WASHINGTON, D.C., November 14, 2012 – General Aviation Manufacturers Association (GAMA) President and CEO Pete Bunce responded to today’s announcement by the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) regarding the inclusion of "General Aviation Safety" to the agency’s “Most Wanted List.”
“The general aviation (GA) industry has long made safety its number one priority. The GA manufacturing industry has aggressively taken on numerous initiatives to further reduce and ultimately prevent (GA) accidents and incidents.
GAMA is leading the rewrite of safety standards for light end general aviation through the FAA’s Part 23 Rewrite, Aviation Rulemaking Committee (ARC). This effort is focused on simplifying the code with the goal of doubling safety while reducing the cost of product certification by half. The effort has participation from regulators around the world including authorities from Australia, Brazil, Canada, China, Europe, New Zealand, USA, and Operator Organizations.
The FAA, along with GA industry stakeholders, has revitalized the General Aviation Joint Steering Committee (GAJSC) to look at loss-of-control accidents and develop mitigations to reduce these accidents. The GAJSC supports the FAA’s goal of reducing the fatal accident rate in GA to no more than one fatal accident per 100,000 hours of flight time. Key focus areas include: enhanced angle-of-attack awareness for pilots, improved decision-making tools, and a streamlined approach to installing safety enhancing technology, such as advanced avionics, on GA aircraft. The GAJSC safety analysis team is co-chaired by GAMA and the FAA Office of Accident Investigation and Prevention. The NTSB has recognized the progress made by the GAJSC to advance safety.
The GA industry has made extraordinary strides in improving safety and addressing critical issues that have long plagued the GA community. Our valuable and productive working relationship with government agencies, including NTSB, will continue as we all aim for the top level of safety for the entire GA industry. We appreciate the NTSB highlighting the importance of making progress in general aviation safety.”