Pilots & Mechanics News 
 

AIRMAN GUIDELINES FOR ACCIDENT /INCIDENTS REPORTING

I.          WHEN YOU, AS A PILOT, HAVE BEEN INVOLVED IN AN INCIDENT OR ACCIDENT

A         After you are assured that the immediate needs of your passengers and fellow crewmembers are being met, IMMEDIATELY call your ATTORNEY. 

1.         The quicker your Legal Representation is brought into the loop, the better support they can provide. 

2.         Furthermore, any delay can severely limit your options at a later stage in the resulting process. 

3          All too often, what starts out to be a minor incident suddenly blows up into a major event. 

4.         Timeliness can be critical to your legal representation, particularly in the initial phase of any accident or incident investigation.

B         If pressed for a statement or interview by the NTSB, FAA or others, tell them you will make a statement as soon as you have consulted your Attorney. 

1.         You will need time to collect your thoughts and regain your composure. 

2.         Your initial response may be to accept responsibility for whatever occurred without sufficient information regarding all of the factors involved in the event.

3.         It is imperative you discuss this situation with your Attorney before making any formal statement. 

C         Your Attorney should handle any press requests. 

1.         Never make a direct statement to the press. 

2.         Your rights of representation are legal rights and it is in your best interests not talk to the press without Legal representation.

D         If there are fatalities, with the resultant media attention, keep you and your crew together and obtain rest facilities away from the airport. 

1.         One option is to check into the nearest hospital to gain time to recover from the physical and emotional shock of the incident and regain your composure. 

2.         Tell the medical personnel of your situation and desire to get some rest. 

3.         Specify those persons you will want to see as visitors and ask that no others be permitted to disturb you. 

4.         Be sure to include your Attorney among those persons allowed to see you.

E          Contact your family if you wish, but do not automatically invite them to the scene. 

1.         Advise them that Attorney will send someone to help them. 

2.         If you feel the news media may bother your family, the Telephone Company can install a temporary phone line for their use until things quiet down.

F          If possible, make copies of all documents relating to your flight and retain them for your use only.  Also, as soon as possible, make notes for your personal use. 

1.         These can prove invaluable when you are trying to reconstruct the various aspects of your flight later on. 

2.         Even if there is little or no governmental or passenger involvement initially, subsequent lawsuits could require your testimony in court.

G         Prepare ALL written statements with the help of your attorney. 

1.         A hastily written statement could be taken out of context and used against you later. 

2.         You will probably be required to furnish federal authorities, where requested, with a written statement within a specified period of time. 

3.         All written statements should contain the following two sentences:

a) “I reserve the right to amend this statement as additional information becomes available.” 

b)  “I do not authorize this report to be released to outside parties, including the FAA and NTSB, without my approval.” 

4.         All written statements should be given to FAA or NTSB with any required copies.

H         Remember to file a National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) Aviation Safety Reporting System (ASRS) report within TEN DAYS if the event is classified as an incident. 

1.         Send it registered mail and retain the return identification receipt NASA sends back to you. 

2.         The burden of proof that you filed an ASRS report rests with you.  Once de-identified, not even NASA can provide you with a copy.

II         WHEN YOU ARE INTERVIEWED

A         Always tell the truth; it is the most powerful weapon you have.

B         Keep your answers short and to the point. 

1.         Remember the age old adage, “If they ask what time it is, don’t build them a clock.”  Stick to the facts.

C         DO NOT give your certificate to a federal inspector. 

1.         He may look at it, but you hold onto it. 

2.         A formal set of procedures must be followed before you can be required to relinquish your certificate unless you voluntarily give it.

D         NEVER talk to a federal inspector without your Attorney present.

1.         The NTSB and Accident investigators need accurate and factual information and this should be given with legal representation present to protect your rights

E          When unburdening yourself about the incident or accident, talk only to those persons you can trust. 

