NTSB Study - Glass Cockpits and Improved Safety - Not

[sardak]

From the NTSB press release - 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 summary chart shows:
- The total accident rate was lower for glass cockpit aircraft, but the fatal accident rate was higher (by roughly 2 to 1).
- Accidents reflect differences in aircraft use that might explain differences in accident severity.
- Pattern of results does not show a safety benefit for glass cockpit group during the study period.

Four of the six recommendations the Board made to the FAA involve training. A fifth recommendation was for the manufacturers to provide better information to pilots on how to deal with system failures and the last is that pilots should report all malfunctions or defects to the FAA.

The study summary is available at http://www.ntsb.gov/Events/2010/Safety-Study-Glass-Cockpit/presentations.htm

Mike

[heliodoc]

Read the PR tonite to the Sqdn

Apparently some in CAP are under the impression we are training to standard

The few of us who ...are just preaching what has been known

BOTH in the civilian (GA) side of the G1000 and the CAP side.   CAP is really not that further ahead in the training regimes and REGIMENT than GA

CAP may think they are...but in reality....... the training scenarios are just NOT standardized in CAP as in GA

Again, some in CAP are under the impression, because we have the "largest fleet of Cessnas" does NOT mean we are more proficient in the G1000 airframe..... CAP still needs a COHERENT STANDARDIZED training program for the G1000..

We'll see what the future study says in the next few weeks.....

[RiverAux]

Gee, who would have thought there would be some differences in accident rates when you're comparing planes flown by different types of pilots, with varying levels of experience, for different distances, with different numbers of pilots up front, and for different purposes with the only difference being what the cockpit looked like?

I sure hope we didn't spend too many millions of dollars on this waste of time. 

Anyone who thought that glass cockpits by themselves would so dramatically improve safety that it would show up in a study conducted in this manner was an idiot.

You learn to try to control your variables in the first week of statistics class so that you're comparing apples to apples and not apples to oranges. 

But, given the relative newness of this technology in private planes and the thankfully low overall accident rates, there probably aren't enough accidents to alow real comparisons to be made yet. 

[heliodoc]

There a lot of venues that are wasting the taxpayers money

But like one 80 yrs old CAP airplane driver pointed out last nite....it is all in the proficiency

But one has to wonder......  Did CAP fall into the trap of thinking that glass was going to be more superior to improve safety?

But it's probably not CAP...it was our parent organization...you know the one who wants us out of the CSU, that probably was the driving force of getting the glass introduced to CAP.

But as in the report....it all comes down to training and proficiency.   More Wings receiving glass, ought to be looking at those folks who got the "free" training (as in CAP CFI's )in Independence, KS, to start producing some semblance of ongoing training.  I know of one, and I know of another that needs some serious help.

[DG]

There a lot of venues that are wasting the taxpayers money

But like one 80 yrs old CAP airplane driver pointed out last nite....it is all in the proficiency

But one has to wonder......  Did CAP fall into the trap of thinking that glass was going to be more superior to improve safety?

But it's probably not CAP...it was our parent organization...you know the one who wants us out of the CSU, that probably was the driving force of getting the glass introduced to CAP.

But as in the report....it all comes down to training and proficiency.   More Wings receiving glass, ought to be looking at those folks who got the "free" training (as in CAP CFI's )in Independence, KS, to start producing some semblance of ongoing training.  I know of one, and I know of another that needs some serious help.

Cessna has not produced a round dial airplane in 5 years.

So is it an option to determine CAP only will fly old aircraft, not new?

[heliodoc]

I did know that Cessna has not produced a round dial for a number of years and no option will fly old acft

The truth is CAP is STILL flying old aircraft as well as new.....

But CAP still has a good mix of round dial and glass....just enough to possibly make us as dangerous as GA.

So I'd say the NTSB report has everyone one of us in mind

Just because we are CAP and participate in the National Airspace System makes more sense that we ought to have a better training program than the FAA ..isn't that what CAP touts?   We exceed normal FAA standards? 

This report simply means we ought to already have known the potential, especially with the mix of aircraft, CAP has.....

[Mustang]

More Wings receiving glass, ought to be looking at those folks who got the "free" training (as in CAP CFI's )in Independence, KS, to start producing some semblance of ongoing training.

Wholeheartedly concur.

[FW]

More Wings receiving glass, ought to be looking at those folks who got the "free" training (as in CAP CFI's )in Independence, KS, to start producing some semblance of ongoing training.

Wholeheartedly concur.

Actually, this was mentioned at the last NB meeting.  Our Cessna Trained GC CFI's must be able to train other CFI's to be proficient in training the rest of us.  Maybe we'll see something soon?

[Capt. Chris Homko]

Yes we will, and unfortunately it may be higher insurance rates!

[heliodoc]

Surely with all the CFI gods in CAP, and I use that term loosely.....

There should have been some sort of committee (CAP is famous for these in the uniform world) that should or would have been a lead with all the other professional organizations (AOPA, NAFI) to really work with the FAA in  getting the FITS portion, which is understandably, a small monster on its own, to incorporate into any training program.

CAP, nonetheless, should have been charged with an overall standardized scenario based training program.  I saw it in one Wing and they truly already had the 3 leg VFR and IFR training programs at least in mode we were training to because a handful of CFI's truly took it to heart.......

Can not say the same for the current Wing I am in...... some were former instructors at FBO's and were thought to be the ace of the base.  It appears that some FORGOT what CFI or teaching was for and those few are the one ones that got the free Cessna training program and are teaching it to the very few.

So in reality, if CAP's insurance goes up, it goes up due to the fact that CAP, Inc probably never had a serious program in place, per se, as far as a nationwide, dedicated, standardized, 52 Wing WRITTEN and ground based training program, other than the few who are really taking the program seriously.   On line testing and online OUTDATED G1000 resources on gocivilairpatrol.com do not count as truly updated training in this series of aircraft.

CAP insurance going up?  Look squarely in the organizations mirror and one will find the reason for the rates going up.....MITIGATION through a SERIOUS nationwide training program not some patchwork "training and online training" that is occurring to date!