FAA Administrator Not Pleased With GA Accident Rate…. Has Ordered Study To Change Testing Standards

by Dave Weiman

HARTFORD, CT – FAA Administrator Randy Babbitt told pilots and aircraft owners at the general session at the AOPA Summit, September 23, 2011, that he is concerned with the rising accident rate in General Aviation, and has  initiated a study to get to the bottom of why this trend is occurring. One area he hopes will help will be to change FAA written test standards and aeronautical knowledge training. Of the 195 GA accidents this past year, 114 had fatalities.

“I want to focus on professionalism in the cockpit,” said Babbitt. The Administrator plans to seek input from flight schools in developing the new standards.

The Administrator is also directing a program to help the industry better explain the role of GA airports to the public.

Concerning “NextGen,” or the modernization of the air traffic control system, Babbitt wants GA aircraft owners to equip their aircraft, sooner rather than later, and noted the benefits in doing so.

“I don’t have a switch in the back room to just turn it on,” said Babbitt, but he noted the safety and efficiency of having such equipment as ADS-B in and out installed. ADS-B out will be required by 2020. There is no timeline for requiring ADS-B in, but the FAA is working on that, he said. The Administrator noted that the savings aircraft owners will realize in getting aviation weather without having to pay for a subscription, will offset the cost of the equipment required. With ADS-B out and in, more airspace will be available to pilots. “The more equipment you have, the more access you will have to airspace,” he noted. “One of the great features of ADS-B in and out is that it provides radar coverage where radar coverage was not available before.”

Another benefit of NextGen will be the ability to fly “profile descents,” from as high as 35,000 feet, which only require power adjustments by the pilot. Delta Airlines is already saving on average 60 gallons of fuel per approach.

AOPA President Craig Fuller seemed supportive of the proposed changes, and realizes modernization will need to be done in stages. “Let’s build confidence (in the system).

The FAA has no plans to install any new Instrument Landing Systems (ILS) said Babbitt. Each ILS costs $3 million to install, and a lot of maintenance thereafter. WAAS GPS approach systems are much more cost-effective, said the Administrator.

Fuller raised concern over the White House’s proposal to create “user fees” to help reduce the deficit, and asked Babbitt if approved by Congress, just how such a plan would be implemented. Babbitt responded: “It’s a little early to get excited about the Red Skins going to the Super Bowl,” implying that President Obama will have a difficult time getting his proposal through Congress. Instead, the FAA is finding cost-saving measures within the FAA, such as reducing administrative costs and wasteful spending.

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