NTSB: Pilots should notify passengers about emergency communication equipment

Washington – A National Transportation Safety Board letter (.pdf file) released June 9 recommends educating pilots about the benefits of notifying passengers of the location and operation of emergency communication equipment on airplanes.

The safety recommendation letter comes in response to an August 2010 single-engine airplane crash near Aleknagik, AK. The pilot and four passengers were killed; four other passengers received serious injuries. The airplane carried a survival kit and a satellite telephone, but the pilot did not brief passengers about the items. NTSB concluded that if the pilot had informed the passengers about the location of all emergency communication equipment on the airplane, the passengers may have been able to expedite the initiation of search-and-rescue activities after the incident.