NTSB addresses plane crash caused by underinflated tires
The National Transportation Safety Board recently issued 14 new safety recommendations and reissued six more to the Federal Aviation Administration regarding a September 2008 crash.
According to a letter (.pdf file) dated April 14, on Sept. 19, 2008, a Bombardier Learjet Model 60, N999LJ overran a runway during a rejected take-off at Columbia Metropolitan Airport South Carolina. The captain, first officer and two passengers were killed, and two other passengers were seriously injured. An investigation found all four tires, which failed during take-off, were severely underinflated at the time of the incident.
In other news, NTSB on April 8 released preliminary statistics for aviation accidents in 2009, which show an overall decrease. Statistics indicate the total number of U.S. civil aviation accidents decreased to 1,551 in 2009 from 1,658 in 2008. Total fatalities also decreased to 534 from 566. General aviation accidents decreased to 1,474 in 2009 from 1,566 in 2008.
However, the accident rate increased to 7.20 per 100,000 flight hours in 2009 from 6.86 in 2008. In addition, the fatal accident rate increased to 1.33 from 1.21.
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