Possibly the biggest impact will be on helicopter stats. The NPRM removes an exclusion for ground damage to rotors and tail rotors, and now requires that all such incidents be reported as “accidents.” Helicopter Association International (HAI) President Roy Resavage is urging members to forward comments to both HAI and the NTSB by March 7. The NTSB apparently doesn’t accept comments electronically, so they must be mailed to: Mr. Deepak Joshi, Lead Aerospace Engineer (Structures), National Transportation Safety Board, 490 L’Enfant Plaza, SW, Washington, D.C., 20594. The NPRM will also affect fixed-wing operators through the inclusion, as reportable “incidents,” of in-flight propeller failures, turbine failures that result in debris escaping from anywhere besides the exhaust path, the loss of information from a majority of an aircraft’s electronic primary displays, and any airborne-collision-and-avoidance system (ACAS) alarms that occur during IFR operations. The NTSB says both propeller and turbine failures can cause serious problems and that it needs to know about them to help prevent accidents. As for the PFD/MFD (primary flight display/multifunction display) section, it’s mostly a case of the regs catching up to the technology. Finally, the NPRM says that ACAS alerts are being added so the NTSB is quickly notified and can assemble the necessary radar and anecdotal data to determine where the air traffic control system broke down.
…Rotorheads Hit Hardest…
Key Takeaways:
- The proposed NTSB rule changes would significantly broaden helicopter accident reporting, requiring ground damage to rotors and tail rotors to be classified as "accidents."
- New reportable "incidents" for fixed-wing aircraft include in-flight propeller failures, turbine failures with escaping debris, loss of information from most electronic primary displays, and ACAS alarms during IFR operations.
- These revisions aim to improve accident prevention by providing the NTSB with more data on component failures, update regulations to reflect modern aircraft technology, and facilitate investigations into air traffic control system breakdowns.
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