FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASECONTACT: Gregg Overman. .Director of Communications. .Allied Pilots Association. .817-302-2250
. .ALLIED PILOTS ASSOCIATION RESPONDS TO NATIONAL TRANSPORTATION. .SAFETY BOARD RECOMMENDATION CONCERNING PILOT TRAINING OMISSIONS:. .GUIDANCE NEEDED 'AS SOON AS POSSIBLE'
Fort Worth, Texas (February 8, 2002)-The Allied Pilots. .Association (APA), which serves as collective bargaining agent. .for the 11,000 pilots of American Airlines, responded to the. .NTSB's Safety Recommendation concerning omissions in pilot. .training on transport-category airplanes by calling for specific. .guidance as soon as possible.
. .The NTSB issued its Safety Recommendation today as part of the. .ongoing investigation into the accident involving American. .Airlines Flight #587. With today's Safety Recommendation, the. .NTSB acknowledged that pilots have not been informed that it is. .possible, in certain situations, to overstress key aircraft. .components even when on-board load limiting systems are in place. .and functioning properly.
. ."Pilots worldwide lack meaningful guidance regarding 'how much is. .too much' when it comes to rudder inputs," said Captain John. .Darrah, APA President. "As the NTSB notes in its Safety. .Recommendation, the widely used Airplane Upset Recovery Training. .Aid states that 'pilots must be prepared to use full control. .authority when necessary.'
. ."We look forward to receiving specific guidance for our pilots as. .soon as possible in this critical flight-safety matter."
. .In today's Safety Recommendation, the NTSB notes that it has not. .yet determined the probable cause of the Flight #587 accident.. .The NTSB also noted that the source of the rudder movements. .recorded by the Digital Flight Data Recorder on board the. .aircraft just before the accident have not been pinpointed.. .According to NTSB Chairwoman Marion Blakey during the NTSB's. .press conference this morning, "We do not know if those rudder. .movements were caused by the stabilizer's failure, or if the. .rudder movements perhaps were caused by a mechanical problem that. .was separate from that, or whether these movements were caused by. .the pilot.
. ."This Recommendation is about education and training," said. .Blakey. "It is not about pilot error."
. .Headquartered in Fort Worth, Texas, APA was founded in 1963. The. .union's Web site address is <a href="http://www.alliedpilots.org" target="_blank">www.alliedpilots.org</a>