz. Sizable compensation almost always comes into play when a carrier is facing an "involuntary denied boarding" scenario. That means the volunteer supply has been exhausted and the gate agent is about to force people off a flight. Scrutinize the government data on these two groups-volunteers versus the involuntary-and the former group dwarfs the latter. Last year, this was about 434,400 and 40,600 people, respectively. At Delta, the world's second-largest airline, only 0.1 percent of its 129.3 million passengers last year were bumped involuntarily, or 1,238 people. This data means that most bumped passengers took an airline's initial offers, not a more lucrative one that likely came when the airline was confronted by an indignant passenger whose seat was nicked against her will at the last minute. These payments are typically in future travel vouchers, not cash, but it depends. Gary Kelly, chairman and chief executive officer of Southwest Airlines Co., pauses while speaking during the company's annual shareholders meeting in Chicago, Illinois, U.S., on Wednesday, May 18, 2016. Pilots picketed the meeting to protest the lack of a new contract with the company despite four years of negotiations. The union also recently sued the carrier to block it from flying a new aircraft that's not listed in their current contract. Photographer: Daniel Acker/Bloomberg On Thursday, Southwest Airlines Co. announced it would stop overselling as part of its transition to a new reservation system. The Dallas-based carrier said the new information technology, from Amadeus IT Group SA, will make its seating forecast "dramatically" more accurate, largely obviating the need for overbooking. Even with the shift, some denied boardings will still occur-at Southwest and elsewhere for reasons as varied as swaps from larger to smaller aircraft to, as in the case of United and Dr. Dao, the need to accommodate flight crews. "As time has gone by we have been fortunate to have fewer and fewer no-shows, so the gross amount of the problem is far less today than it was 20 years ago," Southwest CEO Gary Kelly said on a quarterly conference call. He conceded that the United incident had moved the issue onto his spring agenda. Overbooking is an airline tool to boost revenue, but it's not a necessity; its costs will be very closed managed. That magical maximum payout? It's more P.R. than promise-you'll have a better shot at picking up $10,000 in Vegas than at the airport. https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2017-04-28/you-re-never-going-to-get-10-000-for- your-united-airlines-seat Back to Top U.S. Customs Needs Pilots Government service flying offers an adventure-filled alternative to the airlines or corporate jobs. The U.S. Customs and Border Protection agency is offering pilots a career with a little more variety and even more adventure. With the airlines currently hiring hundreds of pilots each month, the next decade is shaping up to be incredible for experienced aviators searching for a cockpit job. Many think only of an airline career. But not every young pilot is thrilled at the idea of spending 30 years cruising at FL350 for hours on end, despite the chance to visit some exotic destinations. The U.S. Customs and Border Protection people think they offer a career with a little more variety, not to mention some adventure. When I caught up with one of the CBP's public affairs and recruitment officers at Heli-Expo in Dallas last month, I admitted I'd never even heard the air interdiction agent title they give their pilots. These pilots support all the Department of Homeland Security's air and marine operations from duty stations around the United States, but mostly near either the Mexican or Canadian borders. Using both fixed-wing and rotary aircraft, agents conduct air to air, air to water, and air to ground interdiction of both people and vehicles illegally crossing U.S. borders. Air interdiction pilots also patrol lakes and rivers to prevent the illegal entry of weapons of terror, illegal narcotics and the entry of undocumented aliens. Air interdiction agent Michael Fuller told Flying the air and marine operation group "needs 60 to 100 pilots right now." But the top brass at DHS worries more about "the 50 percent of their 1,200-strong pilot workforce that's going to retire over the next five to eight years." CBP's fleet includes rotary wing aircraft like EC-120s, H-120s, H-125s, Hueys and a couple of S-76s. The fixed-wing fleet is comprised of Cessna 206s, Pilatus and Citation aircraft, as well as a few Dash 8s, P-3s and a large number of King Airs. Fuller said that for years the service never had a problem finding aviators, but with so many heading to the airlines the competition for pilots has become pretty stiff, especially on the rotary wing side. Fuller admitted one reason for