The NTSB Also Wants Input From Pilots on the PIREPs System
The NTSB PIREPs Forum (PIREPS: Pay it forward… Because weather for one is weather for none) was held on June 21st and 22nd, and as promised, the NTSB has posted videos from the forum.
The forum was hosted with the intent to improve the PIREP system by discussing how the process of creating, submitting and disseminating PIREPs could be improved.
NTSB board member Robert Sumwalt opened the forum with this admission, “To be honest with you, when I first learned of the staff’s efforts to host a forum on PIREPs, I was skeptical. I thought ‘A two-day Forum on PIREPs? Really? But after talking to our investigators, hearing their experiences, and thinking back on my own experiences, the idea began to make a lot of sense. And after reading the supporting data and reviewing our accident reports, I became convinced that this was a conversation the NTSB should be having. After all, I think many pilots believe our PIREP system is not working as well as it should.”
NTSB PIREPs Forum Videos
The NTSB has provided videos for both days. Day 1 features seven hours and twenty minutes of discussion, and is separated into the following sections:
- Opening Remarks, Safety Briefing, and PIREP and Weather Dissemination Presentation
- Panel 1: Use and Significance of PIREPs to Weather Services, Air Traffic Control, and Research
- Panel 2: Submission, Solicitiation, and Dissemination
- Round Table Discussion
- Closing Remarks
Day 2 features seven hours and twenty-five minutes of discussion, and is separated into the following sections:
- Panel 3: Training, Education, and Operations
- Panel 4: Future Improvements
- Round Table Discussion
- Closing Remarks
The videos for the NTSB PIREPs forum will be available for the next three months before they are archived, at which point you’ll have to contact the NTSB’s records management division for a copy of the video. In addition, the NTSB is still interested in hearing from pilots on how the system can be improved. If you’re interested in participating in the discussion, you still have until July 1st to submit your thoughts to PIREP.Forum@ntsb.gov for consideration. The NTSB will use this input to help put together an NTSB Special Investigation Report.
Featured Image: Keven Menard
