Pilots know they must always keep learning to keep safe, and one way to keep sharp is to study the mistakes made by others. To promote that effort, the FAA has created an online safety library thatteaches “lessons learned” from some of the world’s most historically significant transport airplane accidents. The FAA said that even though some of the accidents happened as long as 40 years ago, they all teach timeless lessons that are relevant to today’s aviation community.
Each report features the accident investigation findings, resulting safety recommendations and subsequent regulatory and policy changes. The lessons learned from each investigation are explained in detail and grouped into relevant technical areas and common themes. Although all 11 accidents now online deal with transport-category aircraft, many deal with issues that are also relevant to GA aircraft, including bird strikes, wake turbulence, human error and flawed assumptions. The FAA said it plans to add another 40 accident reports to the library by the end of the year.
