(Un)controlled Flight into Terrain: A History of Obstacle Clearance Regulations

摘要

Because aviation is comprehensively regulated, commercial flying is safer than it ever was before. This was not the case during the early years of aviation. Back in the early 1930's, only limited regulations governed takeoff distance (land based aircraft were expected to takeoff in less under 1000-ft) and all-engines-operating climb (the "Rule of Eight," which required aircraft to have an all engines operative climb rate (in ft/min) of eight times its stall speed (in knots)). In this paper, we make a historical inquiry into the evolution of regulations governing the takeoff obstacle clearance problem. We show that the FAA, and its predecessor agencies, typically establish and amend Federal Aviation Regulations on a reactionary-not proactive-basis after high profile crashes. We trace amendments to key regulations governing the obstacle clearance problem to specific air accidents where insufficient climb performance was deemed as the probable cause of death.