Aviation Safety

Aviation Safety 1

Running head : Aviation Safety

Aviation Safety

(Customer 's name

(Course name , number and section

(Term

(Instructor 's name

10 /03 /2008

Aviation Safety 2

Table of contents

Abstract .3

Introduction .3

Safety problem one : approach and landing .3

Safety problem two : deregulation of airline industry .5

Planning to avoid approach and landing accidents .7

Safety planning for dealing with deregulation .9

Conclusion .11

References .11

Aviation Safety 3

Abstract p

This describes the two major problems of air fatalities One is the accidents during approach and landing phase of the flight and other is deregulation of aviation industry . Further this focuses on safety planning with respect to above two problems and gives an idea on how companies and pilots should deal with these problems to reduce the accident rate

Introduction

It is very well known that aviation industry is a rapidly growing industry in the recent time . But with the glowing side of industry , there is a dark side which can be defined as deadly aviation accidents , so it is essential to apply some safety procedure and planning in to avoid fatal accidents . These accidents occur mostly in the approach and landing phase of the flight and there is another reason for accidents in the form of deregulated aviation industry . This deregulation has made the more competitive and lowered cost market era , because of this aviation companies are compromising with their safety programs and which is resulting in the deadly accidents . So , to avoid these fatalities , aviation companies should plan some safety procedures and the Federal Aviation Administration should move ahead to make journeys more safe

Safety problem one : approach and landing

Approach and landing phase is one of the major causes of aviation accidents . This factor is accounted for fifty percent of fatalities in recent years . At the time of approach and landing a term called `controlled flight into terrain ' occurs most commonly , it can be described as when an aircraft under the control of the pilot is flown unintentionally into terrain fence or water , usually with no prior awareness by the pilot This type of accident can occur during different phases of flight , but it is more common during the approach and landing phase , this begins when a plane under the control of the pilot descends below five thousand feet above ground level with the intention to conduct an

Aviation Safety 4

approach and ends when the landing is complete or the pilot flies the aircraft above five thousand feet above ground level towards another airport

In ninety percent cases , an accident during approach or landing occurs under marginal conditions because the pilot chooses to continue the approach even though things are not quite right obviously hoping to catch up . There are some common examples of accident during approach or landing such as landing of the aircraft short of the runway , blowing out of the tires of the main landing gear upon landing , touching down and departing away from the runway etc

Weather plays a great role in approach and landing related accidents . There are several major factors which should be considered during analysis of weather related approach or landing accidents . The first one is the specifics of the weather conditions at the time of the accident the ceiling fog , wind shear , visibility , cloud cover etc . Second one is aircraft itself that means was there any system function which alerted the flight characteristics at the time of accident were there any item in the minimum equipment list which increased workload . The third one is pilot , how well prepared was he to cope with the critical conditions he faced at the time of accident , did he have sufficient sleep before he took off etc

The fact should be recalled weather can make the flight 's environment not only hostile , but deadly . On one side , weather can rapidly affect the entire air mass through which the aircraft is moving , thereby changing the dynamic responses of the plane , and at the same time , it can produce difficult visibility , and further change the effective dynamics of the craft through delays or misinterpretations in the pilot feedback , especially during the critical activity to land after sighting the runway during an instrument approach . And even with today 's technically sound weather satellites and weather measuring systems , the pilot must still take the final decision of whether to land or go around . There is little pilots can do about fast changing air masses , with respect to wind shear for example , apart from avoiding the condition or carrying sufficient speed so that when the shear is encountered , with application of proper technique , the plane will continue to fly . In the same way , there is little a pilot can do about less visibility except cope with it as best

Aviation Safety 5

he can . But in real , there is no practical method of measuring the most important parameter inclined visual range which is the pilot 's maximum visibility over the craft nose toward a ground based object . This can be compensated from other parameters that are measured such as the widespread visibility at the airport , ceiling and runway visual range . The runway could be in vision at the decision height , but the visual condition could change dramatically in a moment so that when a pilot breaks out of cloud covered conditions next time he could find the visual approach slope indicator reading red zone and shortly thereafter hear the sound of impact with the tops of trees

Safety problem two : deregulation of airline industry

As the Federal government deregulated the U .S . airline industry Faced with an increasingly competitive environment , individual carriers tried to hold down fares by making cost related cuts in policies and procedures related to safety . This competition led airlines to be extremely sparing on investments in safety for example , allowing aging crafts to take to the skies following routine inspections rather than replacing them with new craft . The Federal Aviation Administration , National Safety Board and an array of independent air safety experts have all examined recent year 's major accidents . But they have been unable to find a common link among them , with one major exception . They found a dramatic increase in the volume of air traffic since deregulation . According to James Otto

If there is a trend in accidents , it is a trend set by the increasing volume of air transport operations rather than any fundamental deterioration in the margins of safety (p . 28

