TSB Says "Train Flight Crews to Avoid Accidents"

GATINEAU, QC, Oct. 14 /CNW Telbec/ - The Transportation Safety Board of Canada (TSB) announced today that flight crews must be better trained to work together and use all available information and tools to make the right decisions under pressure.

The TSB is calling on Transport Canada to make crew resource management (CRM) training mandatory for all operators in Canada .

Currently, only bigger airlines are required to provide CRM training to crews, and companies providing air taxi and commuter services are not held to the same standard.

This recommendation follows TSB's investigation into the crash of a medical evacuation flight in Sandy Bay , Saskatchewan, in 2007, which claimed the life of the pilot.

In the investigation, the TSB found the plane operated normally until it abandoned its landing attempt and crashed into trees beyond the end of the runway.

"This crew did not employ basic strategies that could have helped prevent the chain of events leading to this accident," said David Ross , Investigator in Charge.

"CRM training can significantly improve flight crew effectiveness and provide crews with better coping skills to face emergencies," he added, "but recurrent training is needed to change attitudes and behaviours for good."

That is why the TSB recommends that all crews flying air taxi and commuter services be required to take CRM training at regular intervals.

"Making this training mandatory for all flight crews is the first step in the right direction but training must be reinforced so that best practices are not only learned but remembered," says Mr. Ross .

The TSB is an independent agency that investigates marine, pipeline, railway and aviation transportation occurrences. Its sole aim is the advancement of transportation safety. It is not the function of the Board to assign fault or determine civil or criminal liability.

This news release, the photo gallery and the final report can be found on the TSB website at www.bst-tsb.gc.ca.

For further information: Transportation Safety Board of Canada, Media Relations, Telephone: [phone]