NTSB: Glass Hasnt Made Us Safer

A year-long study by the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) concludes the last decades glass-cockpit revolution has not resulted in enhanced safety. In making its March 9, 2010, announcement, the Board said its results found single-engine airplanes manufactured between 2002 and 2006 and equipped with glass cockpits had a higher fatal accident rate than similar aircraft with conventional instruments. The NTSB blamed complexity and lack of standardization among different aircraft and their glass panels, which has resulted in pilots failing to "understand the unique operational and functional details of the primary flight instruments in their airplanes."

Key Takeaways:

• A National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) study concluded that single-engine airplanes equipped with glass cockpits had a fatal accident rate more than double that of similar aircraft with conventional instruments.
• The NTSB attributed this higher fatal accident rate to the complexity and lack of standardization of glass panels, which prevented pilots from fully understanding their unique operational details.
• The study strongly emphasized the need for better, equipment-specific training for pilots to safely operate glass-cockpit aircraft, leading to six safety recommendations for the FAA.

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