Page 22 - World Airnews Magazine July Edition 2020
P. 22
HELICOPTERS
HELICOPTER MAKERS TO
INSTALL 'BLACK BOXES'
In this file photo released by the NTSB board – investigator Carol Hogan examines wreckage of helicopter crash near
Calabasas, California that killed NBA basketball player Kobe Bryant, this 13 year old daughter and seven others
for the NTSB. encourage manufacturers to add more
The NTSB's move is highly unusual. The recorders to their aircraft.
ederal safety investigators bypassed board investigates accidents but has no The NTSB made its request to Sikorsky,
Faviati on regulators recently and authority to make regulations; that falls to Airbus Helicopters, Bell, Leonardo, MD
urged leading helicopter manufacturers the FAA. The board said it recommended Helicopters and Robinson. The companies
to install so-called black boxes that would flight-data and cockpit-voice recorders in did not immediately comment.
2013 and 2015, but the FAA did not act.
Sikorsky manufactured the helicopter
help determine the cause of crashes such The request for image-recording capability that crashed in January near Calabasas,
as the one that killed former NBA star is new. California, killing Bryant, his daughter
Kobe Bryant. The FAA has required flight-data re- and seven others. It did not have black
The National Transportation Safety corders on helicopter ambulances since boxes. If it did, “that would have helped us
Board appealed directly to six manufactur- 2018. In a recent statement the FAA said significantly in this investigation and other
ers after the Federal Aviation Administra- it encouraged other helicopter operators investigations,” NTSB member Jennifer
tion failed to act on the board's recom- to use data-gathering systems and analyze Homendy said days after the crash. "It is
mendations to require the the information to improve safety. something we have recommended several
devices on most helicopters. In 2016, then-FAA Administrator Michael times over a number of years.”
The safety board said turbine-powered Huerta agreed that crash-resistant record- Pressure was growing on FAA to require
helicopters should record data, audio and er systems provide additional information recorders on more helicopters even be-
images during flight. about the actions of helicopters and crews fore the Bryant crash, which is still under
The NTSB identified seven crash investi- but said the agency would not require investigation.
gations between 2011 and 2017 in which them because it couldn’t calculate a The top Senate Democrat, Charles
it said the lack of recorder information cost-benefit ratio. Schumer of New York, urged the FAA to
slowed its ability to find potential safety “In today’s rulemaking environment, we require the devices last year after a heli-
issues. have no way of estimating the number of copter crashed on the roof of a Manhat-
The more information we have, the lives that could be saved or the number of tan skyscraper, killing the pilot. Schumer
better we can understand not only the future accidents that could be prevented called the FAA’s inaction “cause for serious
circumstances of a crash, but what can be with the use of this additional data,” concern.” Q
done to prevent future accidents,” said Huerta told the NTSB. Article courtesy: https://www.heraldpal-
Dana Schulze, director of aviation safety He said the FAA decided instead to ladium.com/
World Airnews | July 2020
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