the shortage of rotary pilots might stem from a few of the service's far-flung duty locations like Yuma, Arizona, and Laredo or McAllen, Texas. Before heading over to the CBP's application page, Fuller detailed the basic pilot requirements to be considered. There's a commercial pilot certificate and "1,500 total time, of which 100 must have been logged in the last year. That total must also include 75 night and 75 instrument." He said previous leadership training somewhere along the line is considered a plus. Once an application garners the attention of the right people at CBP, the hiring process begins with a polygraph, followed by an intensive background check and a basic physical. If the applicant passes this stage, Fuller said, "they're invited to Oklahoma City where a fixed-wing pilot can expect to fly the required maneuvers for a commercial checkride in an aircraft like the Cessna 206." Assuming the checkride evaluation's successful and the pilot then passes a Second-Class FAA medical exam, applicants could be offered a pilot position that begins with 16 weeks of CBP training in Georgia, plus another six weeks of Spanish language education for those not already fluent. Pay begins at $78,000 and offers the possibility for premium pay based upon the shift schedules, nights, Sundays and holidays. And of course, there's a full retirement plan available. "CBP has also been actively visiting university flight schools to make the case for a government flying job with younger pilots who might not qualify today," Fuller said. "We want them to remember us when they do meet our minimum requirements." http://www.flyingmag.com/us-customs-needs-pilots Back to Top American Airlines delays Boeing, Airbus jet deliveries American Airlines Group Inc said on Thursday it had deferred the delivery of several wide-body Boeing and Airbus jets, in the latest sign of oversupply in the market for long-distance airliners. The decision by American to push back some of its Boeing Co and Airbus orders comes two weeks after Delta Air Lines Inc said it was reviewing wide-body jet orders to address excess capacity, noting that reductions were likely over the next several years. While demand for smaller and more standardised narrowbody aircraft has proved resilient to economic weakness as leasing companies move them to where they are most needed, the market for the more customised widebody jets is more easily saturated as manufacturers bring out competing models simultaneously. American said alongside its earnings on Thursday that it was delaying first delivery of its Airbus A350 jets from 2018 to 2020 and deferring delivery of two Boeing 787-9s to the first quarter of 2019 from second-quarter 2018 to "provide widebody capacity flexibility" in its fleet. "We have some flexibility in how long we retain some of our other widebodies, so by pushing back the A350 we can keep those other planes longer, or not, in line with demand," American spokesman Joshua Freed said. American Airlines has 22 A350-900 passenger jets on order, according to the latest data from Airbus, which was hit by Delta's decision to discuss delays in wide-body jet deliveries. Delta has no wide-body Boeing jets on order, but has unfilled orders for more than 50 Airbus wide-body jets including 25 A350-900s, the same number of future A330-900 aircraft and one current A330-300 model. Airbus Finance Director Harald Wilhelm said earlier he was not worried about signs of weakness because of a cushion of 6,700 unfilled orders. "What matters is whether the backlog is robust, whether there are any significant movements in there and I can clearly confirm that this is not the case," he told reporters after posting weaker first-quarter profits. Boeing said on Wednesday it was seeing "varying levels of near-term demand" for wide-body jets, but predicted a wave of replacement demand at the start of next decade. http://www.reuters.com/article/american-airlines-results-jets-idUSL8N1HZ8QQ Back to Top Back to Top New Graduate Research Survey Hello my name is DEREK HAYNES and I am an MSc student at City University of London and a Captain on the B787. I trust you are well and I know that you are busy. Would you kindly please spare me a few minutes of your valuable time to complete my Air Transport Management MSc Pilot Survey - preferably by 27th April, (project deadline 1st May - it is anonymous). It takes <8 mins. Thanks a million, Derek. The survey can be completed here: https://www.surveymonkey.co.uk/r/WRQ686G Back to Top Graduate Research Survey -2 Dear colleagues, The flight crew of an airliner is expected to exhibit very high levels of decision making, all the time. Disasters are often attributed to poor decision making skills that are rigorously scrutinised after the event but a good decision never faces similar depth of review. I am doing a research on this very topic and need your help with a short anonymous survey. The primary objectives of this survey are to evaluate: 1. How pilots make decisions in a time and safety critical situation. 