Aviation Safety Program, Research Paper Example

Introduction

With the opening of cross border trade and the advent of globalization, the need for fast travel has grown by astonishing rates. This coupled with the fact that the need to grow faster has propelled many businesses to adopt air travel as their main means of travel to ensure that the keep up with the fast developments in the world economy. This has made air transport the most popular mode of transport and eventually necessitating the need to for capacity to meet this demand. The rapid growth in air transport has led to the insurgence of air service providers and hence air accidents have also been on a gradual rise.

The increase in air traffic as well as the increase in demand for it coupled with the rapid developments in international regulation requirements has also made the situation a bit confusing for air travel operators. The advent of international terrorism has further complicated issues and this is a major reason why good air safety procedures should be adopted to avoid calamitous occurrences that end up lowering customer confidence in air transport which has evolved into an essential service. The general factors that cause air accidents can be broadly classified into human factors and navigational system errors.

Human Factors

Human factors which include errors made by pilots pose potential danger which is the most common factor contributing to aviation accidents currently. Despite the progress in aviation safety throughout its history which includes the development of checklist for pilots in 1937, improper communication and errors by pilots still remain a major factor in aircraft collisions and crashes. Such errors occur while in the air or on landing like the Tenerife disaster in 1977 (Reason 2006).  Pilots’ failure to monitor the instruments of flight may result in a crash. An example is the 1972 crash of Eastern Air Lines Flight 4 . Errors which occur during landing and also take-off can lead to catastrophic consequences, like the 1972 crash of Prinair Flight 191 on landing. Incidents caused by human factors are not limited to pilot errors but other errors like the failure to have a cargo door closed properly may also contribute to crashes beside the fact that if the latch of the cargo door is poorly designed it may also be a major factor in the crash (Wiegmann D. & Shappel A. 2004). Improper maintenance is also factor like the case of Airlines Flight 123 which ended up losing the vertical stabilizer. Technical aids can be employed to help pilots in maintaining awareness of situations. For example an on-board system or rather ground proximity warning system to alert a pilot when the aircraft is about to fly into the ground can be of great help. Controllers of air traffic to monitor flights constantly at airports and from the ground can also help.

Terrorism

Terrorism is also being considered as a human factor and crews normally undergo training on how to deal with hijack incidents. Strict airport security measures can be put in place to prevent terrorism through the use of Air Marshals, Computerized screening System for passengers before they board the aircraft as well as employing precautionary policies. The prescreening will help to ensure that some personal electronic devices which may interfere with the operations of an aircraft for example by causing compass deviations especially when the craft is landing or taking off. Monitoring of possible terrorist activities by organizations which counter terrorism is also a safety precaution.

Attack by a Hostile Country

Military aircraft  or civilian passenger planes may sometimes be  attacked in war or  peacetime for example the 2001 shoot-down of Russian flight 1812by Ukrainian Air Force with 78 passengers end in 1973 when  Airlines Flight 114727-224 belonging to Libyan Arab entered the Sinai Peninsula which was then an Israeli controlled airspace leading to  an interception  by two  F-4 Phantom IIs from Israel which  shot it  down as it  tried  to re-enter Egyptian airspace following  its  failure to follow Israelis pilots instructions .  This left 5 survivors only out of 113 people on board. This is an area that touches on the entire aviation network and it cuts across from the aviation operators to state aviation regulatory bodies.

Emergency Airplane Evacuations

According to the National Transportation Safety Board report in 2000, emergency airplane evacuations are common   incidents in the United States happening about once in every 10 days.  The biggest challenge has been use of plane slide by passengers especially on some dire situations like when plane is on fire and this may result into injuries. An example is the successful 2006 evacuation tests of Airbus A380 which culminated in 32 out of 873 passengers getting minor burn injuries and left one volunteer with broken leg. Such accidents are common. The airports and air services operators should have well understood and documented systems of air evacuation set in place as well as have sufficient facilities to effect these systems and ensure that the rescue systems are not only operational but well understood by all the employees (Amanda 2008).

System Factors

There is also another category of accidents called controlled flight into terrain which typically occur due to errors by the pilot or errors of the navigational system. In this situation the errors lead to an aircraft which is not damaged and is being flown under control, to crash into man-made structures or terrain. If critical areas of Instrument Landing System are not protected, they can also lead to controlled flight into terrain accidents which have been named “computerized flight into terrain” by some pilots who believe electronic navigation system which are advanced like inertia navigation system, GPS together with computers of the flight management system or over-relying on them partly contribute to these accidents. Navigational systems monitoring and Creating Crew awareness can prevent if not eliminate CFIT accidents (Strauch B. 2004).

