The Commercial Aviation Safety Team (CAST) is a US aviation safety partnership between regulators, manufacturers, operators and professional unions, research groups, international organizations to further enhance safety. It was founded in 1997 with a goal to reduce the fixed-wing commercial aviation fatality rate in the United States by 80 percent by 2007. By 2007 CAST was able to report that by implementing safety enhancements, the fatality rate of commercial air travel in the United States was reduced by 83 percent. In 2008, the Commercial Aviation Safety Team won the Collier Trophy. [1] In 2010, CAST envisioned a further reduction in fatalities of fifty percent by 2025. [2]
The Commercial Aviation Safety Team was founded in 1997 in response to the White House Commission on Aviation Safety and Security Report that called for a reduction of the commercial aviation accident rate by 80 percent by 2007. From their analysis of thousands of aviation incidents and accidents, CAST formed lessons learned and envisioned critical safety enhancements. Their efforts marked 2008 as the safest year in commercial aviation. Fatal commercial accidents reduced by 83 percent, to a probability of one in 22.8 million flights. [1]
CAST focuses on Part 121[ clarification needed ] scheduled airliner operations. The CAST team uses a data-driven approach to: analyze safety data; identify hazards; develop specific safety enhancements; implement cost-effective safety enhancements; track implementation; monitor the effectiveness of the safety mitigations; and use experience to continually improve the aviation system. [2] The CAST team shares its findings with aviation safety organizations around the world. [3] The CAST team's new goal is to reduce the remaining part 121 accident risk (50%) by 2025. It plans to achieve this goal by using industry data and analytical tools from Aviation Safety Information Analysis and Sharing Initiative. [4]
General aviation (GA) is defined by the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) as all civil aviation aircraft operations with the exception of commercial air transport or aerial work, which is defined as specialized aviation services for other purposes. However, for statistical purposes, ICAO uses a definition of general aviation which includes aerial work.
An aviation accident is defined by the Convention on International Civil Aviation Annex 13 as an occurrence associated with the operation of an aircraft, which takes place from the time any person boards the aircraft with the intention of flight until all such persons have disembarked, and in which (a) a person is fatally or seriously injured, (b) the aircraft sustains significant damage or structural failure, or (c) the aircraft goes missing or becomes completely inaccessible. Annex 13 defines an aviation incident as an occurrence, other than an accident, associated with the operation of an aircraft that affects or could affect the safety of operation.
The Robert J. Collier Trophy is an annual aviation award administered by the U.S. National Aeronautic Association (NAA), presented to those who have made "the greatest achievement in aeronautics or astronautics in America, with respect to improving the performance, efficiency, and safety of air or space vehicles, the value of which has been thoroughly demonstrated by actual use during the preceding year."
In aviation, a controlled flight into terrain is an accident in which an airworthy aircraft, under pilot control, is unintentionally flown into the ground, a mountain, a body of water or an obstacle. In a typical CFIT scenario, the crew is unaware of the impending disaster until it is too late. The term was coined by engineers at Boeing in the late 1970s.
A ground proximity warning system (GPWS) is a system designed to alert pilots if their aircraft is in immediate danger of flying into the ground or an obstacle. The United States Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) defines GPWS as a type of terrain awareness warning system (TAWS). More advanced systems, introduced in 1996, are known as enhanced ground proximity warning systems (EGPWS), a modern type of TAWS.
Aviation safety is the study and practice of managing risks in aviation. This includes preventing aviation accidents and incidents through research, educating air travel personnel, passengers and the general public, as well as the design of aircraft and aviation infrastructure. The aviation industry is subject to significant regulation and oversight.
Northeast Airlines Flight 823 was a scheduled flight from New York City's LaGuardia Airport to Miami International Airport, Florida, which crashed shortly after takeoff on February 1, 1957. The aircraft operating the service was a Douglas DC-6 four-engined propeller airliner, registration N34954, which entered service in 1955.
King Salmon Airport is a state-owned public-use airport located just southeast of King Salmon, in the Bristol Bay Borough of the U.S. state of Alaska. It was formerly the Naknek Air Force Base, named for its location near the Naknek River.
