NTSB chief spells out tools for predictive investigations

Chairman Deborah A. P. Hersman, chairman of the National Transportation Safety Board, in a speech to the International Society of Air Safety Investigators Annual Seminar in Baltimore, Maryland said that the agency needs to transform accident investigations from reactive to predictive processes through the use of tools such as forensics, data and collaboration.
She said: “We can no longer rely on 20th century techniques to investigate 21st century accidents.”
“We are increasingly seeing regulators, manufacturers, operators and labor coming together joining forces through the Commercial Aviation Safety Team or through organizations like the Flight Safety Foundation. There’s been great success through collaboration—a strong move from reactive to predictive.
“All the data points in the world won’t necessarily connect the dots, yet in almost every accident we see ‘precursors,’ data that could have been used to understand breakdowns in safety margins and help predict accidents,” Hersman said.
“Aviation safety has no borders. We must use all of the tools available, forensics, data and technology. But the last tool is perhaps one of the most effective: our counterparts and colleagues.”