NTSB Takes On Midair Collisions

In the aftermath of its investigations into recent midair collisions the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) in November released guidance for pilots stressing the inherent limitations of the long-standing see-and-avoid practice and urging adoption of technological solutions. The NTSBs guidance is found in Safety Alert SA-058, Prevent Midair Collisions: Dont Depend on Vision Alone. The Safety Alert is available in the PDF file format free for the download at tinyurl.com/SAF058.

Monday, January 09, 2017 at 12:00 AM ET

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Key Takeaways:

The NTSB, following investigations into recent midair collisions (some involving controller errors), released Safety Alert SA-058 stressing the limitations of the "see-and-avoid" practice and urging the adoption of technological solutions for collision prevention.
While the NTSB's alert emphasizes technology, the article notes that traditional "see-and-avoid" and VFR flight-following services remain valid collision avoidance strategies, though not explicitly detailed in the NTSB's specific alert.
The AOPA Air Safety Institute and the University of North Dakota are researching whether replacing traditional rectangular traffic patterns with curved or oval ones could reduce loss-of-control accidents during the landing phase of flight.

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In the aftermath of its investigations into recent midair collisions the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) in November released guidance for pilots stressing “the inherent limitations” of the long-standing see-and-avoid practice and urging adoption of technological solutions. The NTSB’s guidance is found in Safety Alert SA-058, Prevent Midair Collisions: Don’t Depend on Vision Alone. The Safety Alert is available to download in the PDF file format for free.

The NTSB’s Safety Alert on midair collisions was developed as the Board investigated two recent accidents. One, involving a U.S. Air Force F-16 and a Cessna 150, occurred near Monck’s Corner, S.C., on July 5, 2015. Both aboard the Cessna died while the F-16 pilot safely ejected after the collision. Both aircraft were destroyed.