Federal investigators looking for the cause of the January collision between a passenger jet and an Army helicopter near Washington, D.C., that killed 67 people are recommending a ban on some helicopter flights.| AP News
By Member Jennifer Homendy After 50 years of investigation, advocacy, and persistence by the NTSB, positive train control (PTC) is now a reality across the country! PTC systems use GPS and other technology to prevent certain train collisions and derailments. It could have been lifesaving in the 154 rail accidents that have killed more than … Continue reading We Can Do Big Things. Just Look at Positive Train Control→| NTSB Safety Compass Blog
In this episode of Behind-the-Scene @NTSB, we talk with Member Jennifer Homendy and Tim DePaepe, Railroad Accident Investigator, Office of Railroad, Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Investigations, about Positive Train Control (PTC), NTSB PTC-related investigations and recommendations and other rail safety issues. Fully Implement Positive Train Control is on the NTSB 2019-2020 Most Wanted List. Member Homendy’s full bio … Continue reading Episode 38: Positive Train Control→| NTSB Safety Compass Blog
By Member Jennifer Homendy When you think of common ways drivers are distracted on the road, you probably think of talking or texting on mobile devices, eating, reading, or perhaps even putting on makeup or shaving. It’s easy to recognize that these risky behaviors are distractions. There are even laws on the books in several … Continue reading It’s Past Time to Think About Cognitive Distraction→| NTSB Safety Compass Blog
By Chair Jennifer Homendy Three years ago, I launched with the NTSB Go Team to Santa Barbara, California, to investigate the deadliest U.S. marine accident in decades. On September 2, 2019, the Conception dive boat caught fire in the early morning hours, burned to the waterline, and sank less than 100 feet from shore. Tragically, … Continue reading Time for Action: Passenger Vessel Safety Can’t Wait→| NTSB Safety Compass Blog
By Chair Jennifer Homendy This is the last post in a three-part series examining the safety of vulnerable road users, as new federal data show a rise in traffic deaths among motorcyclists, bicyclists, and pedestrians last year. You can read the first two posts here and here. I just got back from Helsinki, Finland, where … Continue reading Reaching Zero, from Helsinki to Hoboken→| NTSB Safety Compass Blog
By Chair Jennifer Homendy This is the second in a three-part series examining the safety of vulnerable road users, as new federal data show a rise in traffic deaths among motorcyclists, bicyclists, and pedestrians last year. Read the first post. I love nearly everything about bicycles, from riding around Virginia to creating art for the … Continue reading We Need to Change the Bike Safety Conversation→| NTSB Safety Compass Blog
By Chair Jennifer Homendy This is the first in a three-part series examining the safety of vulnerable road users, as new federal data show a rise in traffic deaths among motorcyclists, bicyclists, and pedestrians last year. When it comes to learning, I’m one of those people who doesn’t just want to read about something — … Continue reading Motorcycle Safety Is Everyone’s Responsibility→| NTSB Safety Compass Blog
By Chair Jennifer Homendy This week, I visited NASA, Boeing, Blue Origin, and Space-X at Kennedy Space Center (KSC) in Florida. KSC has been a leader in space exploration for over 50 years. The Apollo, Skylab, and Space Shuttle programs took off from there, as did the Hubble Space Telescope, the Mars Rover project, and … Continue reading A Call to Action from Kennedy→| NTSB Safety Compass Blog
By Chair Jennifer Homendy The warmer months are here, which means more time outside for many of us, whether for recreation or to tackle home-improvement projects. Personally, I’m looking forward to running in the mornings, biking in the evenings, and spending weekends digging around in my vegetable garden — but not before taking an important … Continue reading ‘Tis the Season…for Safe Digging→| NTSB Safety Compass Blog
In this episode of Behind-the-Scene @NTSB, Chair Jennifer Homendy reflects on her NTSB journey so far, her transition from Board Member to Chair, and talks about our Most Wanted List of transportation safety improvements, the Safe System Approach, and what she hopes to see accomplished to improve transportation safety as head of the agency. For … Continue reading Episode 46: Chair Jennifer Homendy→| NTSB Safety Compass Blog
By Chair Jennifer Homendy Blue jackets. Devastating scenes. Calm in the wake of tragedy. This is how many people describe their first impressions of NTSB. It’s not surprising given the international visibility of our on-scene work. But today is all about who you don’t see: the folks who make the agency’s headline-grabbing work possible. I’m … Continue reading Recognizing a Quarter Century of 24/7 Response→| NTSB Safety Compass Blog
By Chair Jennifer Homendy Adapted from i-Chiefs magazine, originally published Feb 2021 Imagine for a moment that you’re an emergency medical services (EMS) worker. You’re assisting a patient who requires transport to another facility. You decide to request a helicopter air ambulance (HAA). How do you pick the safest HAA operator? In a perfect world, … Continue reading How EMS Workers Can Improve Air Ambulance Safety→| NTSB Safety Compass Blog
By Chair Jennifer Homendy Two years ago today, a preventable tragedy became one of the worst maritime events in US history. At about 3:14 a.m. on September 2, 2019, the U.S. Coast Guard (USCG) received a distress call from the Conception, a 75-foot-long small passenger vessel operated by Truth Aquatics, Inc. The Labor Day fire … Continue reading Two-years Later: Conception Tragedy Still a Reminder that More Should Be Done to Improve Passenger Vessel Safety→| NTSB Safety Compass Blog