Design of the Airport

Airport  location  and design can have a huge  effect on air safety, especially because  many airports are located  in congested areas making  it is difficult to incorporate upcoming  safety standards while some others  like the Chicago Midway International Airport were originally designed  to be used by  propeller planes. An example of the newer safety rules is the rules issued by FAA in 1999 calling for the runway safety area extension to 1,000 feet beyond the runway end and 500 feet to each side. This was   intended to provide buffer space without obstacles and consequently eliminate a large percentage of the incidents in which an aircraft leaves the runway.  Many airports do not meet this recent rule. One way through which the 1,000 feet at the runway end can be substituted for airports located in congested areas is to have engineered materials arrestor system (EMAS) installed. These systems are normally made of a lightweight and crushable concrete which is able to absorb the aircraft energy to bring it to a rapid stop (Strauch B. 2004).

Safety Management Program

According to the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), a safety management program is a well-defined, proactive and systematic program which allows an airport to have an efficient and realistic balance between its operations and safety (Reason J. 2003). Such program is aimed at increasing the possibility of detecting and correcting safety problems by airport operators before they cause an accident.

This is a proactive program whose intention is to look forward rather than analysing past incidents. The program will be made of four “pillars” which the airports are required to implement. These are: development of a process for  safety risk management in  which each activity or system  at an airport is described, hazards associated with these  activities or systems identified  then have  risks associated with such hazards determined , analyzed and treated after which monitoring of the risk follows. The second pillar involves developing and implementing safety objectives and policy which include responsibilities of the staff. Safety assurance is maintained through auditing and oversight to ensure implementation of the safety programs and also to ensure that they are effective. Lastly the program will involve safety promotion through developing a positive safety culture which includes training within the aircraft organization.

The Actions Blue Print

The first very important step is to develop a safety culture for the organization whereby you ensure that the entire company including the executive directors are committed to improvement of safety which can be achieved through  the development of a process for  safety risk management in  which each activity or system  at an airport is described, hazards associated with this  activity or system identified  finally have  risks associated with such hazards  determined , analyzed and treated after which  monitoring of  the risk follows. To ensure this commitment, a brochure targeting chief executives in the aircraft companies will be developed to explain the critical advantages of having a safety culture in the flight department. The brochure must help the responsible managers in the flight department to plant this seed of safety culture throughout the entire company. The second step looking at the possibility of forming clubs for promoting safety whereby operators within geographical region will have periodical discussions about safety programs as well as best practices in their reach. Lastly tools and materials for giving guidance will be developed to assist the industry in conducting culture assessments. These will be revised on ad-hoc basis to reflect on the bare minimum the needs of the industry and as well address the new challenges that are being faced by air traffic controllers as well as the other people involved in air safety management. This implies that a high degree of safety will be set as the bare minimum to which everyone must adhere.

Collection and Analysis of Data

A metrics system for safety in the aviation business gives the vital information for influencing positive change which is greatly needed by this industry .The barrier to this is  because ICAO is  involved in collection, analysis and  publishing of safety data  but not for  the general aviation but rather it prepares and analyzes data which is focused on commercial operations involving a class of big turbine- powered airplanes used  in  unscheduled and scheduled operations(International business aviation council 2007). On the other hand the brief on safety of Aviation business, published by IBAC annually is the only comprehensive source of data on safety for aviation business globally. Mechanisms are therefore required for measuring the levels of safety which have been achieved as well as monitoring trends. There is also a need to asses the deficiencies and weaknesses so as to give attention to achievement of improvements needed for safety. Therefore there is need for data collection and analysis on aircraft accidents, incidents issues of safety, rates of accident as well as the factors causing them.  The Program will incorporate the following activities to ensure this. First is partnership with aviation authorities and manufacturers of aircraft to be able to share data and information on incident and accidents and data related to safety then validate the data for exposure. The second step will be to analyze the causal reasons for runway accidents in which operators or aircraft aviation business are involved and as recorded. Policy for analysis of data of flight and required alliances to ensure its implementation will be developed. There will also be partnership with foundations of flight safety for the purpose of facilitating the publication of information relating to safety and promoting analysis of corporate flight data.

