How to avoid a plane crash - Crunch Numbers
From the detailed Washington Post report -
Pilots and executives at 16 other airlines have similar data-monitoring initiatives approved by the Federal Aviation Administration that are known as flight operations quality assurance programs. The carriers scour the flight data, which is often combined with pilot reports, to identify potential “precursors,” a buzzword in aviation circles used to describe events that often go unnoticed until they lead to an accident. The data are amazingly detailed — small onboard memory discs (not the “black boxes”) capture hundreds of parameters that include airspeed, pitch angles, engine temperatures and movements.
Such data initiatives have grown so extensive in recent years that the FAA has launched its own effort to mine the information in search of precursors. Seven carriers have signed on to the initiative, which began in October. The FAA, which already combs government safety databases looking for precursors, thinks the flight data will be a powerful tool when combined with other information, including pilot reports and radar plots.
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