This argument is comforting : more flights in the air simply result in more accidents with higher traffic volumes , so that the impact of deregulation has had only the broadest and most indirect influences upon the industry 's safety record . But the recent impetuous of safety problems to the neutral effect of higher traffic volume in the rouse of deregulation and leave it at that overlooks several critical points . For example , to remain competitive , many airlines schedule flights in clusters for the convenience of their passengers . This , in

Aviation Safety 6

turn , tends to increase risks among flight occurring at peak times . When accidents for smaller or regional airlines are factored in , it causes more worry , because it is found that sixteen percent of all airlines had safety records considerably worse than the norm . These figures strongly indicate that policies and practices by the airlines themselves may have acted as variables that have had a role in recent accidents There are two major factors that appear to have had a part in recent year 's major plane crashes , both of which can be related to cost cutting challenges upon the airlines generated by deregulation . The first of these concerns the crafts themselves . Some United States airlines are operating a higher percentage of elder planes . Approximately twenty three hundred to eight thousand odd commercial jets flown by major airline companies have passed twenty years of continuous service . The second major factor of air crashes is human error . Nowadays all U .S . aviation companies are facing a reduced pool of qualified pilots and flight personal staff to their company Deregulation has meant a higher level of demand for a finite number of qualified crew members , and , at the same time , the number of potential crew members leaving the country 's armed forces has dropped sharply in recent years . Less experienced pilots tend to make more mistakes than experienced ones , so that the labor demand growth that has taken place with deregulation coupled with a reduced number of former armed forces pilots available may well be a factor of weakening of airline safety

Smaller air carriers , flying short routes have much worse safety records than the major airlines . These smaller companies like their major airlines counter numbers , are subjected to Federal Aviation Administration monitoring and regulation , and the results of inquiries into the safety of the commuter lines has led the agency to suspend smaller airline operating certificates on about fifty occasions for safety violations . The major problem of small airlines is the shrinking pool of qualified pilots available to them . They are offering lower pay than the majors the smaller airlines have experienced a drain of talent as many of their most experienced pilots have left to take positions with the majors . At the same time willingness of the majors to accept less qualified pilots from sources apart from the smaller has decreased the quality of small airline hire yet another

Aviation Safety 7

notch . On some small airlines , pilots face several trips a day between less equipped airfields , and in addition must plan routes , study weather , handle baggage and even fuel the plane By engaging in this practice , the smaller ones reduce the capacity of the nation 's flight schools to enlarge the pool of personnel available to all carriers . If a shortage of qualified persons is identified as a factor that has some causal relation to a perceived decline in U .S . air carrier safety , this effect is most acute at the level of the smaller air carriers

The effect of deregulation upon safety for American airlines is mixed , inconclusive , but nevertheless broad enough . Older planes and less experienced persons will have a negative impact upon safety , and , in the case of smaller airlines , the latter has probably contributed to a performance record significantly below that of the major airlines

Planning to avoid approach and landing accidents

In to have a good approach , better landing and to avoid accident there are following steps which should be followed by an aviation company or its staff

1 . Proper planning before take off : The landing distance chart for the aircraft must be consulted before take off . There should be planning which consists of measuring the distance fuel consumption and then making sure that the airport has a long enough runway . Then there must be a preplanning performed by a certificated person with access to computer programs Pilot should make sure that there will be a suitable runway at the destination and they must have an alternative plan in case the intended landing runway is suddenly unavailable . The most basic need is to have a runway that is long enough for the aircraft under the given arrival conditions . This looks very simple to overlook but the past data has number of accidents that indicate otherwise . It is discreet and required by regulations to become familiar with all available information referencing to the flight . Even though this planning might indicate a suitable runway is there at the destination , it is cautious to have an alternative plan in case there is a drastic change in the wind or the pilot ahead closes the runway by forgetting to extend the landing gear

Aviation Safety 8

2 . Approaching the destination airport : While the destination end is approached , some information must be gained from the available means . This information should contain

Length of the runway

Traffic pattern in use

Direction and velocity of wind

Temperature of surface

Approach in use

Once above information has been gathered , an image of the alignment of the aircraft according to the traffic pattern approach or runway can be developed . It contributes to maintain good situational awareness and can help to avoid confusion and also the accidents . Once an image is developed , it becomes easier to visualize where other traffic is located as it is reported by air traffic control , thus accidents during approach can be avoided easily

3 . Approach should be kept stable : The airlines should take the stable approach from the subjective to the objective by identifying key elements and quantifying them to the scope possible . Pilots should adapt stable approach which contains following elements

The plane is in the right path

Little changes in heading or pitch are needed to maintain the correct path

Rate of descent is no more tan five hundred feet per minute if it is required to have a descent rate more than this due to approach considerations , special attention must be paid

