George Carlin asked one incredibly reasonable
question once upon a time: “If black boxes survive air crashes, why don't they
make the whole plane out of that stuff?”
Until they do, we’ll have to be content to improve the performance of
aircraft, refine the operating and performance excellence of aircraft, and also
try to train pilots to respect the limits of their own abilities and the flight
conditions that surround them. In the
meantime, when planes crash, we refine both flight and its regulation.
One aspect of
the evolution of American aviation is how crashes are often associated with
changes in the administration of air travel; equipment changes and the adopting
of new technologies. Since the first fatal plane crash, a significant
regulatory and investigative structure has grown up around flying in America.
Many of these changes occurred because of the crashes discussed in this book.
As a consequence, there are terms and concepts that often come up when you talk
about flying, especially as aviation becomes more accessible and more
regulated, and as aviation accidents became subject to one investigating body:
The National Transportation Safety Board:
New technologies often require new rules. Aviation, like so many other
innovations, started out as an unregulated entity, but like many economic
innovations, prospered in part because of government interest and government
subsidy to develop the technology.
Aviation grew up because of both civil and military needs – carrying
postage and providing reconnaissance.
The Congress created the National Advisory
Committee for Aeronautics (NACA) in 1915 and the US Post Office
authorized the first air mail routes in 1918.
As
commercial aviation grew, Congress used the Commerce clause of the Constitution
to regulate air travel. Numerous accidents in the post-war era led Congress to
create the first legislation regulating the airways, the Air Commerce Act of
1926. The Department of Commerce created an Aeronautic Branch, which was
chartered as the Bureau of Air Commerce (BAC) in 1934 and consolidated a
variety of flight-related functions from Commerce, Transportation, and Post
Office. In 1938 the authority of the BAC was transferred to an independent
Civil Aeronautics Authority (CAA); in 1940 rulemaking, economic regulation, and
accident investigation was transferred to a new Civil Aeronautics Board (CAB).
The
National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) was created by Congress to
investigate every civil aviation accident in the United States. The
creation of the NTSB was another in a series of steps taken starting in the
1950s to relocate CAB authority to other agencies such as the Federal Aviation
Administration (1958) and NASA (1958), and by 1978 the CAB’s remaining function
– economic regulation of the airlines – was stripped by the Carter
Administration’s deregulation of air travel.
The NTSB formally opened its doors in 1967, but this
technically-independent agency relied on the US Department of Transportation
for funding through 1975. NTSB
investigators have worked over 125,000 airplane accidents; in addition to their
statutory charge in the United States, NTSB officials consult on investigations
throughout the world.
Individuals
interested in the National transportation Safety Board, its functions, and
especially its excellent data base of reports from its investigations can go to
the NTSB directly at www.ntsb.gov.
VFR versus
IFR: Different meteorological
conditions present different challenges to pilots And, as a consequence, training and
experience as determined by aviation authorities determine the circumstances
under which pilots should operate aircraft – no one wants a fair-skies flyer
trying to hop over thunderstorms. Here
is a brief description of the flight rules governing domestic flight in the US.
Visual
Flight Rules (VFR) apply when atmospheric conditions allow a pilot to operate
based on the conditions observable from the cockpit. Under these conditions, a pilot should be
able to observe potential obstacles to safe navigation – changes in terrain,
buildings, and other aircraft—and avoid them based on visual data alone. This is also referred to as the “see and
avoid” principle. In order for VFR to
apply, certain minimal meteorological conditions (VFC, visual flight
conditions) must be met, and those conditions may vary by airspace, but those
conditions usually relate to cloud cover and ceiling, cloud clearances,
darkness conditions, and also the amount of controlled traffic. When these local
minimum conditions are met, Minimum
Visual Flight Rules (MVFR) apply.
Instrument
Flight Rules (IFR) are conditions under
which pilots navigate based on instrument-only reference and separation from
other craft is maintained by air traffic control. IFR is invoked when
meteorological conditions make VFR not possible – instrument flight conditions
(IFC) prevail because visual reference to navigation obstacles and other
aircraft is not possible. In the terms
of the trade, VFC minima are not
met. There are three stages to IFR
(departure, en route, and approach) and navigation is usually performed
relative to navigational aides such as beacons. Commercial air traffic and
aircraft operating in high-traffic environments also operate under IFR. In the US, an instrument rating is necessary
before a pilot is supposed to fly under IFR.
