Still Bird Brained

This is classic FAA. It’s so dumb, it leaves you wondering if you aren’t the one that is missing some piece of the equation.

”WASHINGTON — The federal government plans to block public access to its records of aircraft and bird collisions such as the one that forced a US Airways jet to splashdown in New York's Hudson River in January.

The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) says that the information could mislead the public and its release could prompt some airports and others not to report incidents, but the proposal is drawing sharp criticism from bird safety experts and public records advocates. “

Read the whole article at USA Today. Be sure you catch this part:

”The government estimates that only 20% of incidents involving commercial aircraft are reported under the current system. In 1999, the National Transportation Safety Board urged the FAA to require that pilots report bird collisions to improve the data. The agency refused. “

For those in the know, think ATSAP. Think about what it means to give these fools the keys to the kingdom.

Then think NASA ASRS. It has a proven track record. And it works.

BTW, you can thank PATCO.

From the FAA Historical Chronology, 1926-1996...

May 7, 1975: FAA and PATCO reached agreement on a two-year contract (signed and effective Jul 8). The contract's 74 articles included a guarantee of controller inclusion in the Aviation Safety Reporting Program (see Apr 8, 1975) and affected such matters as an expansion of familiarization flight privileges (see Aug 14, 1974), working conditions, and career enhancement. (See Mar 17, 1973, and Jul 28-31, 1976.)

Don Brown
March 27, 2009