​The NTSB is considered a non-essential service and on-site accident investigations have been suspended during COVID-19. With no one on site to gather facts and evidence, John and Greg ask if the NTSB is needed anymore.

Even before the pandemic, the agency had an increasing case backlog. Reports that have been issued recently are incomplete and offer scant safety insight.

John and Greg find the recent NTSB reports inadequate to identify risks and determine effective mitigation. The reports lack the evidence to support the stated probable causes and offer little safety insight.

As John and Greg celebrate the one-year anniversary of Flight Safety Detectives, they use their straight-talking platform to call out the agency they have both proudly served for failing to do its job.

Greg and John examine the transcript of the cockpit voice recorder from American Flight 1420, a MD-80 that crashed at Little Rock Airport in 1999. Greg served as the NTSB investigator in charge (IIC) and John was part of the headquarters support team.

The 30-min recording reveals the pilots were racing the weather as well as fatigue from a long workday. John and Greg walk through the conversation reflected in the recording, highlighting how different decisions could have changed the deadly outcome.

They offer insights beyond the words of the transcript. What isn’t said and done is as compelling as what is documented in the CVR.

Greg and John discuss the process of looking at the aftermath to determine the cause and what could be learned. Findings led to checklist and operational procedures changes as well as configuration updates at the Little Rock airport.

​Assumptions and expectations in all roles in aviation often lead to the most serious accidents. John and Greg share anecdotes that illustrate the point.

This is a trying time for air travel and air safety. Greg and John are frustrated by the growing number of accidents that are not being investigated by either the NTSB or FAA. They wonder out loud why investigators, who have ample biohazard training, are not able to visit accident scenes to do their job?

Special focus is on American Flight 1420, a MD-80 that crashed at Little Rock Airport in 1999. Greg served as the NTSB investigator in charge (IIC) and John was part of the headquarters support team.

Listen to this wind up to Episode 41, which will dissect the cockpit voice recorder recovered from the Flight 1420 crash site.

John and Greg often make the point that flight safety involves both hangar and cockpit. This episode illustrates the point.

They walk through an accident involving a Cessna 177 Cardinal. The plane was in for annual maintenance. Although the mechanic had signed off in the logbook, the final run up was not completed before the pilot retrieved the plane.

The plane crashed shortly after takeoff. The investigation found no oil left in the engine. A loose oil cooler line suspected.

John and Greg highlight the need for mechanic and pilot to share information. Each individually has due diligence responsibilities as well as a shared responsibility to communicate.

This episode includes a big announcement. Avemco Insurance Company has joined the Flight Safety Detectives team as a primary sponsor!

​When a Piper Aerostar collided in mid-air with a Bell 412 helicopter over an elementary school in Lower Merion Township, Pennsylvania, in 1991 Greg Feith was among the first investigators on the scene. Greg and John revisit the investigation to highlight NTSB findings that are relevant for pilots today.

The accident started the NTSB discussion and definition of aeronautical decision making. ADM is an important component of safe flying, in the cockpit and the hangar.

In the 1991 accident, five people in both aircraft were killed, including United States Senator John Heinz. Two school children on the ground were also killed by falling debris. More people on the ground were injured.

Greg describes the heartbreaking scene as well as the challenges of recovering evidence from a large debris field. Calling this a tragic event resulting from a “series of simple errors,” Greg talks about the role of crew experience, pilot communication and other notable factors.

​The cockpit voice recorder is called the “electronic witness” by crash investigators. In this episode, John and Greg walk through the CVR recovered during the investigation of ValuJet Flight 592 that crashed in the Everglades.

The CVR captures conversations. It also documents ambient noises that offer clues, especially when aligned with information from the flight data recorder.

Greg and John offer insight into what was learned from the CVR. Routine discussions quickly changed with the call of “fire” at 14:10. The recording shows rapid-fire issues unfolding. It chillingly shows that all on board seem to have succumbed to smoke asphyxiation before the plane crashed.

This second-by-second analysis expands on Episode 30 addressing listener questions and interest in detailed CVR analysis.

A panel discussion from the campus of Vaughn College explores many aspects of a successful career in aviation. From formal education to soft skills, Greg, John and their guests explore the factors that lead to success.

Students discuss their plans and the options they are exploring to start their careers. Also featured are professor Capt. Emerson Allen, experienced pilot Capt. Chinar Shaw, and management department chair Dr. Maxine Lubner.

Highlights:

• Training options and career paths
• The role of women in all aspects of aviation
• Importance of communication and management skills
• Passion as a key trait

​Listen as panel members share their first-hand experiences and field questions from students.

Vaughn College of Aeronautics and Technology is a private college in East Elmhurst, New York, specialized in aviation and engineering education. John serves as an instructor in the management program. This episode was recorded prior to the COVID-19 outbreak in the US.

Instructions on how to use the oxygen mask is a mainstay of the airline safety briefing. With passengers now required to wear masks, does the mask go over the mask?

The tried and true safety briefing needs to be revamped in light of COVID-19 prevention measures.

Greg Feith and John Goglia look at standard safety protocols that are disrupted by COVID-19 precautions. They talk about what it will mean for airlines to keep passengers safe.

What about airflow in cabins? United has announced changes that increase air intake during boarding and deplaning. The importance of onboard hepafilters has also taken on new priority.

They also talk about the 25th anniversary of the Air France Concorde crash. That tragic event resulted in safety lessons and forever changed supersonic flight.

​Greg and John are torqued! Too many accidents, too much pilot error and too little attention to safety lessons learned.

Greg and John are not happy with the state of the industry and propose that manufacturers step in to make sure aircraft don’t wind up in the hands of airlines and pilots not equipped to operate safely. It is time to put safety over profits.

This episode covers recent accidents, including a plane piloted by a former baseball player, a mid-air crash over Lake Croeur, and a Pakistan International Airlines crash. All, they argue, can be directly attributed to pilot error.

General and commercial aviation will not be the same after COVID-19. Greg and John say this is a perfect time to change up approaches to safety.

They’d like to see more incentives for pilots to actively maintain their training and safety skills. They call on manufacturers to collaborate to create standards that customers must meet in order to qualify to purchase aircraft.

Listen as they explore ideas to reinvent the industry to incentivize safety.

Greg Feith takes us inside his experience as the NTSB investigator in charge (IIC) of the ValuJet Flight 592 investigation. John Goglia was also involved. Together they talk through the launch of that investigation and share many behind-the-scenes experiences.
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• Creative procurement of resources needed
• A rental car that rolled into the water
• 3 am recovery of a wreckage “souvenir” at the home of a worker
• The special smell in the hangar where the wreckage was reconstructed

These memories are overlaid with recollections of the high stress, emotion and expectations of the seven plus months of investigation. The teamwork onsite created many lasting connections and relationships.