Power setting is appropriate for the plane configuration

The speed of aircraft is not greater than desired approach speed and not even less than desired speed

The plane is in the correct landing configuration

All briefings and checklists have been completed

The pilot should become familiar with the above elements for stable approach

Once the approach briefing has been over , it is time for the pilot to focus on the exact execution of the approach and landing . Even a thoroughly planned approach needs a

Aviation Safety 9

high level of concentration . The spin accident continues to be one of the most common and deadlier accidents to occur during the approach phase of the aircraft . The primary responsibility of the pilot is to operate the aircraft safely within its performance envelope . The aircraft is commonly being flown at a reduced speed while in the airport vicinity . All pilots know the fact that stall speed increases during turns , so extra care must be taken to avoid an unintentional stall . Turns should be gentle and coordinated

Safety planning for dealing with deregulation

By setting high standards , Federal Aviation Administration should promote aviation safety and security , requiring airlines business to monitor and improve their own safety performance and also by developing objective methods of measuring the ability of companies to monitor and improve its own safety Significant efforts should be made in the direction of safety such as federal aviation administration should require commercial aviation companies to implement an analysis and surveillance program to evaluate the effectiveness of their maintenance and inspection process . Meaningful investment and effort should be put into developing the programs which can analyze safety performance and which will allow safety inspectors to compare the performance of similar operators to identify trends that could lead to reduced levels of safety . These approaches to aviation safety mistakes should be broadened . Aviation companies should be encouraged to implement systems that ensure their continued compliance with regulations and that promote continuous improvements in aviation safety . The Federal Aviation Administration should move toward implementing rules that establish performance standards especially for the small aviation companies , and the rule synthesis process should be streamlined and re-engineered . The regulatory process should be restructured to provide compelling technical and business incentives for industry to develop and certify products that help fulfill priority safety requirements

The Federal Aviation Administration and aviation companies smaller and larger ones both , should work together to develop standards for continuous safety improvement that recognize variations in company maturity and best industry practices These standards

Aviation Safety 10

should serve as the basis for certification , regulation and overview of the air carriers . Objective criteria should be developed so that Federal Aviation Administration could assess each carrier 's safety improvement process and performance and use this assessment to improve performance throughout the industry

Higher level standards for certification of airline should be applicable

For last few years the Federal Aviation Administration have devoted significant resources to helping new companies meet regulatory requirements and manage their operations . But from my point of view this is an inappropriate role for the government and there should be recommendations for actions that will improve the certification process . While the government should assist operators in improving the safety of their operations , it should not use its resources to compensate for lack of experience , technical expertise or judgment in a company 's operations

Certification standards and processes of the Federal Aviation Administration have not kept up with the changing needs of aviation industry . Nowadays , engine and airframes development is integrated , so accordingly the certification process must take into account the entire system rather than its individual parts , as it has not been taken into account till the time Considerable attention should be given to the issue of outsourcing of maintenance and other work . Because maintenance is a very essential factor to reduce the accident rates and if outsourcing is performed by qualified companies and personals , it does not present any problem . The complete focus of concern should be on the Federal Aviation Administration 's certification and omission of any and all companies performing aviation safety functions

These days aviation fatalities are less than those of past fatal years . The rarity of accidents can make it difficult to justify safety improvements under the cost criteria applied to regulatory activities . However , cost analysis can enlighten the regulatory process of making decision . Though this analysis can help identify the most appropriate cost for safety objective but there should not be any effect on safety systems due to cost

Aviation Safety 11

Conclusion

The aviation accident rate is high but most of the accidents are preventable . By the use of some safety planning and pilot awareness deadly accidents can be avoided . More through preplanning , use of approach briefing checklist and stable approaches can make the landings more safe and secure . The Federal Aviation Administration and the government should also take some significant steps in to implement safety rules and regulations over the aviation companies to minimize the fatal accidents

References

1 . Ashford , Norman . Stanton , Martin H .P Moore , Clifton A (1997

Airport Operations McGraw-Hill Professional pp . 103 ,104 ,132-135

2 . Bier , Vicki . Joosten , James .Glyer , David . Tracey , Jennifer Welsh , Michael (2003 . Effect of Deregulation on Safety Springer , pp . 11-15 ,43 ,44

3 . Borenstein , Severin Martin B (1998 ) Market Incentives for Safe Commercial

AirlineOperations , Michigan : E . Elgar Publication , pp . 913-936

4 . Ott , James . 10 Fatal Crashes Spark Call for New Safety Measures . Michigan

McGraw-Hill , pp . 28-30

Wells , Alexander T Rodrigues Clarence C (2003 . Commercial Aviation

Safety , NewYork : McGraw-Hill Professional , pp . 25 ,36-38 ...