New Haven Register (New Haven, CT)
Feds issue new safety suggestions after WWII plane crash at Bradley
WINDSOR LOCKS — The National Transportation Safety Board is set to issue a series of new safety recommendations to the Federal Aviation Administration, the organization announced Tuesday, prompted, in part, by the deadly October 2019 crash of a World War II bomber at Bradley International Airport.
The vintage B-17 Flying Fortress operating by the Collings Foundation crashed at Bradley on Oct. 2, 2019, after attempting to circle back and land soon into the flight, killing seven people and injuring six others.
The NTSB reviewed the Windsor Locks crash, along with seven other fatal incidents, in considering new standards for “various revenue passenger-carrying operations conducted under Title 14 Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) Part 91,” which include glider, living history and and hot air balloon sightseeing flights, according to a synopsis of the group’s upcoming report.
Officials with the NTSB said Tuesday that the body would recommend a series of new safety measures to the FAA, including “developing national safety standards” or the equivalent, for such flights; “identifying shortcomings in current regulations allowing some operators to exploit loopholes to avoid stricter oversight,” such as operating under the premise of providing instruction for flight students; and “requiring safety management systems for all revenue passenger-carrying operations” conducted under the Part 91 classification.
“These operations, which carry thousands of passengers for compensation or hire each year, are not held to the same maintenance, airworthiness, and operational standards as air carrier, commuter and on-demand, and air tour operations conducted under 14 CFR Parts 121,
135, and 136, respectively,” officials said in the synopsis released Tuesday. “Members of the public
who pay to participate in Part 91 revenue passengercarrying activities are likely unaware that these operations have less stringent requirements than other commercial aviation operations.”
“For this report, staff examined investigations of eight example accident flights fitting this description. All told, they took the lives of 45 people and injured 12 others. On behalf
of all of us at the NTSB, I offer our sincerest condolences to the friends and families of those lost, and we wish all those who were injured the fullest possible recovery,” NTSB Chairman Robert Sumwalt said in his opening remarks to a board meeting on the upcoming report and recommendations.