The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) is the largest transportation agency of the U.S. government and regulates all aspects of civil aviation in the country as well as over surrounding international waters. Its powers include air traffic control, certification of personnel and aircraft, setting standards for airports, and protection of U.S. assets during the launch or re-entry of commercial space vehicles. Powers over neighboring international waters were delegated to the FAA by authority of the International Civil Aviation Organization.
Austin–Bergstrom International Airport, or ABIA, is an international airport in Austin, Texas, United States, serving the Greater Austin metropolitan area. Located about 5 miles (8 km) southeast of downtown Austin, it covers 4,242 acres (1,717 ha) and has two runways and three helipads.
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.
Crew resource management or cockpit resource management (CRM) is a set of training procedures for use in environments where human error can have devastating effects. CRM is primarily used for improving aviation safety and focuses on interpersonal communication, leadership, and decision making in aircraft cockpits. Its founder is David Beaty, a former Royal Air Force and a BOAC pilot who wrote "The Human Factor in Aircraft Accidents" (1969). Despite the considerable development of electronic aids since then, many principles he developed continue to prove effective.
Green Bay–Austin Straubel International Airport is a county-owned public-use airport in Brown County, Wisconsin, United States, which serves Northeastern Wisconsin. It is the fourth busiest of eight commercial service airports in Wisconsin in terms of passengers served. The airport is located 7 nautical miles southwest of downtown Green Bay, in the village of Ashwaubenon. It is included in the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) National Plan of Integrated Airport Systems for 2023–2027, in which it is categorized as a non-hub primary commercial service facility. The airport sits on portions of land encompassing Green Bay and the Oneida Nation of Wisconsin's Indian reservation. It has two runways and is used for commercial air travel and general aviation. There are two concourses with six gates each. The airport is named for Lt. Col. Austin Straubel, the first aviator from Brown County to die in his country's service on February 3, 1942, after having served for thirteen years in the United States Army Air Corps. The airport name was officially changed to Green Bay–Austin Straubel International Airport on August 17, 2016.
Pilot error generally refers to an accident in which an action or decision made by the pilot was the cause or a contributing factor that led to the accident, but also includes the pilot's failure to make a correct decision or take proper action. Errors are intentional actions that fail to achieve their intended outcomes. The Chicago Convention defines the term "accident" as "an occurrence associated with the operation of an aircraft [...] in which [...] a person is fatally or seriously injured [...] except when the injuries are [...] inflicted by other persons." Hence the definition of "pilot error" does not include deliberate crashing.
The airport apron, apron, flight line, ramp, or tarmac is the area of an airport where aircraft are parked, unloaded or loaded, refueled, boarded, or maintained. Although the use of the apron is covered by regulations, such as lighting on vehicles, it is typically more accessible to users than the runway or taxiway. However, the apron is not usually open to the general public, and a permit may be required to gain access. An apron's designated areas for aircraft parking are called aircraft stands.
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 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 Aviators Code Initiative (ACI), formerly the Aviators Model Code of Conduct, is a set of model recommended practices designed to improve general aviation safety and airmanship.
Maintenance resource management (MRM) training is an aircraft maintenance variant on crew resource management (CRM). Although the term MRM was used for several years following CRM's introduction, the first governmental guidance for standardized MRM training and its team-based safety approach, appeared when the FAA (U.S.) issued Advisory Circular 120-72, Maintenance Resource Management Training in September, 2000.
The Professional Aviation Safety Specialists (PASS) is affiliated with the AFL–CIO through its affiliation with the Marine Engineers' Beneficial Association. It represents more than 11,000 Federal Aviation Administration's (FAA) Airway Transportation Systems Specialists and Department of Defense employees.
Maritime resource management (MRM) or bridge resource management (BRM) is a set of human factors and soft skills training aimed at the maritime industry. The MRM training programme was launched in 1993 – at that time under the name bridge resource management – and aims at preventing accidents at sea caused by human error.
Donald Lee Moak is an expert in aviation safety, consultant, and the co-founder of Intrepid, a public affairs, advocacy, and business consulting firm located in Washington, D.C. He previously served as co-chair of The Special Committee to Review FAA’s Aircraft Certification Process. Before joining Delta Air Lines and working his way up to a B-767 Delta Air Lines captain, Moak served as a Marine Corps and U.S. Navy Reserve fighter pilot, and as president of the Air Line Pilots Association, International (ALPA).
In aviation safety, threat and error management (TEM) is an overarching safety management approach that assumes that pilots will naturally make mistakes and encounter risky situations during flight operations. Rather than try to avoid these threats and errors, its primary focus is on teaching pilots to manage these issues so they do not impair safety. Its goal is to maintain safety margins by training pilots and flight crews to detect and respond to events that are likely to cause damage (threats) as well as mistakes that are most likely to be made (errors) during flight operations.
Atlas Air Flight 3591 was a scheduled domestic cargo flight under the Amazon Air banner between Miami International Airport and George Bush Intercontinental Airport in Houston. On February 23, 2019, the Boeing 767-375ER(BCF) used for this flight crashed into Trinity Bay during approach into Houston, killing the two crew members and single passenger on board. The accident occurred near Anahuac, Texas, east of Houston, shortly before 12:45 CST (18:45 UTC). This was the first fatal crash of a Boeing 767 freighter.
On 27 January 2020, Caspian Airlines Flight 6936 overran the runway on landing at Mahshahr Airport, Iran, on a domestic flight from Tehran. All 144 people on board survived, with two injured.
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.