Transportation safety in the United States encompasses safety of transportation in the United States, including automobile crashes, airplane crashes, rail crashes, and other mass transit incidents, although the most fatalities are generated by road incidents yearly killing from 32,479 to nearly 38,680 (+19%) in the last decade. The number of deaths per passenger-mile on commercial airlines in the United States between 2000 and 2010 was about 0.2 deaths per 10 billion passenger-miles. For driving, the rate was 150 per 10 billion vehicle-miles: 750 times higher per mile than for flying in a commercial airplane.
In aviation, a terrain awareness and warning system (TAWS) is generally an on-board system aimed at preventing unintentional impacts with the ground, termed "controlled flight into terrain" accidents, or CFIT. The specific systems currently in use are the ground proximity warning system (GPWS) and the enhanced ground proximity warning system (EGPWS). The U.S. Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) introduced the generic term TAWS to encompass all terrain-avoidance systems that meet the relevant FAA standards, which include GPWS, EGPWS and any future system that might replace them.
A runway incursion is an aviation incident involving improper positioning of vehicles or people on any airport runway or its protected area. When an incursion involves an active runway being used by arriving or departing aircraft, the potential for a collision hazard or Instrument Landing System (ILS) interference can exist. At present, various runway safety technologies and processes are commonly employed to reduce the risk and potential consequences of such an event.
The Capstone Program was a United States government-funded aviation safety program for the state of Alaska, primarily focusing on rural areas of the state. This joint effort – between the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), the Alaska Pilot's Association, commercial operators, the University of Alaska, MITRE Corporation, some avionics manufacturers and individual pilots – cut the accident rate in the eastern part of Alaska by around 40%.
The safety of emergency medical services flights has become a topic of public interest in the United States, with the expansion of emergency medical services aviation operations, such as air ambulance and MEDEVAC, and the increasing frequency of related accidents.
The Next Generation Air Transportation System (NextGen) is an ongoing United States Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) project to modernize the National Airspace System (NAS). The FAA began work on NextGen improvements in 2007 and plans to finish the final implementation segment by 2030. The goals of the modernization include using new technologies and procedures to increase the safety, efficiency, capacity, access, flexibility, predictability, and resilience of the NAS while reducing the environmental impact of aviation.
The Aviation Safety Improvement Initiatives are aviation safety partnership between Regulators, manufacturers, operators and professional unions, research organisations, international organisations to further enhance safety.
The Cirrus Airframe Parachute System (CAPS) is a whole-plane ballistic parachute recovery system designed specifically for Cirrus Aircraft's line of general aviation light aircraft including the SR20, SR22 and SF50. The design became the first of its kind to become certified with the FAA, achieving certification in October 1998, and as of 2022 was the only aircraft ballistic parachute used as standard equipment by an aviation company.
The Aviation Safety Knowledge Management Environment (ASKME) is a software suite for certifying new aircraft and modified aircraft. It was created for the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) Aircraft Certification Service (AIR)
Nicholas D. Lappos was the program director for the Sikorsky S-92 helicopter. He shepherded the S-92 program through FAA certification. Sikorsky Aircraft and the S-92 team, led by Nicholas Lappos, were awarded the 2002 Collier Trophy for their work on the S-92.
The Aviation Safety Action Program (ASAP) is a US aviation proactive safety program. ASAP promotes safety by encouraging voluntary self reporting of safety occurrences and situations to the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) certificate holder. The reports are analyzed to reduce hazards and focus training. Reporting is encouraged by providing the volunteer reporter protection from certificate action. ASAP forms a safety team between the FAA, the certificate holder (airline/operator), employee, and the operator's employee labor organization. Safety improvement occurs without discipline, encouraging further and continued hazard reporting.
The Automatic Ground Collision Avoidance System (Auto-GCAS) enhances safety by mitigating controlled flight into terrain (CFIT) accidents. The Auto-GCAS team was awarded the 2018 Collier Trophy for the design-integration and flight testing in the F-35, marking the year's greatest achievement in aeronautics. This team includes the Air Force Research Laboratory, Lockheed Martin, the F-35 Joint Program Office, the Defense Safety Oversight Council, and NASA.