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Although the Federal Aviation Administration required
that a flight standards district office be notified in
writing of any major changes made to The Galloping Ghost
before it could be flown, investigators could find no
records that such notifications were made except for the
installation of the boil-off cooling system. The
undocumented major modifications were identified through
wreckage examinations, photographic evidence, and
interviews with ground crewmembers.
In
April, while the investigation was ongoing and after the
NTSB's investigative hearing in January on air race and
air show safety, the NTSB issued 10 safety
recommendations to the Reno Air Racing Association, the
National Air racing Group Unlimited Division, and the
FAA. These recommendations addressed:
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Requiring engineering evaluations for aircraft with
major modifications;
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Raising the level of safety for spectators and personnel
near the race course;
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Improving FAA guidance for air race and course design;
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Providing race pilots with high-G training and
evaluating the feasibility of G-suit requirements for
race pilots; and
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Tracking the resolution of race aircraft discrepancies
identified during prerace technical inspections.
Although no additional safety recommendations were
issued today, the Board reclassified nine existing
recommendations as described below:
Eligibility Requirements for Aircraft with Major
Modifications - recommendations A 12 9 and A-12-13
classified "Open—Acceptable Response"
Prerace Technical Inspection Discrepancy Tracking -
recommendation A 12 10, classified "Closed—Acceptable
Action"
Spectator Safety - recommendations A 12 14 and 15,
classified "Closed—Acceptable Action"
High G Training, G-Suit Feasibility for Pilots -
recommendations A 12 11, -12, -16, and -17, classified
"Closed—Acceptable Action"
A
tenth safety recommendation, issued to the FAA, which
addressed air race and course design guidance was
reclassified as "Open—Acceptable Response" on July 25,
2012.
"It's good news for the air races that so many of our
recommendations have been addressed," said Chairman
Hersman. "We will continue to push for the full
implementation of all of our safety recommendations."
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