Bobbie R. Allen (July 26, 1922 – November 17, 1972) was a U.S. Government Official, Air Safety Investigator and Naval Aviator. As Director of the Bureau of Aviation Safety at the Civil Aeronautics Board – later the National Transportation Safety Board – Allen spearheaded the use of flight data recorders and laid the groundwork for what would become the Aviation Safety Reporting System. At the time of Allen's retirement from the NTSB in 1968, the airlines of the world had the best safety record in their history and United States scheduled carriers had their best safety record since 1954.
Charles S. Murphy, adviser to three U.S. Presidents and Chairman of the Civil Aeronautics Board, nominated Allen for the Rockefeller Public Service Award and wrote the following:
Early life Bobbie Ray Allen was born on July 26, 1922, in Winnsboro, Texas. His father, Buddy Bura Allen (August 15, 1900 – November 7, 1978) was a deaf-mute and was one of twelve children born to Joe and Dollie Allen, who farmed cotton near the town of Winnsboro, Texas.
Allen's mother, Edna Lorena Brown (March 6, 1903 - June 27, 1943), was one of five children, born to Walter Shook Brown and Hattie Belle Henderson, both of East Texas communities near Winnsboro. Allen's father was an oil field laborer and shoe cobbler, and his mother was a waitress at a small restaurant near their home in Marshall, Texas. When his 18-month-old baby brother died unexpectedly, his parents divorced and his father moved to Kansas. He and his mother remained in Marshall and to help with costs, he worked part time delivering Western Union telegrams, and then as a soda fountain server at a local drug store. In June 1942, Allen was working part time at the Logan and Whaley Hardware Store when he graduated from Marshall High School. In October of that year, he entered the Navy's V-5 pre-flight training program, beginning phase one at Kilgore Junior College in Kilgore Texas and then phase two at St. Mary's College in Moraga, California.
Career {| class="wikitable mw-collapsible mw-collapsed" |+ class="nowrap" | Career Summary
! scope="col" | Organization ! scope="col" | Role |- ! scope="row" | 1959 | Civil Aeronautics Board || Air Safety Investigator |- ! scope="row" | 1962 | Civil Aeronautics Board || Supervisory Air Safety Investigator |- ! scope="row" | 1963 | Civil Aeronautics Board || Deputy Director, Bureau of Safety |- ! scope="row" | 1963 | National Aircraft Accident Investigation School || Chairman of the Board |- ! scope="row" | 1963 | Guggenheim Foundation || Member, Technical Committee |- ! scope="row" | 1964 | Society of Air Safety Investigators || Board of Directors & Charter Member |- ! scope="row" | 1964 | Civil Aeronautics Board || Director, Bureau of Safety |- ! scope="row" | 1965 | International Civil Aviation Org || Head U.S. Delegation, Accident Investigation Division, Montreal Canada |- ! scope="row" | 1967 | National Transportation Safety Board || Director, Bureau of Aviation Safety |- ! scope="row" | 1968 | National Transportation Safety Board || Special Assistant to the Director |- ! scope="row" | 1942–46 | VF-52(N) || Night Fighter Pilot, WWII |- ! scope="row" | 1952–53 | VC-4 DET44(N)|| Night Fighter Pilot - XO, Korean War |- ! scope="row" | 1954–59 | USNR || ASO, NAS Akron, NAS Ellington, NAS Glenview |- ! scope="row" | 1961–62 | VS-721 || Commanding Officer, Berlin Crisis |- ! scope="row" | 1964 | USNR || ASO, NAS Andrews, 15th Annual Global Strategy Discussions, U.S. Naval War College |- ! scope="row" | 1968 | USNR || Retired, Captain
Allen joined the Civil Aeronautics Board in May 1959 as an Air Safety Investigator. He was subsequently promoted to Chief of the Chicago office and later named Deputy Director in Washington, D.C. He was then named Director of the Bureau of Safety on October 1, 1964, and remained Director when the National Transportation Safety Board was formed in 1967. He continued until health-related retirement on June 15, 1968, when he stepped down to become Special Assistant to the Director focusing on accident prevention until July 31, 1970, when he would fully retire.
As chairman of the U.S. delegation at the ICAO third accident investigation division meeting at Montreal in January 1965, Allen was responsible for developing the U.S. proposals which formed the basis of accident investigations throughout the world. The U.S. formally adopted the proposals at the White House on Dec 1, 1965.
Allen traveled extensively throughout South America, Asia, and Europe emphasizing the importance of accident investigation and stressing the need for professionally trained investigators. His organization provided investigative assistance and on-the-scene expertise to numerous countries around the world. In 1966, he traveled to the Soviet Union, for bilateral discussions between the U.S. and the U.S.S.R. to initiate air service between the two countries.
As the first Chairman of the Board of Trustees of the National Aircraft Accident Investigation School at Oklahoma City, Allen was instrumental in organizing the school where students and investigators from around the world would attend.
Allen and his teams authored "The Potential Role of Flight Recorders in Aircraft Accident Investigation" and a design study titled "Aircraft Design-Induced Pilot Error", both of which were broadly used by the aviation community.
Allen was instrumental in establishing the "Go Team" for catastrophic accident investigations. This "Team Concept" is still used today by the NTSB as well as numerous other nations of the world. In 1967, Allen was a member of the task force which planned the organization and staffing of the Department of Transportation.
Origin of the Aviation Safety Reporting System
In 1966 – twelve years before the Aviation Safety Reporting System (ASRS) was launched – Allen, as Director of the Bureau of Aviation Safety, was advocating the use of computers and the concept of non-punitive incident reporting. In a November 1966 speech at a Flight Safety Foundation seminar in Madrid, Allen stated:
At a 1968 SMU speech in Dallas, Texas, Allen again spoke of using computers for accident prevention:
By mid 1968, due to declining health, Allen had stepped down as Director, but continued efforts to overcome the industry's reluctance to participate. In his role as Special Assistant to the Director, he dedicated much of his time promoting the project. He traveled extensively, wrote documents, gave speeches, and often communicated with industry leaders.
