美国国家公共电台 NPR--Near misses and other mishaps are setting off alarm bells in the aviation industry

Near misses and other mishaps¹ are setting off alarm bells in the aviation industry

Transcript²

After several recent incidents in which airplanes nearly collided, the FAA brought more than 200 aviation professionals and safety experts yesterday to find ways to improve safety.

SACHA PFEIFFER, HOST:

The Federal Aviation Administration, for the first time in 14 years, has hosted a safety summit. It's done that because in recent months there have been at least six incidents of airplanes nearly colliding on runways. And those near misses, plus cases of violent turbulence³ and other mishaps, are causing concern in the aviation industry. NPR's David Schaper reports on how the FAA is working to improve safety.

DAVID SCHAPER, BYLINE⁴: The recent close calls include aircraft mistakenly crossing active runways and planes cleared to take off and land on the same runway at nearly the same time. Kicking off the aviation safety summit, Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg told industry stakeholders they cannot wait for the next catastrophic event to take action.

(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)

PETE BUTTIGIEG: Initial information suggests that more mistakes than usual are happening across the system on runways, at gates when planes are pushing back, in control towers and on flight decks.

SCHAPER: So the FAA pulled together more than 200 leaders from airlines, airports, air traffic control and labor⁵ unions. They broke off into working groups covering various elements of aviation safety and areas of expertise⁶. Acting⁷ FAA Administrator⁸ Billy Nolen tasked them with looking at all aspects of their operations with fresh eyes.

(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)

BILLY NOLEN: Vigilance can never take a day off. We must ask ourselves difficult questions and sometimes even uncomfortable ones, even when we are confident that our system is sound.

SCHAPER: National Transportation Safety Board Chair Jennifer Homendy quickly detailed⁹ one uncomfortable truth.

(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)

JENNIFER HOMENDY: Now, the NTSB has issued seven recommendations on runway collisions that have not been acted upon. One is 23 years old and still appropriate today on technology warning pilots of an impending¹⁰ collision.

SCHAPER: Others questioned whether efforts to improve airline efficiency and the rapid recovery from the pandemic have compromised safety. Of note is the huge turnover¹¹ of aviation employees as many veteran pilots, air traffic controllers and others took early retirements¹², leaving a newer, less experienced workforce¹³. Recommendations include improved training to reduce the likelihood of human error incidents. The FAA says the conversations about improving aviation safety will continue in the coming months and could form the basis for new industry guidelines and regulations.

David Schaper, NPR News.

1 mishaps   

n.轻微的事故，小的意外( mishap的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• a series of mishaps 一连串的倒霉事
• In spite of one or two minor mishaps everything was going swimmingly. 尽管遇到了一两件小小的不幸，一切都进行得很顺利。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

2 transcript   

n.抄本，誊本，副本，肄业证书

参考例句：

• A transcript of the tapes was presented as evidence in court.一份录音带的文字本作为证据被呈交法庭。
• They wouldn't let me have a transcript of the interview.他们拒绝给我一份采访的文字整理稿。

3 turbulence   

n.喧嚣，狂暴，骚乱，湍流

参考例句：

• The turbulence caused the plane to turn over.空气的激流导致飞机翻转。
• The world advances amidst turbulence.世界在动荡中前进。

4 byline   

n.署名；v.署名

参考例句：

• His byline was absent as well.他的署名也不见了。
• We wish to thank the author of this article which carries no byline.我们要感谢这篇文章的那位没有署名的作者。

5 labor   

n.劳动，努力，工作，劳工；分娩；vi.劳动，努力，苦干；vt.详细分析；麻烦

参考例句：

• We are never late in satisfying him for his labor.我们从不延误付给他劳动报酬。
• He was completely spent after two weeks of hard labor.艰苦劳动两周后，他已经疲惫不堪了。

6 expertise   

n.专门知识(或技能等)，专长

参考例句：

• We were amazed at his expertise on the ski slopes.他斜坡滑雪的技能使我们赞叹不已。
• You really have the technical expertise in a new breakthrough.让你真正在专业技术上有一个全新的突破。

7 acting   

n.演戏，行为，假装；adj.代理的，临时的，演出用的

参考例句：

• Ignore her,she's just acting.别理她，她只是假装的。
• During the seventies,her acting career was in eclipse.在七十年代，她的表演生涯黯然失色。

8 administrator   

n.经营管理者，行政官员

参考例句：

• The role of administrator absorbed much of Ben's energy.行政职务耗掉本很多精力。
• He has proved himself capable as administrator.他表现出管理才能。

9 detailed   

adj.详细的，详尽的，极注意细节的，完全的

参考例句：

• He had made a detailed study of the terrain.他对地形作了缜密的研究。
• A detailed list of our publications is available on request.我们的出版物有一份详细的目录备索。

10 impending   

a.imminent, about to come or happen

参考例句：

• Against a background of impending famine, heavy fighting took place. 即将发生饥荒之时，严重的战乱爆发了。
• The king convoke parliament to cope with the impending danger. 国王召开国会以应付迫近眉睫的危险。

11 turnover   

n.人员流动率，人事变动率；营业额，成交量

参考例句：

• The store greatly reduced the prices to make a quick turnover.这家商店实行大减价以迅速周转资金。
• Our turnover actually increased last year.去年我们的营业额竟然增加了。

12 retirements   

退休( retirement的名词复数 )； 退职； 退役； 退休的实例

参考例句：

• We've had two retirements in our office this year. 今年我们办公室已有二人退休。
• Those may take the form of sackings redundancies, temporary layoffs or retirements. 这些形式有开除，作为编余人员，暂时解雇或退休。

13 workforce   

n.劳动大军，劳动力

参考例句：

• A large part of the workforce is employed in agriculture.劳动人口中一大部分受雇于农业。
• A quarter of the local workforce is unemployed.本地劳动力中有四分之一失业。