NTSB -- NTSB STUDY SHOWS INTRODUCTION OF 'GLASS COCKPITS' IN GENERAL AVIATION AIRPLANES HAS NOT LED TO EXPECTED SAFETY IMPROVEMENTS

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NTSB PRESS RELEASE

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National Transportation Safety Board

Washington, DC 20594

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: March 9, 2010

SB-10-07

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NTSB STUDY SHOWS INTRODUCTION OF 'GLASS COCKPITS' IN GENERAL

AVIATION AIRPLANES HAS NOT LED TO EXPECTED SAFETY

IMPROVEMENTS

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Washington, DC -- Today the National Transportation Safety

Board adopted a study concluding that single engine

airplanes equipped with glass cockpits had no better overall

safety record than airplanes with conventional

instrumentation.

The safety study, which was adopted unanimously by the

Safety Board, was initiated more than a year ago to

determine if light airplanes equipped with digital primary

flight displays, often referred to as “glass cockpits,” were

inherently safer than those equipped with conventional

instruments.

The study, which looked at the accident rates of over 8,000

small piston-powered airplanes manufactured between 2002 and

2006, found that those equipped with glass cockpits had a

higher fatal accident rate then similar aircraft with

conventional instruments.

The Safety Board determined that because glass cockpits are

both complex and vary from aircraft to aircraft in function,

design and failure modes, pilots are not always provided

with all of the information they need -- both by aircraft

manufacturers and the Federal Aviation Administration -- to

adequately understand the unique operational and functional

details of the primary flight instruments in their

airplanes.

NTSB Chairman Deborah A.P. Hersman highlighted the role that

training plays in preventing accidents involving these

airplanes.

"As we discussed today, training is clearly one of the key

components to reducing the accident rate of light planes

equipped with glass cockpits, and this study clearly

demonstrates the life and death importance of appropriate

training on these complex systems," said Hersman. "We know

that while many pilots have thousands of hours of experience

with conventional flight instruments, that alone is just not

enough to prepare them to safely operate airplanes equipped

with these glass cockpit features."

Today, nearly all newly manufactured piston-powered light

airplanes are equipped with digital primary flight displays.

And the number of older airplanes being retrofitted with

these systems continues to grow.

"While the technological innovations and flight management

tools that glass cockpit equipped airplanes bring to the

general aviation community should reduce the number of fatal

accidents, we have not -- unfortunately -- seen that happen,"

said Hersman. "The data tell us that equipment-specific

training will save lives. To that end, we have adopted

recommendations today responsive to that data --

recommendations on pilot knowledge testing standards,

training, simulators, documentation and service difficulty

reporting so that the potential safety improvements that

these systems provide can be realized by the general

aviation pilot community."

Based on the study findings, the NTSB made six safety

recommendations to the FAA: 1) enhance pilot knowledge and

training requirements; 2) require manufacturers to provide

pilots with information to better manage system failures; 3)

incorporate training elements regarding electronic primary

flight displays into training materials and aeronautical

knowledge requirements; 4) incorporate training elements

regarding electronic primary flight displays into initial

and recurrent flight proficiency requirements for pilots of

small light general aviation airplanes equipped with those

systems, that address variations in equipment design and

operations of such displays; 5) support equipment-specific

pilot training programs by developing guidance for the use

of glass cockpit simulators other than those that are

approved by the FAA as flight training devices; and 6)

inform the general aviation community about the importance

of reporting malfunctions or defects with electronic flight,

navigation and control systems through the Service

Difficulty Reporting system.

The complete safety study will be available at www.ntsb.gov

in several weeks.

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NTSB Media Contact: Peter Knudson

(202-314-6100)

peter.knudson@xxxxxxxx

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