julienav8

The NTSB must be concerned about part 135 air carriers operating single-engine airplanes. Part 135 multi-engine operators have been required to complete, carry with them in the airplane and transmit load manifests back to their carrier for quite some time now. (decades) Then the operator must retain a record of each flight’s loading condition for 30 days following each flight. When FAA safety inspectors complete records inspections during routine surveillance activities, this is one of the many records they inspect.

But that didn’t stop the pilot of the famous female pop icon’s chartered flight in the Bahamas a bunch of years ago from loading the aircraft outside the weight & balance envelope and crashing on takeoff. This has been repeated many times since in a variety of single and multi-engine airplanes.

With that said, only multi-engine part 135 airplane flights are required to comply with 14 CFR part 135.63(c) and (d). Single engine airplanes are not specified in that rule. However the latest safety initiative from the FAA is the new requirement to have an approved Safety Management System (SMS) in effect that complies with the new 14 CFR Part 5 requirements. All part 135 operators are required to have an approved SMS in place within about the next year or so. An SMS is supposed to incorporate industry best safety practices.

Moreover, the SMS must be incorporated into and become a part of all processes and procedures included in their FAA accepted Operations Manual. Part 121 was the first to be required to incorporate SMS several years ago and now it’s time for 135 operators to comply. Its also an ICAO and EASA thing. Has been for awhile.

So the question is whether this new requirement will induce careless operators to comply with what is really the common-sense pilot survival technique of determining that the weight and center of gravity condition is within flight manual or POH limits before flight. Most of the crashes happened not simply because a rule wasn’t followed but because the pilot didn’t comply with the laws of physics. Or the published limitations for the aircraft they were operating.

I’m not sure if NTSB recommendations will turn into a change in behavior for the very few pilots who disregard such known operating limitations or not. Education and training should definitely be conducted alongside any new rule adopted by regulators. The vast majority of 100 hour private pilots already know this, so why do more experienced pilots with higher ratings need to be reminded. Your guess is as good as mine.

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