National Aviation Weather Program
Mid-Course Assessment

Accident Reduction Trends Confirm Value
of Coordinated R&D Programs


FCM-R20-2003
August 2003
This report is an assessment of the progress made in reducing weather-related aviation accidents and reviews the progress made toward reaching the aviation weather safety goals detailed in the 1997 National Aviation Weather Program Strategic Plan. In addition to the FAA, many other federal agencies, including the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), the Department of Defense (through the military services), and the other partners in the National Aviation Weather Program Council (NAW/PC) have contributed to the report. In particular, the program portfolio analysis draws on the information from the National Aviation Weather Initiatives Final Baseline Tier 3/4 Report and the update process for Tier 3/4 program analysis. The metric used for the mid-course assessment is the 80 percent reduction goal recommended in 1997 by the White House Commission on Aviation Safety and Security and the current FAA draft Flight Plan 2004-2008. The performance assessment is based on NTSB aviation accident data from 1995 through 2001 and examines both fatal weather-related accidents and all weather-related accidents.
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The Entire Report (558 KB)
  By Section
 

COVERS (28 KB)

 

FOREWORD, EXECUTIVE SUMMARY AND TABLE OF CONTENTS (107 KB)

  CHAPTER 1 INTRODUCTION (56 KB)
    FAA Accident Reduction Goal and Objectives
    NTSB Aviation Accident Database
    Assessment Strategy and Assumptions
  CHAPTER 2 OVERVIEW OF AVIATION ACCIDENT DATA 1996–2001 (39 KB)
    Major Commercial Carriers
    Smaller Aircraft in Revenue Service
    General Aviation
  CHAPTER 3 RISK ANALYSIS FOR AVIATION WEATHER HAZARDS (71 KB)
    Service Areas and Weather Hazard Categories
    General Aviation Weather Hazard Trends
    Part 121 Weather Hazard Trends
    Part 135 Weather Hazard Trends
    Conclusions from the Weather Hazard Risk Analysis
  CHAPTER 4 AVIATION WEATHER PROGRAMS—PORTFOLIO ANALYSIS (236 KB)
   

Portfolio Overview
    Programs Relevant to the Hazard Analysis
    Highlights of Past, Current, and Future Implementations
  CHAPTER 5 CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS (82 KB)
    Accident Risk Reduction Actions
    Conclusion on the General Status of the Portfolio
  References
  Appendix A. NTSB Weather Factor Citation Data 1995–2001
  Appendix B. Acronyms and Abbreviations
Publications List
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