Risk Assessment of Proposed ARFF Standards

Abstract

The focus of this research effort was to review air carrier passenger aircraft accidents to determine if changes to Aircraft Rescue and Fire Fighting (ARFF) standards would have reduced the number of fatalities or serious injuries that resulted from past accidents. The research team was tasked with comparing the standards set forth by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) in 14 CFR, Part 139, Certification of Airports with the standards of the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) in Annex 14 and standards set forth by the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) in making determinations of reducing the number of fatalities and serious injuries associated with each accident. ARFF is one component that contributes to survivability. In Chapter 2 of this report, some of the other measures that have been adopted primarily over the last 30 years and contribute to increased survivability are discussed. Chapter 3 provides a brief overview and comparison of the ARFF standards that have been set forth by the FAA, ICAO, and NFPA. Where it could be documented the underlying basis for each organization’s standards is provided. In Chapter 4, the criteria for identifying “accidents of interest” to this research effort are discussed along with the databases that were searched for these accidents. Some observations on these accidents are also included in this chapter. Chapter 5 explains the methodology that the research team used to determine whether different ARFF standards would have reduced the number of fatalities or serious injuries in each accident. Chapter 6 contains the research team’s conclusions based on the information in Chapter 5. Appendix A contains basic information about each of the “accidents of interest” that is in this research effort. The accidents are placed in chronological order by the date of occurrence. The reductions in the number of fatalities and/or serious injuries and the research team’s analysis used to reach that determination are contained in the Appendix A write-up for each accident. Appendix B provides a graphical depiction of the location of accidents relative to a generic runway, its runway safety area, and the Rapid Response Area.