HQ USAF Safety Center

Disclaimer: the views presented in this post are those of the author and do not necessarily represent the views of the U.S. Department of Defense or the U.S. Air Force.

Every morning starts the same way. I look into the mirror and ask my reflection, “What’s it going to be today? Are you going to just be a passenger in life or are you going to be a captain of your own fate?” The question applies particularly well to how we face hazards as aviation professionals. Are we going to just cope with hazards as we become aware of them, or is there a more comprehensive approach for managing all the hazards that take aim at our operation?

All of us face aviation hazards actively. We recognize safety threats when they appear and do something to either avoid or mitigate the hazard. That type of active safety is pretty obvious and straight forward. For example, pilots may visually detect a buildup on climbout and opt to make a 20 degree heading change to avoid the buildup.

We use active safety all the time, but it is only one of several dimensions of safety where we can address hazards. After the first accident of the Wright Flyer 103 years ago, we realized that active safety alone was insufficient to fully detect hazards to flights. Relying on rather limited human perception to detect hazards in the highly complex arena of aviation will let us down time after time. The relatively low accident rate of today is greatly the result of investigators who studied mishaps to determine previously unknown or underpublicized hazards and who then proffered recommendations to prevent future mishaps.

The world has conducted over a million aviation mishap investigations and has prevented countless new accidents as a direct result of the investigations. Studying accidents to determine previously unknown or, sadly, previously known hazards, is an excellent example of reactive safety. The word reactive may have a negative connotation amongst some, but it just alludes to the fact that accident investigation reveals hazards after they cause damage or injury. Reactive safety continues being vitally important to accident prevention.

Fifty years ago British Airways pioneered the era of proactive safety. Our English friends realized that we don’t have to wait for bad things to happen to detect hidden hazards. By routinely downloading black box flight data, a process known in the U.S. as FOQA, it is possible to add a proactive element to the active and reactive dimensions of flight safety. Proactive safety is particularly insightful when flight data analyses are accompanied by voluntary reporting programs that foster a nuanced understanding of hazards and the sharing of information that would otherwise only be known to a small group of employees.

Other examples of proactive safety include flight observation programs, such as LOSA, and surveys that measure safety cultures at different flight departments. Proactive safety can thus be explained as the uncovering and measurement of hazards that exist but that are either hidden or that merit more attention.

Recently there is talk of a fourth dimension of flight safety. Predictive safety is the investigation of potential hazards that don’t yet exist, but that might cause damage the very first time they make an appearance. Some air safety investigators believe that predictive safety is a key missing dimension of hazard management. They claim that any successful effort to further lower our accident rate must attempt to attack hazards before they present themselves, in addition to relying on the active, reactive, and proactive dimensions of safety.

An example of predictive safety is addressing potential hazards that may emerge when a flight department starts operating a new type of aircraft. If the flight department is used to operating small aircraft and decides to purchase a larger aircraft, predictive safety may uncover that current snow removal practices at the airport where the aircraft will be based will not provide sufficient wingtip clearance from snow banks on certain taxiways now that longer wingspans are involved. Such a predictive determination allows the operator to work with the airfield manager to adjust snow clearing procedures prior to the delivery of the new aircraft.

Continuing with our example, let’s discuss what could happen without the use of predictive safety. If the crew of the newly purchased aircraft launches on their first wintry departure and stops their taxi due to insufficient wingtip clearance, the hazard is managed through the use of active safety. If the same crew mistakenly taxies their wingtip into the snow bank, perhaps due to poor visibility, then we learn about the hazard through reactive safety. If the same crew notices the growing snow bank during a snow storm and reports that it does not yet pose a hazard but might do so to subsequent users of the taxiway, we are talking about proactive safety.

Many of us operate only in the active dimension of safety. That’s a truly important dimension, but it’s just one of several. If we want to be captains of our own fate, we need to get a full picture of our operational threats by using active, reactive, proactive, and predictive safety. Captains of fate not only actively search for hazards during each flight, but also study accident reports that relate to their operations, use detection and reporting programs to unmask hidden hazards, and have processes in place to predict hazards that don’t yet exist.

I’m eager to hear your thoughts and particularly welcome any examples you have of predictive safety. Email me at antonio.cortes@us.af.mil

     I’ve also started to teach my teenage son to drive…. You can image how much we talk about safety in that “cockpit.”

     I look forward to participating in future Safety Standdown events and spreading the word to promote safety within our fine industry.

Fly safely,

Over the past five years we have witnessed a steady erosion of public and political trust in our industry. Much of it is earned, and some may be simply greater media attention on a problem that has existed for decades. In either case, there is little doubt that if the challenge is not addressed, it is a matter of time before the “big one” hits. When it does, it will severely impact the entire industry, something we simply cannot afford as we struggle to regain the lost ground from the recent economic recession we have all bravely faced.

Let’s look at the short list of seismic tremors over the past few years. It began with Comair Flight 191, who mistakenly attempted to take off on the wrong runway in Lexington, Kentucky following multiple violations of the sterile cockpit rule. A series of fixed wing and rotary wing mishaps in the EMS industry followed, accompanied by highly publicized studies and additional events such as pilots with an airplane full of international passengers unintentionally landing on a taxiway, and airline Captain’s pulled drunk from their cockpits before takeoff. And then of course, there was Colgan Flight 3407, the biggest tremor to date, with its multiple failures of professionalism and 49 fatalities.

The military was not immune, two Navy helicopter aircrews dipping into Lake Tahoe for their Facebook page photos, and Air Force instructor pilots overflying a football stadium at less than 100 feet. U.S. Air Force Chief of Staff General Norton Schwartz echoed his concern following an embarrassing string of incidents in his organization related to nuclear weapons handling. In a speech in October 2008, General Schwartz, said “We collectively need to back a little bit toward something called compliance. We must, do the right thing and do the right thing right. That’s as simple as it gets.” 

