FAA Focusing on Pilot Deviations

Washington, DC – As part of its continuing emphasis on runway safety, the Federal Aviation Administration told the National Air Transportation Association second Air Charter Summit that FAA’s main focus with respect to general aviation is reducing pilot deviations. Director Flight Standards Service James Ballough said that while Category A & B incursions had been significantly reduced, the less serious Category C and D infractions were on the rise. “Operational errors from air traffic control and pilot deviations (PDs) are much more significant factors in runway incursions than vehicle or pedestrian events,” he said. “A & B account for three percent of total incursions while Category C is 38 percent and D is 59 percent.” Part of the problem is the redefinition of runway incursions to conform to international definitions set down by the International Civil Aviation Organization. Previously an aircraft inadvertently sticking its nose over the runway line from the taxiway was not included but today it is classified as a PD.
Ballough indicated that there have been 397 PDs through March in Fiscal 2008. “So there is plenty of room for improvement,” he said, adding PDs are now tracked electronically for investigation and analysis. “We need to establish what is causing PDs. The hot spots are in the usual areas – Northeast Corridor and Los Angeles, but there are enough to go around for the entire country. There were 62 million landings and takeoffs last year and 18,000 runway crossings per day. Human error is a certainty and technology has its limitations.”
Ballough pointed to the coming moving map displays and electronic flight bags (EFBs) that the FAA is accelerating by making certification simpler. “You’ll see a lot more EFBs approved especially in business aviation,” he said. “Business aviation is way ahead of the commercial industry. It is certainly a way for situational awareness to let crews know where they are on the tarmac. But there are still humans in the cockpit.”
He cited a finding in the commercial industry that part of the PD problem was crews doing the checklist while taxiing. “We stopped that practice and we’ve introduced into training ground type taxi incidents and exercises to address this,” he said. “We are asking your industry to join the call to action to make the same commitment that was made in the air carrier world.”
In reviewing some of the incidents that occurred in general aviation, he said the most troubling thing FAA found was that pilots had correctly acknowledged controllers instructions but, for whatever reason – distraction or confusion – went on to do something entirely different which compromised safety.
He also discussed the voluntary safety program known as the runway incursion information evaluations program, similar to other voluntary data gathering programs, that yield negative, but valuable, safety trends for which remediation can be developed. Ballough cautioned that the voluntary program was not an amnesty program and if it is found that the event was caused intentionally, action will be brought. “However, those who participate will be looked on favorably and get all the benefits of the doubt,” he said.
He also cited a new pilot’s guide to safe surface operations, safety seminars and two on-line courses as part of efforts to reduce PDs. In addition, he pointed to FAA issued Safety Alerts for Operators (SAFO) and InFO bulletins of information that the agency needs to get to the field.