NTSB Chairman Reiterates Interest in Cargo Airline Safety

U.S. National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) Chairman Mark V. Rosenker has reiterated his agency's continuing interest in cargo airline safety, particularly regarding inflight fire protection.

Speaking before the Cargo Airline Association in Washington, D.C. recently, Mr. Rosenker said that the cargo industry can take pride in having suffered only three fatal crashes in the last 10 years, given its many thousands of operations flown every year.  However, cargo fires still remain a problem that the industry must address.

Cargo aircraft are required only to have a fire detection system, not a fire suppression system, for inflight cargo fire protection.  The NTSB recommended in 1998 that the Federal Aviation Administration explore the possibility of requiring such systems, but the FAA has declined to take action, citing the added weight such a system would provide.

"The Safety Board continues to encourage the FAA to evaluate currently available systems and promote new technology to reduce weight, increase reliability and create a system whose cost will encourage operators to install them," Rosenker said, while noting that a major cargo carrier has introduced such a system which meets all these criteria.

The Board is completing its investigation into a serious cargo aircraft fire in Philadelphia last year, and will consider a final report on that accident in December.

Chairman Rosenker's speech can be found on the Board's Website at http://www.ntsb.gov/speeches/rosenker/mvr071017.html.  10-23-2007.

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