1998 in Review

This is a milestone in history. We all had a part in this great success. Now it is 1999 and we will fly even more passengers a greater number of miles. As we strive to sustain this record, we must guard against complacency.

Some news articles suggested that we should not note the success of 1998. The premise is that if we do not note the accomplishments we will continue to strive and the chance of complacency would be reduced. This is a shallow appraisal of the professionalism in the aviation industry. Instead of failing to acknowledge the strides made in safety over the years, we should take this achievement and use the same successful methods to continue improvements.

How do we keep up our guard so that this record continues? The answer is in the basics. We must follow procedures, be conservative in our operational decisions, and not let the time pressures of flight operations interfere with decisions that affect safety. The old football analogy still applies: you win football games by playing better basic football than your opponent plays.

We should also realize that since we have flown over a year without a passenger fatality, this is the new standard. Any future accident will see a comparison made to 1998. The question of why were we able to be safe then, and not now, is a certainty. This will be a tough question to answer.

Safety improvements continue to be made in our industry. Enhanced Ground Proximity Warning Systems (EGPWS) are being installed on many aircraft. The classic accident of a perfectly good airplane flying into the ground may be behind us. Traffic Collision Avoidance System (TCAS) has reduced the chance of midair collisions. Windshear detection, both airborne and ground based, gives us warning of microbursts so we may avoid them. Pilot training is improving so we are better trained to handle abnormal inflight events. With this improved training the loss-of-control-inflight
accident may be eliminated.

After a couple of calls the unbelievable story unfolded. Yes, there were cracks found in some of the new replacement servo valves. None were on aircraft but there was concern. No, we do not know how the cracks occurred. More testing is underway. Yes, the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) and Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) know about it. Yes, the B-737 operators are being made aware of the problem. No, there is not a plan yet; we just found out about it ourselves.

Boeing was forthright and up-front with answers to some tough questions. The only one they could not answer at the time was, "What do we do now?" Experts convened in several labs across the country and tests reveled that the cracks did not pose a hazard to flight. The explanation was long and complex but the result was that the airplane was safe to continue to fly. The opinion of the experts was unanimous, we should test the new valves in service to be sure that they were not cracked but there was not a danger. ALPA agreed with this assessment.

Aviation’s quality control system has worked again. When a problem was found we worked together to find solutions. The manufacturer, operators, FAA, NTSB, and ALPA collectively evaluated the predicament and agreed on the best options. We found the right experts to explain the nature of the cracks and the potential for additional problems. We carefully evaluated the risk to the airplane. We agreed on a plan to change any valve that was cracked.

In the near future, all of the servo valves will be changed. The newest valve is a significant improvement over the original one. It was an unexpected event for a crack to be found. None have been found on an airplane and the question of damage sustained in handling or storage is unanswered.

The saga of the B-737 rudder control unit problems continues. One day we will have all the improvements installed. The manufacturers are producing the new units as fast as possible. The operators, the FAA, the NTSB, and ALPA are carefully watching this process. We need the new units, but we have to ensure that they are properly made. The quality control system that has worked in the past is working on this issue. We will continue to watch it carefully.