1.         There is nearly always a tremendous compulsion to immediately talk over what happened with someone. 

2.         After an accident everyone has a sincere desire to find out what happened.  However, not everyone has your best interests or the interests of air safety at heart. 

3.         Remember, your Attorney and possibly your Union are the only participants without any other vested interest to protect. 

III        FIVE POINTS YOU CAN NOT AFFORD TO FORGET

A.        Call your Attorney immediately!

B         Wait for Legal representation to arrive before making any statement or giving interviews.

C         Contact your family and advise them that your Attorney will send someone to help them. 

D         Make copies of all documents relating to the flight and keep them, with any personal notes, to yourself.

E          Most incidents and accidents are the result of a “cascade” of events and your involvement may be only one of the events.

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                      NTSB PRESS RELEASE

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National Transportation Safety Board

Washington, DC 20594

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: February 2, 2010

SB-10-02

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CAPTAIN’S INAPPROPRIATE ACTIONS LED TO CRASH OF FLIGHT 3407

IN CLARENCE CENTER, NEW YORK, NTSB SAYS

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The National Transportation Safety Board determined that the captain of Colgan Air flight 3407 inappropriately responded to the activation of the stick shaker, which led to an aerodynamic stall from which the airplane did not recover.   In a report adopted today in a public Board meeting in

Washington, additional flight crew failures were noted as causal to the accident.

On February 12, 2009, a Colgan Air, Inc., Bombardier DHC-8-400, N200WQ, operating as Continental Connection flight 3407, was on an instrument approach to Buffalo-Niagara

International Airport, Buffalo, New York, when it crashed into a residence in Clarence Center, New York, about 5 nautical miles northeast of the airport. The 2 pilots, 2 flight attendants, and 45 passengers aboard the airplane were killed, one person on the ground was killed, and the

airplane was destroyed by impact forces and a postcrash fire. The flight was a 14 Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) Part 121 scheduled passenger flight from Newark, New Jersey.

 Night visual meteorological conditions prevailed at the time of the accident.

The report states that, when the stick shaker activated to warn the flight crew of an impending aerodynamic stall, the captain should have responded correctly to the situation by

pushing forward on the control column.   However, the captain inappropriately pulled aft on the control column and placed the airplane into an accelerated aerodynamic stall.

Contributing to the cause of the accident were the Crewmembers’ failure to recognize the position of the low-speed cue on their flight displays, which indicated that the stick shaker was about to activate, and their failure to adhere to sterile cockpit procedures.  Other contributing

factors were the captain’s failure to effectively manage the flight and Colgan Air’s inadequate procedures for airspeed selection and management during approaches in icing conditions.

As a result of this accident investigation, the Safety Board issued recommendations to the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) regarding strategies to prevent flight crew monitoring failures, pilot professionalism, fatigue, remedial training, pilot records, stall training, and airspeed selection procedures.  Additional recommendations address FAA’s oversight and use of safety alerts for operators to transmit safety-critical information, flight operational quality assurance (FOQA) programs, use of personal portable electronic devices on the flight deck, and

weather information provided to pilots.

At today’s meeting, the Board announced that two issues that had been encountered in the Colgan Air investigation would be studied at greater length in proceedings later this year.

 The Board will hold a public forum this Spring exploring pilot and air traffic control high standards.   This accident was one in a series of incidents investigated by the Board in recent years - including a mid-air collision over the Hudson River that raised questions of air traffic

control vigilance, and the Northwest Airlines incident last year where the airliner overflew its destination airport in Minneapolis because the pilots were distracted by non-flying activities - that have involved air transportation professionals deviating from expected levels of performance. In addition, this Fall the Board will hold a public forum on code sharing, the practice of airlines marketing their services to the public while using other companies to actually perform the transportation.  For example, this accident occurred on a Continental Connection flight, although the transportation was provided by Colgan Air.  A summary of the findings of the Board's report are available on the NTSB's website at:

http://www.ntsb.gov/Publictn/2010/AAR1001.htm