On a December 3, 1969, internal Airlines for America meeting, ARINC (Aeronautical Radio Incorporated) reported to the membership that a majority of the airlines surveyed, had chosen not to participate in the program. After receiving this news, Allen would share the results with NTSB leadership and although they thought there would soon be acceptance, implementation would be stalled for years.
In December 1974, two years after Allen's death at age 50, TWA Flight 514 would crash into a Virginia mountaintop. After investigators learned that similar circumstances had occurred on a United Airlines flight just six weeks earlier a scramble ensued to overcome the public's outcry and in May 1975, the FAA announced the inauguration of a confidential, non-punitive incident reporting scheme. In January 1978, final design review of the system would begin, and the system would be called the Aviation Safety Reporting System.
Allen's work in the mid- to late 1960s laid the groundwork for NASA's Aviation Safety Reporting System. His concepts were the basis of the Aviation Safety Reporting System.
Naval Aviator (1943–1968)
Allen served during WWII in the Pacific theater. He was assigned to Night Fighter Squadron VF-52(N) (Night Mares) flying the Grumman F6F Hellcat from the USS Roi (CVE-103), USS Saratoga (CV-3), USS Corregidor (CVE-58), USS Tripoli (CVE-64), USS Bon Homme Richard (CV-31).
In late 1952, Allen was recalled to Active Duty for the Korean War. He was Executive Officer of Night Fighter Squadron VC-4 DET44(N) (the Nightcappers) flying the Douglas F3D Skyknight.
On March 4, 1953, 100 miles off the coast of Virginia, the "Nightcappers" were training on the USS Franklin D. Roosevelt (CV-42). On Allen's last of five launches for the day, the ships catapult bridle failed, and his plane rolled forward, too fast to stop, and too slow to fly. He had no choice but to ditch the aircraft. Within seconds, the carrier, cruising at 30 knots, cut the plane in half, just forward of the empennage. Allen climbed out and was hoisted aboard a rescue helicopter, surviving the incident.
Several weeks later, the squadron boarded the USS Lake Champlain (CVA-39) and sailed to Korea where they joined Marine Squadron VMF-513 at K-6 Airbase in Pyeongtaek South Korea providing bomber escort and night combat air patrol over North Korea until late 1953. After returning to the states, Allen would remain on active duty until 1959, when he accepted an Aircraft Accident Investigation position with the Civil Aeronautics Board.
During the Berlin Crisis of 1961, Allen was recalled to active duty, and served as Commanding Officer of VS-721(Eagle Scouts). Based at NAS Whidbey Island Washington, the squadron operated S2F Trackers patrolling waters off the Pacific Northwest coast, searching for Soviet submarines using airborne Anti-Submarine Warfare techniques until August 1962.
From 1963 to 1966, Allen was Aviation Safety Officer of AWS-66 at Andrews Air Force Base, Maryland. In 1963, he participated in "Global Strategy Discussions" at the U.S. Naval War College in Newport, Rhode Island, and on March 4, 1966, he was promoted to Captain.
Aviation Qualifications/Certifications All Weather Pilot, Carrier Qualified Day / Night, Single Engine Propeller, Multi Engine-Jet Patrol Plane Commander, Multi-engine Propeller Special Instrument Rating Instrument Check Pilot, Single and Multi-engine, Propeller and Jet Tactics Flt Instructor, Single and Multi-Engine-Propeller, Single Engine Seaplane-Propeller, Multi Engine-Jet Maintenance Officer (Airframe) Operations Officer Aviation Technical Training Officer Type Training Officer Aviation Safety Officer Command at Sea
Military and Civilian Education Location Type Course 1942 Marshall, TX Civilian High School, Graduated 1942 1942–43 Kilgore, TX Civilian Kilgore Jr. College, Navy V-5 Program 1943 Moraga, CA Civilian St. Mary's College, Navy V-5 Program 1944 Pensacola, FL Military U.S. Navy Flight Training, Commissioned Ensign, Designated Naval Aviator 1944 Vero Beach, FL Military Operational Flight Training, Night Fighter-Carrier 1944 Quanset Pt, RI Military Night Attack/Combat Flight Training, Night Fighter-Carrier (NACTU-lant) 1946 Pensacola, FL Military Operational Flight Training, Seaplane Scout/Observation-Cruiser/Battleship 1948 Wichita, KS Civilian University of Kansas, Wichita Extension, Kansas Fire School 1952 Key West, FL Military Navy All Weather Flight School 1955–56 Akron, OH Civilian Night School Student 1957 Los Angeles, CA Civilian Aviation Safety School 1959 Los Alamitos, CA Military Naval Air Electronics Training 1964 Newport, RI Military Senior Reserve Officer's Course, Naval War College
Military Aircraft Qualified Boeing Stearman N2S Kaydet Vaultee SNV Valiant North American SNJ Texan Curtiss SC Seahawk Douglas R5D Skymaster Douglas F3D Skyknight Douglas R4D Skytrain Vought F4U Corsair Vought OS2U Kingfisher Grumman F6F Hellcat Grumman F8F Bearcat Grumman S2F Tracker McDonnell F2H Banshee Lockheed P2V-5F Neptune Lockheed TV-2 Shooting Star
Military Decorations Navy Air Medal National Def Service Medal Korean Service Medal WWII Victory Medal American Campaign Medal Asiatic Pacific Campaign Medal China Service Medal Naval Reserve Medal Navy Occupation Service Medal United Nations Korea Medal
Personal life