Safety Resources

Flight Safety Foundation. The FSF is a leading independent organization dedicated to the advancement of safety. Besides its many helpful safety publications, it also conducts in-depth safety audits of various aspects of the airline business, providing them with deep levels of insight.

Bluecoat Forum. The Bluecoat Forum is a private mailing list, designed for active pilots. It was formed by Captain Bill Bulfer and a collection of pilots in the mid-1990s, with the objective of improving communication on the operational issues around the use of flight management computers and highly automated cockpits. The group is hosted by Eurocontrol.

Safety Boards

Australia. Australian Transport Safety Bureau.

Bahrain. Civil Aviation Authority.

Canada. Transportation Safety Board of Canada.

Colombia. Aeronautica Civil.

Denmark. Accident Investigation Board.

Dominican Republic . Director General of Civil Aviation.

Egypt. Ministry of Civil Aviation, Central Administration for Aviation Accidents.

Ethiopia. Ethiopian Civil Aviation Authority Flight Safety Department.

Finland. Finland Accident Investigation Board.

France. Bureau d'Enquetes et d'Analyses (this site contains accident reports from several countries under France's sphere of influence or affecting products with significant French interest).

Germany. Federal Bureau of Aircraft Accidents Investigation.

Hong Kong. Civil Aviation Department Hong Kong, Accident Investigation Division.

Indonesia. National Transportation Safety Committee (NTSC).

Ireland. Air Accident Investigation Unit (AAIU).

Italy. ANSV -- Agenzia Nazionale per la Sicurezza del Volo.

The Netherlands . The Dutch Safety Board.

New Zealand. Transport Accident Investigation Commission (TAIC).

Norway. Accident Investigation Board Norway (AIB).

Portugal. Aviation Accidents Prevention and Investigation Department.

Spain. Civil Aviation Accident and Incident Investigation Commission (CIAIAC).

Sweden. Swedish Accident Investigation Board.

Switzerland. Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau.

Taiwan. Aviation Safety Council.

Thailand. Aircraft Accidents Prevention and Investigation Branch.

United Kingdom. Aircraft Accident Investigation Board.

United States. National Transportation Safety Board.

Regulatory and Standards

International Air Transport Association. Advocacy group designed to advance the interests of the airline industry.

International Civil Aviation Organization. A UN body, ICAO establishes international operational standards for member countries.

Joint Aviation Authorities. The JAA establishes operational and certification standards for much of civil aviation in Europe.

Federal Aviation Administration. Having authority over the largest aviation environment on the planet, the impact of FAA policies, guidelines, and rule-making goes far and deep. FAA operational structure and policies are either duplicated or emulated by many countries.

Civil Aviation Administration. As with the FAA, the UK's CAA has widespread international impact.

Eurocontrol. European Organization for the Safety of Air Navigation.

Other Agencies. Information on other agencies can be found through the FAA's International Flight Information Manual.

Technology Resources

FMC User's Guide. Bill Bulfer's collection of operational tips for users of flight management computers.

Boeing 737 Management Reference Guide. Amplified annotated abnormal procedures by a 737 pilot for Boeing 737 pilots.

Boeing 737 Technical Site. A different site, by a 737 engineering test pilot, focusing on systems. There is also an expanded (and exhaustive) print version available.

Sjap's 737 Maintenance Experience Exchange. A maintenance tech, in the late 1990s, mentioned to me that sections of the DC-10 maintenance manual are "to be posted," i.e., still in development.(!) While modern maintenance manuals don't appear to have this annotation, this site seems to think there are still things best resolved by interaction between technicians, issues that the manufacturers may have missed via their no doubt excellent closed-loop feedback processes.

Boeing. A great amount of useful and often generic safety-related information can be found in the public sections of Boeing's website.

Other Resources

Airline Pilot's Historical Society. A non-profit dedicated to preserving our aviation heritage. A resource for museums and aviation "home-simmers."

Aviation Safety Network . A service of the Flight Safety Foundation, a highly comprehensive source of international safety statistics.

Directory of Design Support Methods. Contains references to human systems integration (HSI) design and interface tools, techniques, databases, guides and standardization documents. HSI encompasses human factors, human performance, training, manpower and personnel systems analysis and design. .

Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University. ERAU's Prescott campus maintains an online repository, of varying quality, of most NTSB accident reports.

Flight Deck Automation Issues. A database of automation issues resulting from a great deal of research into the topic in the 1990s, hosted at Oregon State University.

General Microfilm . One way the government distributes technical data developed by the NTSB.

National Technical Information Service. One way the government distributes technical data developed by the government.

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