Getting Reacquainted With NASA Callback
By Scott Spangler on October 13th, 2008
Cleaning out an old flight bag, in a long unvisited pocket I found a NASA form that must be more than a decade old. I was flying more than I do now, and I always carried the form in case I needed to submit the details of some inadvertent stupid pilot trick to the Aviation Safety Reporting System. If I did this in a timely manner, in most cases, it cut off an FAA enforcement action at the pass, if I submitted the form to NASA in a timely manner.
Fortunately, I never needed the form. Finding this relic, however, reminded me that it’s awhile since I’ve heard about the ASRS and seen its magazine, Callback. It was a good program, and the publication was an excellent way to learn from the mistakes of others. In the clutter of life its absence didn’t catch my attention, but the memory of its benefit motivated me to get reacquainted, if the program still existed.
It took less than a minute to find the Aviation Safety Reporting System website, and I’m happy to see that it is still around. The information pilots volunteer in the interest of safety still cannot be used as part of an FAA enforcement action, and pilots can now securely and anonymously submit it online. More important, Callback still exists as an electronic publication, and you can search an online database. Score another one for the Internet!
In addition to the database, the good folks at ASRA have posted database report sets that address 24 different topics, including Air Carrier (FAR 121) Flight Crew Fatigue Reports, Bird or Animal Strike Reports, General Aviation Flight Training Reports, Passenger Electronic Devices, and Runway Incursions. If you’re not aware of ASRS, the program’s website offers a concise briefing, and I’d suggest that you check it out. And the same goes if you’re like me and let its good work get away.
Now, if you’ll excuse me, I need to sign up for the monthly ASRS e-newsletter, and I have some reading to catch up on. — Scott Spangler
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[…] that it had done this before, but because I’ve only recently started reading it again (see Getting Reacquainted With NASA Callback), and I must have missed […]