After a study of the effectiveness of airbags and restraints, the NTSB has concluded that airbags in general aviation would save lives and urged the FAA–as a first step–to require retrofits of shoulder harnesses on GA airplanes that are not currently equipped with such restraints, among other recommendations. The recommendation stems from a safety study to examine the effectiveness of airbags in mitigating occupant injury in an otherwise survivable GA accident, to identify any unintended consequences of airbag deployments and to help investigators analyze airbag systems in future investigations.
"Although airbags have been mandated in automobiles for more than a decade, the aviation industry has no such requirement for small aircraft," said NTSB chairman Deborah Hersman. "The good news is that more than 30 [aircraft] manufacturers have stepped up to the plate and offer airbags as standard or optional equipment."
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