NTSB Closes Special Investigative Report on Agricultural Aviation Industry based on NAAA Education Efforts
NAAA was informed this week that the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) has closed Special Investigative Report (SIR) SIR-14/01. The SIR was released in 2014 with the goal of addressing agricultural aircraft accidents. It was based on a detailed analysis conducted by NTSB of all 2013 ag aviation accidents.
The SIR included safety recommendations for both the ag aviation industry and the FAA. These recommendations were summarized in four action items the NTSB suggested NAAA and FAA work to create:
- Guidance on fatigue management
- Guidance on risk management
- Best management practices on ag aircraft maintenance and inspection
- Standardized information for ag aircraft knowledge and skills test
Recommendations one through three were addressed through magazine and website education content and PAASS programs covering maintenance, risk management, and fatigue, NAAA’s Combatting Fatigue in Ag Aviation brochure, and FAA’s Safety Alert for Operators (SAFO) for Part 137 operations. NTSB responded to these efforts by informing NAAA they considered these three recommendations “closed with acceptable action.”
To address the fourth recommendation, NAAA created a knowledge and skill subcommittee that worked for several years to develop The Agricultural Airman Guidelines (AAG), published in May of 2024. In conjunction with the AAG, the NAAA Education Center was also created. Courses on the Education Center are and will continue to be structured around the AAG and the industry’s professional certification program, Certified Professional Aerial Applicator Safety Steward (C-PAASS), to ensure ag aviators have access to industry standardized education covering all aspects of the Part 137 knowledge and skills test.
After completing the AAG and launching the first courses on the NAAA Education Center, NAAA sent NTSB a letter detailing how these two efforts addressed the recommendation for ag aviation knowledge and skills guidance. The NTSB responded in a letter indicating this recommendation is “Closed—Exceeds Recommended Action”. While this is good news for the industry, the industry still experiences too many fatal accidents. NAAA will continue efforts to provide safety education for ag aviators and it encourages all aerial applicators to become C-PAASS certified each year due to statistical evidence that proves participating in these professional programs markedly mitigates both accidents and drift.