In its latest News Digest, the NTSB reported on the causes of several aircraft accidents.
NTSB determined that the captain's decision to land his aircraft contrary to Continental Airlines' standard operating procedures, which mandate a go-around when an approach is unstabilized below 500 feet or a ground proximity warning system alert continues below 200 feet above field elevation, resulted in the wheels up landing February 19, 1996 at Houston International Airport.
The good news is that the General Aviation, commuter operations carrying less than 30 seats, has the lowest fatal accident rate of 0.032 per 100,000 departures. On the other hand, air taxi fatality rates were the highest in the past 15 years - 1.42 per 100,000 flight hours. In the major airline category, the number of deaths, 380, was the second highest since 1982.
In a case that received extensive national coverage, the death of 7 year old Jessica Dubroff with her father and flight instructor, the NTSB blamed poor aeronautical decision-making coupled with stormy weather, an overweight aircraft and an overly ambitious trip itinerary April 11, 1996.
On November 19, 1996, a landing United Express collided with a King Air getting ready to take off. All 14 people aboard both aircraft died. NTSB determined that the King Air pilots failed to effectively monitor the common traffic radio frequency or properly scan for traffic before commencing their takeoff.
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