Codes of Practice

The aviation industry has codes of practice which the regulators use when making rules because it provides efficient means through which officials concerned with safety as well as the industry make sure the current rules are followed. The International Standard for Business Aircraft Operations (IS-BAO) developed in 2002, is a set of standards based on performance which has been implemented by operators and flight departments as well as on-demand air taxi/charter operators(International business aviation council 2007) .The program will put in place activities to enhance adoption of these Codes. Such activities will include: ensuring that the IS-BAO Standards Board carry out an annual review to confirm refinement as well as continued improvement of the industry’s Code of Practice and also giving of updates on the standard to all who hold the document. The program should also ensure knowledge and awareness reaches global level. This will be achieved through development and implementation of a marketing strategy as well as enhancing information found in websites of the member associations. Another important step is to have a complete analysis on accidents which occur during landing or even during flight training and positioning then do a review of the standard to include training provisions especially on human factors which are a major contribution to crashes. Means of  handling the  hazards  which have been identified should also be put in place  without forgetting the need to ensure there is Linkage of the  standards of safety  to national and international regulatory requirements of the  aviation industry.

Framework of Regulation

There are differences the procedures and rules between States worldwide the reason to the   inherent deficiencies in safety. This calls for a need to harmonize these rules on the basis of effective and realistic international standards. Activities for promoting improved rules will include: The operators Participation in ICAO and other organizations involved in developing standards in order to give their contributions towards the improvement of regulatory provisions as well as Contributing to the activities of civil aviation authorities like the European Aviation safety Agency (EASA) and others to ensure effective and realistic rules which apply to general aviation and have consistence with aviation operations of the ICAO SARPS. Finally there is also the need to facilitate harmonization of the rules by promoting their acceptance.

Tools and Equipment for Safety

The Rapid advances witnessed over the past couple of years in aviation electronics have resulted in extraordinary enhancements of safety in the field of aviation but there is still need for continuing the development of other systems like Enhanced Warning Systems for Ground Proximity and systems for avoiding airborne collision which will see further improvement of safety. The highly cost effective Flight Data Analysis (FDA) is also a powerful tool of safety in the industry which should be implemented by operators. In general operators should seek new safety measures continuously, do their evaluation then introduce them.

They should also analyze safety equipment which are available and their benefits then in conjunction with service providers and manufacturers they should work towards developing and encouraging link for data communications. It should also assess the importance of tools like Threat and Error Management (TEM) then determine ways to have the initiatives incorporated into the code of practice of aviation industry.

Airport and Navigation Services

Safety of aircraft is influenced strongly by the quality of the airport and air navigation services and infrastructure. Such services are provided by private bodies or the government however the aviation industry should also be ready to help in developing and monitoring of standards as well as identifying weaknesses. The program will ensure administration of a continuing advisory group on navigation, communication and management or surveillance of air traffic in which manufacturers and operators will participate. This group will serve as the focal point for the industry to promote the timely, safe and effective implementation of air traffic management by the business aviation community. The employees will be put through an induction course on navigation safety which will be updated every six moths to factor in all the changes proposed by the regulatory authorities. There will be creation of awareness on the runway and errors of taxiway.

Auxiliary Services

The aviation industry greatly relies on support services for, planning flight management of operations and training. The availability and quality of these services directly affects safety levels in the industry. The activities aimed at facilitating support services include: Promotion and monitoring of the concept of pools of flight department for the purpose of sharing management services concerning safety, collaboration with providers of training service and member associations to identify and resolve issues of  training as well as  promoting  good practices of  training, encourage organizations which plan for  flights to make  sure aircraft data shows the real capabilities of  aircraft performance reflected by the calculations and encouraging operators and institutions of flight training  to extend their training programs to incorporate  operations with greater risk.

This program focuses on making risk management and air safety not just a checklist but a mind set. Making the entire air transport safety regime ingrained into the minds of the people is not just an endeavor to have them remember the salient facts of safety practice but making it routine practice hence increasing the safety of air travel.  This will therefore ensure that the preventable mishaps that face every day aviation practice are avoided and the airports are made a safer place (International business aviation council 2007).

References

Amanda R. (2008). How to Escape Down an Airplane Slide – and Still Make Your Connection! Chicago: Harper perennial.

International business aviation council (2007).Business aviation Safety strategy. Montreal, Canada.

Reason J. (2006).  Human error. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

Reason J. (2003). Managing the risks of organizational accidents. London: Ashgate Publishing Ltd .

Strauch B. (2004). Investigating human error: Incidents, accidents and complex systems. London: Ashgate Publishing Ltd.

Wiegmann D. & Shappel A. (2004). A human error approach to aviation accident analysis: The human factors analysis and classification system. london: Ashgate Publishing Ltd .