Leadership From the Flight Deck
70 Results for Category Safety
Published on
May 26, 2016
This week, Canada’s transportation regulatory agency, Transport Canada, launched a social media campaign to raise awareness of the dangers associated with shining a laser at an aircraft. Transport Minister Marc Garneau introduced the “Not a Bright Idea” campaign on Tuesday at a press conference in Toronto.
By Capt. Tim Canoll
Even safer skies for airline passengers and air cargo shippers. That’s what the Federal Aviation Administration reauthorization passed by the U.S. Senate (H.R. 636) means for air transportation in this country. While ALPA will continue to press Congress to do more to combat safety risks, such as inadequately regulated lithium battery shipments and fatigue among pilots who fly cargo, this Senate reauthorization is encouraging.
Categories: Safety
Published on
April 5, 2016
By ALPA Staff
Despite mounting evidence pointing to the hazards associated with the bulk shipment of lithium batteries, the United States still has work to do to ensure that they can be safely shipped on both passenger and all-cargo aircraft. Currently, the Senate is taking action on a Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) reauthorization bill, and ALPA has worked tirelessly to ensure that this important legislation contains strong provisions on the safe transport of lithium batteries.
The international community recently agreed to new standards to improve lithium battery safety, and the International Civil Aviation Organization’s updated standards went into effect last week on April 1, 2016. These include a temporary ban on the shipment of lithium-ion batteries on passenger airliners until adequate safety regulations are in place, a ban on shipping lithium batteries with more than a 30 percent charge, and a prohibition on shipments of batteries packaged together undeclared as hazardous goods, a loophole known as “Section II overpack,” which has long been misused to get around required regulations to transport dangerous goods. ALPA has been advocating that the United States pursue full harmonization with all of those standards.
Categories: Safety
Published on
March 31, 2016
By ALPA Staff
As the popularity of unmanned aircraft systems (UAS) increases, so does the number of sightings of these devices in the national airspace system (NAS) by airline pilots. Recently, the FAA issued updated numbers of UAS sighting reports, and the initial findings indicate that more and more UAS are being operated well beyond the restrictions and safe guidelines established by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA).
According to the FAA, between August 2015 and January 31, 2016, there were over 580 reported UAS sightings from pilots, air traffic controllers, and citizens throughout the United States. With more than 406,000 devices registered since December, it’s more important than ever that those operating UAS understand and follow the rules.
Categories: Safety
Tags: Unmanned Air Systems
Published on
February 25, 2016
By Captain Scott Schwartz, ALPA Dangerous Goods Committee Chairman
For years, ALPA has been advancing awareness on the hazards associated with the bulk shipment of lithium batteries. Lithium batteries are more volatile than many goods currently classified and shipped as “dangerous goods,” and yet most shipments are excepted from the regulations associated with dangerous goods. Why?
Lithium batteries can self-ignite when damaged, defective, or exposed to a heat source. They also burn incredibly hot, and FAA testing has shown that fires involving lithium batteries are unresponsive to halon, the traditional extinguishing agent used aboard aircraft.
These dangers were highlighted last week when the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission concluded that “hover boards” are too dangerous and asked manufactures and sellers to take these items off the market.
Categories: Safety
Tags: Lithium Batteries