In November 2009, FAA Administrator Randy Babbitt joined the drumbeat for renewed professionalism; “There is an extreme need to refocus on professionalism,” citing the “sad example” of the crew who “lost total situational awareness” and overflew their intended destination with an airliner full of passengers. “I can’t regulate professionalism,” he lamented. In May, 2010, NTSB Chairman Deborah Hersman took the unprecedented step of holding a National Forum on Professionalism in Aviation and Air Traffic Control Operations, an event I was honored to keynote. Administrator Babbitt, Chairman Hersman and General Schwartz all point to the key aspect of this challenge and any potential solution – it revolves around personal integrity, accepting responsibility for our actions, and a willingness to hold ourselves and our peers to professional standards. But these are not simple fixes because words like integrity, responsibility and standards are no longer standard issue in modern society. 

One thing is certain.  If we as aviators, maintainers, dispatchers and air traffic controllers, do not address this challenge from within, we can expect new restrictions and regulations to flow into the vacuum created by our inability to do so. British author G.K. Chesterton perhaps said it best.  “When you break the big laws, you do not get liberty; you do not even get anarchy. You get the small laws.” As our industry climbs back from the recent recession, we cannot afford a self-induced avalanche of “small laws” brought on by our own acts. We need only look as far as the details in HR 5900, signed into law last year, to see the future if we choose not to act. ~ Tony Kern

The Grand Eagle Ballroom buzzed with more than 500 attendees who flew in to the Air Capital from all corners of the continent. Everyone in attendance might have different roles and work for different companies, but they all came here focused on the same mission: to become better and safer aviation professionals.

In her opening remarks, Helene Gagnon, Bombardier Vice President of Public Affairs, Communications and Corporate Social Responsibility, said, “Safety is not the sole responsibility of pilots. We are all involved. From the operators to the air crew, to maintenance personnel, to route planners and industry specialists, and even passengers … we all have a role to play.”

And that is exactly why we are here. Human error does not discriminate. We are all susceptible; pilots, mechanics, schedulers, managers or executives, every one of us.

We discussed topics such as fatigue, health, runway safety and professionalism because they are relevant at all levels of organization and we can individually take responsibility for them. One attendee explained how the presentations inspired him to be more accountable for his actions. “I learned that I can control safety as an individual. And as an individual I must take responsibility and be personally accountable for safety.”

What makes Safety Standdown seminars so valuable is the cutting-edge research that our speakers generously share in their lectures. Dr. Tony Kern’s latest finding on professionalism inspired him to start an Aviation Professionalism Pledge movement based on the pillars of competence, compliance and mutual trust.

Safety Standdown attendees gained a pioneer outlook on professionalism in today’s world. As Dr. Kern put it: “Professionalism seems to be something that is best recognized – at least for now – by its absence, and that is a major part of our current challenge. It seems the only time we really hear anything about the topic is when it reaches the level where one can’t ignore it any longer.”

-Rick Rowe
Manager, Safety Standdown Programs
+1.316.946.2871
rick.rowe@aero.bombardier.com

While on the airline flight home, I reviewed my notes and came up with a game plan on where
to start. In January 2005, we implemented an in-house safety training program, setting an initial
goal of 25 hours per year.

We have included human factors training and safety reviews to go along with our normal safety
meetings, among a number of accomplishments.
• Completed training records and requirements for each pilot.
• Related crews to the Safety Standdown each year.
• Implemented a basic SMS in 2008.
• Implemented an ICAO-approved SMS in September 2010.
• Implemented an AOM in 2005 ( an updated AOM including safety-specific procedures and
SOPs).

Each year that I attend the Safety Standdown I come away with ideas that I try to bring back to
the department.

Over the last six years we have worked on developing a “Culture of Safety.” Through interaction
with our senior management we have worked it out through our annual bonus programs – our
bonuses are dependent upon being safe and completing certain targeted safety goals. In this
way we put our money where our mouth is.

Our company is very supportive. We commit more than $150,000 each year for training,
including simulator training every six months as well as other training programs.

We’re up to a target of 60 hours of in-house safety training each year and we should have our
first ISBAO audit completed before the end of 2011. So I would say the Safety Standdown has
made a big difference in our aviation department. I once explained to our CEO that Bombardier
Safety Standdown is indeed as important as our simulator board training.

– Jeff Wofford, Director of Aviation, CommScope

Important and valuable as the Safety Standdown has become, for most of you it’s only once a year. We hope this safety forum helps bridge that gap and keeps the safety conversation going year-round.

We’ll draw on our substantial crew of international experts to offer timely articles about virtually anything and everything related to aviation safety – human error, safety culture, professionalism, the latest hot topic. We plan to post articles as events and inspiration dictate, but at least once a month.

An Exchange, Not a Lecture

While all of this accumulated expertise should create a compelling must-read for anyone interested in aviation safety – in other words, anyone who’s interested in aviation – we expect you to become the real star attraction. Yes, you. And your safety-minded colleagues. When something you see here brings to mind a story, an anecdote, a near-miss – please share it with the community. Add your hard-won wisdom to the mix.

Ask questions. Challenge assumptions. Dig beneath the surface and show us the nuggets you discover. And check back often. Help us build this into a dynamic resource. A year-round Standdown.

As an unofficial and then full-time member of the Safety Standdown team since 2002, I’ve had the great privilege to watch and participate as this event grew from a once-a-year event to a program offering seminars and innovative safety programs around the world. This interactive website, blog and soon-to-come Safety Standdown video archive are important new steps in our effort to provide an ongoing forum where aviators who are passionate about safety can share and learn from each other.

If you have any questions, suggestions or contributions, please let me know.