Slide 11 of 39
Notes:
Indeed this slide is very busy- - and in fact it was intended to be….because there are many Significant Accomplishments as a result of our participation in foreign investigations. Listed here a just a few. And in each one, the traveling public, both our domestic passenger, and travelers worldwide, benefited from a major aviation safety improvement.
- The Lauda B767 investigation in the jungles of Thailand resulted in eliminating inadvertent thrust reverser hazards, not only in all B767s, but improvements were also made to Boeing 737, 747, and 757 airliner fleets.
- The Birgenair accident is particularly noteworthy because it was the first loss of the popular B757, and there was concern for the airworthiness of the fleet. Through a multinational effort, the flight recorders were retrieved from the seabed off the Dominican Republic, a depth of over 7000 feet, and the accident could be understood,--crew confusion over flight instrument readings. In both the Lauda and Birgenair accidents, the Safety Board was able to get Safety Recommendations out to the industry in a timely manner-thus protecting the public from possible recurrence.
- The El Al accident was a tragic event in Amsterdam, the Netherlands. It occurred with a B747 freighter. But again, information derived from the accident led to improvements that affected the entire B747 passenger carrying fleet.
- The American Airlines accident in Cali, Colombia was a controlled flight into terrain event. That event has triggered an airline industry move toward the Enhanced Ground Proximity Warning System that is a giant step toward protecting airline passengers from this all to common type of accident.
- Investigation of the TAN Brazil F100 accident and improvements to the airplane were an exercise in international cooperation. The airplane was manufactured in the Netherlands, with U.K. Rolls Royce engines. It was used extensively here in the U.S. in regional service. Our engineering laboratories contributed the information necessary to identify the causal factors and therefore make the safety improvements which directly benefit our domestic travelers.
- The JAL MD-11 case was one of co-operation in which, through the sharing of accident data, both countries were able to recognize an accident potential during autoflight, and to include much more complete data in their safety recommendations.
- The SWISSAIR case is not yet completed but we immediately saw the benefits of our Family Affairs legislation, and we have already seen engineering improvements in electrical systems and insulation.
Even more important than the accidents listed here- are the accidents which appeared, at the onset, to be related to mechanical failure. However, using scientific investigation methods, and with perseverance, Safety Board investigators have been able to assist in local investigations to determine the true cause. Many, many of these cases have been correctly identified as crew caused accidents. Mr. Chairman, the agenda now calls for discussion.
