(THE NTSB issued the following news release on December 15.)
WASHINGTON — For the first time since 1975, the number of “open” safety recommendations on the National Transportation Safety Board’s books has dipped below 1,000.
In making the announcement, NTSB Chairman Ellen Engleman Conners said, “Since becoming Chairman in March, one of my priorities at the NTSB has been cleaning up our record, and that includes addressing languishing safety recommendations. Open recommendations mean that the safety loop is not closed – open recommendations mean that our job is not done.”
The current number of open safety recommendations is 989 and the Chairman emphasized, “This major milestone is the result of the Safety Board’s hard work and strong emphasis on aggressively pursing safety. We must continue to work with our partners in safety to complete the safety chain and implement our recommendations to save lives.”
One of the Chairman’s strategies to minimize the open recommendations is to use the “SWAT” Team approach. SWAT, or Safety With A Team, includes frequent meetings with U.S. Department of Transportation and industry leaders to address open NTSB recommendations.
Since its inception in 1967, the Safety Board has issued more than 12,100 safety recommendations and has recorded a success rate of almost 82% — meaning that the vast majority of its recommendations have been implemented by federal agencies, state and local government, and the transportation industry. Of the 989 open recommendations, 335 relate to aviation, 339 to highway, 125 to marine, 113 to rail, and 47 to pipeline, and 30 intermodal.
Safety recommendations are issued by the NTSB as a result of the investigation of transportation accidents and incidents. In a recent six-month period, the Safety Board has closed 78 recommendations because they had been successfully implemented. They include:
* Better terrain depictions on aviation charts and maps, an upgrade spurred by the crash of an American Airlines 757. The jet hit a mountain ridge on a nighttime approach to Cali, Colombia, killing 160 of the 164 on board in 1995.
* Improved standards to detect corrosion, to track corrosion-caused pipeline failures; and new toughness standards for new pipes installed in gas and hazardous liquid pipelines.
* Upgraded standards and better disclosure of medical conditions and medications affecting fitness to pilot commercial vessels, stemming from the Star Princess cruise ship accident in Alaska in 1997. The cruise ship struck a huge submerged rock. There were no deaths or injuries to the 2,200 passengers and crew, but the cost of repairs and delays in returning the ship to service topped $27 million.
* Fatigue awareness training and information for Union Pacific Railroad and Canadian National Railway employees as a result of collisions between freight trains in Kansas in 1997, and Michigan in 2001.
* Better inspection criteria to detect reversed air brake lines, and dual air brake systems on heavy trucks.
* Inspection and replacement of static port heaters on MD-80, MD-90, and DC-9 aircraft to prevent fires.
* New rules requiring air traffic controllers to state an aircraft’s location in relation to the takeoff runway when a combination of intersection and full length departures is routinely being used at an airport. This is aimed at addressing an issue on the Board’s “Most Wanted” list – Runway Incursions.
For further information about the Board’s safety recommendation program, and the “Most Wanted” list, visit the Board’s website at www.ntsb.gov.