More than 25 percent of operators audited through Flight Safety Foundation’s Basic Aviation Risk Standard (BARS) Program provided pilots with no formal training in how to use onboard equipment designed to prevent collisions with terrain or other aircraft, according to a recent data analysis.
Some 140 aircraft operators – those providing regular contracted flights, occasional charter flights or regular passenger transport to a variety of organizations — were questioned during 542 safety audits conducted from 2012 through 2019. (Some operators were audited multiple times.) The BARS data analysis examined various personnel training matters, including the availability of training in the use of ground-proximity warning systems (GPWS) and traffic-alert and collision avoidance systems (TCAS).
The analysis was designed to identify “non-conformities” – areas in which the operators’ practices did not conform to BARS-recommended safety practices. Of 29 audit standa…
