How safety is measured

There are four major organizations that collect and analyze aviation safety and safety-related data: the FAA, the Research and Special Programs Administration (RSPA), the NTSB, and the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA). Here we will discuss a few of the systems from each organization used to track and collect this aviation safety data.

The FAA uses a program to record and track U.S. Civil aircraft incident data, called the FAA Accident Incident Data System. Here is a link to the FAA website where this can be accessed
http://www.faa.gov/data_research/accident_incident/. The system used by the NTSB is known as the Aviation Accident Data System. Here is the link to their website
http://www.ntsb.gov/aviation/aviation.htm (this is the same website we have used throughout our class to locate accidents/incidents). In comparison, these 2 systems both track aviation safety data. The differences are that the NTSB system contains all U.S. civil aircraft accidents and selected incidents, while the FAA system has fewer accident records but substantially more incident data than the NTSB system. The FAA uses their system to assess whether or not corrective action is required in the aviation system, while the NTSB uses their system to determine probable causes and make recommendations to the FAA.

Here is an example of how data collected from an aircraft accident investigation is used. This is the recreation of Eastern Airlines Flight 401(yes, back from the day when some of our folks were just learning what an airplane was) that crashed due to several factors, but primarily lack of situational awareness:


There are numerous other systems used to track aviation safety data. The Enforcement Information System tracks the complete history of each enforcement case, allows it to be input from the field, and keeps copies of all documentation. The Service Difficulty Reporting System is used to identify aircraft failures or malfunctions. These reports are required by regulation, and are kept on record for 10 years. They help to identify short-term safety problems and track trends in reports for repetitive malfunctions to specific aircraft and component types. The Air Operator Data System, unlike most other systems, has no regulatory requirement for reporting to the FAA. The information that is reported refers to air carriers and other commercial operators and the structure of their organizations. This data helps to analyze air carrier operating practices, by individual company or industry-wide, and help give a view of areas such as scheduling pressure on aircraft, engine reliability data, and maintenance and operating procedures.
One final area of reporting safety data is the Aviation Safety Reporting System, which is run by NASA. The system was designed to gather the maximum amount of information without discouraging the reporter from filing. As such, reports filed in this system are voluntary and confidential, and can not result in punitive actions being taken on an employee. Reports are submitted from pilots, controller, and others, and they discuss accounts of safety related aviation incidents. The analysts of this data collected, primarily experts in aircraft operations and air traffic control, provide insight into the nature of the human error or other underlying factors in the incidents.

References

Wells, Alexander T., and Clarence C. Rodrigues. Commercial Aviation Safety. New York: McGraw-Hill, 2003. Print

YouTube - Broadcast Yourself. Web. 19 Apr. 2010.

National Transportation Safety Board. Web. 20 Apr. 2010.

FAA: Home. Web. 20 Apr. 2010.