2. Whether there are any comparisons with other professionals facing similar time and safety pressures. The survey can be completed here: https://www.surveymonkey.co.uk/r/7TKJ66K Can you spare a few moments to take my survey? www.surveymonkey.co.uk Please take the survey titled "Anonymous Survey- Decision making in a time and safety critical environment.City University of London naveed.kapadia@city.ac.uk". Your feedback is important! Thank you for your help and support with this research. Naveed MSc student at City University of London Back to Top Graduate Research Survey Request-3 My name is Mohamed Sheryenna. I'm a student at the University of South wales (UK), MSc. Aircraft Maintenance System. I'm conducting this research about Importance of Implementation SMS to Aircraft Maintenance: For reducing accidents. This study would look to understand the approaches and benefits of implementation SMS in Aircraft maintenance organization to reduce risk of accidents or at least mitigate it by identify and manage risks in predictive phase. Moreover, the study sought to determine the influence of the organizational culture and its effective on maintenance. In addition, to assess some tools used by SMS to support maintenance and engineering to obtain optimal aircraft maintenance. Ultimately, the effectiveness of an SMS implementation means the organization can manage the complexity of these mechanisms to defend against risk incubation. All the information will be treated confidentially and reported in the aggregate. The resultant data will be analyzed as part of my master degree's thesis. I will strictly respect the confidentiality of all participants' input. If you are a participant, and if you desire, I will provide you with a copy of the outcomes of my study. Please return the survey with your business card or contact information to indicate your interest in receiving a copy of the results. I would greatly appreciate your input to my survey. I realize that you are very busy; and completion of the survey should require not more than 10 minutes of your time. These questionnaires are intended to explore SMS in Aircraft maintenance and are purely for academic purpose. Your participation in this research will be highly appreciated. please click the link below to go through the survey http://www.smartsurvey.co.uk/s/8YYUA/ Thank you very much for your cooperation. Sincerely yours, Mohamed Sheryenna 15050033@students.southwales.ac.uk Tel. 00447459876975 Back to Top SAFE Encourages Pilot Input on GA Runway Incursions (Survey) Active general aviation (GA) pilots are being asked to help an ongoing study of GA runway incursions by completing a new online questionnaire. The FAA has said that runway incursions - a vehicle or aircraft on the ground endangering aircraft landing or taking off - average three per day and are a "serious safety concern." GA pilots are involved in about 80 percent of runway incursions. "The question is, what are GA pilots doing, or not doing, that results in so many runway incursions?" said Professor Donna F. Wilt of the Florida Institute of Technology College of Aeronautics. "By analyzing such occurrences we can help mitigate those dangerous situations." The study is being conducted by the FIT College of Aeronautics, Hampton University Department of Aviation and Purdue University Department of Aviation Technology. It is funded through the Partnership to Enhance General Aviation Safety, Accessibility and Sustainability (PEGASAS), and the FAA Center of Excellence for GA. SAFE is a partner of PEGASAS. The questionnaire will be available from April 1 through April 30, 2017. To take the new questionnaire, click here or click on or copy and past the URL below. The questionnaire is also available on the SAFE web site at www.SAFEPilots.org and will be available at the SAFE booth at Sun 'n Fun. SAFE is encouraging its members to participate in the project. Direct Link URL: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSeiJFFh52kh_afnEN7qoBRoliQvqLSUhksMQAGDGbO- EcDweg/viewform?usp=sf_link For more information, contact the project's Principal Investigator, Dr. Scott Winter. SAFE is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization dedicated to supporting and promoting aviation education at all levels of learning. SAFE is a recognized leader in pilot training reform, safety education, and the mentoring of aviation educators. For information on free resource materials and membership, go to www.safepilots.org. Scott Winter Assistant Professor of Aviation Science College of Aeronautics, Florida Institute of Technology 321-674-7639 (Office) 218-269-9376 (Cell) Curt Lewis