Training video for general aviators will help keep passengers safe
August 9, 2011, 02:51 pm
General Aviation News reports that the Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association (AOPA) Air Safety Institute (ASI) is taking steps to increase safety. Following a recommendation from the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB), ASI is currently developing a training video to educate general aviation pilots on giving effective emergency communications and survival equipment briefing to passengers.
In August 2010, former U.S. Senator Ted Stevens and four others lost their lives in a general aviation accident in Alaska. The satellite phone and survival kit onboard the plane could have helped the survivors get rescued earlier, but none of the passengers were aware that either was aboard the craft. The NTSB recommendation came on the heels of an investigation into the crash.
Bruce Landsberg, president of the AOPA Foundation, wrote in a letter to the NTSB that the video "will include knowing basic VHF [very high frequency] radio operation, personal locator beacon operation, the use of cell phones and the cockpit ELT [emergency locator transmitter] switch. Additionally, egress procedures and how to locate survival gear are essential items for passengers to understand. This should increase passenger survival if ever involved in a general aviation accident."
The Federal Aviation Administration reports that in 2010, there were 1,384 general aviation accidents in the United States. All aviators should consider the benefits of life insurance for pilots.
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