National Transportation Safety Board Acting Chairman Mark V. Rosenker recently addressed the Wichita (Kansas) Aero Club, discussing NTSB actions and activities in the aviation safety arena.

Rosenker highlighted some key issues of particular interest to the general aviation community, such as the recent efforts of a government-industry working group to develop a specification for lightweight flight recorders that will be finalized this summer.

"If recorder systems that captured cockpit audio, images, and parametric data had been installed on the Butte accident airplane [the Pilatus PC-12/45 that crashed on March 22, 2009], the recorders would have enabled us to quickly determine information about the accident scenario, including precise locations, altitudes, headings, airspeeds, and pilot actions," said Rosenker.

Both Bell Helicopter and American Eurocopter have developed prototype lightweight recorders that contain internal global positioning system receivers and inertial sensing electronics. They are about the size of a couple of packs of cigarettes, and very affordable. Although these recorders are not being designed to meet the crashworthy requirements stipulated in the FAA's current technical standard order for CVRs and FDRs, they would have a level of crash protection that meets many of the industry criteria for reliability and survivability. The companies are expected to make kits available for retrofitting older helicopters.

Rosenker said that while the overall aviation safety record in the U.S. is among the best in the world, recent accidents such as the Bombardier Dash 8 crash in Buffalo and the spike in fatalities in on-demand Part 135 air charter operations in 2008 are cause for concern. "We continue to do everything we can to identify the safety issues involved, and to advocate for the adoption of our recommendations that will make the skies safer," he stated.

He said bird strikes are a growing problem. According to USDA researchers, the risks to aviation posed by bird populations have increased in the last few decades due to a number of factors, including an increase in air traffic volume. Also, although populations of bird species in general have declined, the populations of nearly all of the large bird species (those greater than eight pounds) in North America have increased significantly in the past 30 years. "Now I don't want to be an alarmist, but, in my view, something has got to be done about this," said Roseker.

As regards corporate use of business aircraft, Rosenker said "I am fully aware that your industry has gotten a black eye recently from the press, public and congress regarding the use of business aircraft in corporate America. My view on this is best articulated in my strong agreement with the letter from the National Air Transportation Association to the President last month, which stated, and I quote: "All that is needed is an understanding in Washington that it's not fair for private aviation to become a political punching bag in some perverse populist version of class warfare in the skies. It's time to stop the populist demonizing. It's time, instead, to support, if only with words, an outstanding American success story."

The letter went on to say that corporate executives, who are the captains of industry, and who hold the keys to getting us out of these tough economic times, need more flexibility, more speed, more security, more availability, more communications, better schedules, and more control than the airlines have to offer.

"Every minute of these people's day is critical. Every minute needs to be utilized increasing sales, making investments, evaluating major projects, building morale, expanding plants, exploring new markets, improving safety, attracting investors, and saving their company. It's tough to do these things when you are waiting in a metal detector line at the airport, or waiting to board an airplane operating on a schedule and a routing that's not convenient," he stated.

"Everyone in this room knows the benefits of business aviation, but many outside this room don't get it, so I would advise that you increase your "outreach" to the public, and Washington DC, to heal that black eye," Rosenker added.