Combat Edge articles from October 2003

Combat Edge archives from October 2003

Starting a new fiscal year.(ACCent on Safety)
October 1, 2003... As we start a new Fiscal Year, we all hope this year will be a safer and more productive year. Unfortunately, the last 2 years we lost our focus right from the start in October. During the last two Octobers we had seven flight Class A mishaps...

Deacon ... you're really on fire!
October 1, 2003... On the first day of pilot training my instructor told me that the handling of every airborne emergency could be boiled down to four basic steps, maintain aircraft control, analyze the situation, take the appropriate action, and land, as soon as...

A dangerous vase.
October 1, 2003... Ever used a magnifying glass to start a fire? Well, that concept hit a little too close to MSgt Mike Stenger's home last year. The days were bright and sunny in America's heartland when his wife noticed a burn spot on the solid oak table they...

Hot? I didn't think it was that hot!
October 1, 2003... It was a typical August late afternoon at NAS Whiting Field in the Florida Panhandle. The puddles from the recent thunderstorm probably would evaporate in about 3 months and the temperature was way beyond Africa hot as the sun had reappeared...

What happens when you fail to break the mishap chain.
October 1, 2003... All of us who work with explosives should know the risk involved with giving the wrong information to individuals without proper knowledge of the subject. Split-second decision making without thinking about the consequences is a recipe for...

Personal risk management: don't be a Darwin Award winner.
October 1, 2003... Naturalist Charles Darwin proprosed a theory that only the fittest species survive and others who are unable to adapt die out. Safety officials must often feel that mankind is traveling the road to extinction. Rules are created to protect...

My engine's out!
October 1, 2003... I was on top of the world! I had completed Euro-NATO Joint Jet Pilot Training, and was at my A-10 Flying Training Upgrade (FTU). On a day off, wanting to use my private pilot's license, I got checked out at the local airport and re-hacked my...

1st fighter wing.
October 1, 2003... Langley AFB, Va. Established: 1st Fighter Wing, on July 28, 1947 Organized: August 15, 1947 Redesignated: * 1st Fighter-Interceptor Wing, on April 16, 1950 * 1st Fighter Wing (Air Defense), on September 14, 1956 * 1st...

Monthly award winners.
October 1, 2003... Aircrew Safety Award of Distinction Mishap Aircraft (MA) was number two in a two-ship tasked to respond to a Troops-in-Contact (TIC) situation. At rotation, the Mishap Pilot (MP) noticed a single self-protection flare bounce down the...

Quarterly award winners.
October 1, 2003... Flight Safety Award of the Quarter Capt Benjamin is the 33d Fighter Wing Chief of Flight Safety. During this quarter, he utilized an uncanny ability to forecast and mitigate risk, often stepping in as acting Wing Chief of Safety to...

The missile's not pinned!
October 1, 2003... Attention to detail and self-discipline are a couple of important self-imposed actions required while working on the flight line. As a weapons load crew expediter, it is my job to oversee the weapons maintenance being performed on the flight...

Minimums are not always enough!
October 1, 2003... It began simply enough. We were to fly to the southeast and take two aircraft to the northwest. We were to fly profiles for the test customer, then return the jets to homebase and the mission would be complete... Flying in bad weather...

Life passing before my eyes.
October 1, 2003... The day after Thanksgiving, 2002, began ordinarily enough for me--but became nothing less than extraordinary. That was the day I watched as a man saw his life literally flash before his eyes--and mine! At the Army & Air Force Exchange Service...

Fleagle.
October 1, 2003... LOOKS LIKE TH' TREES 'ROUND HERE WORKED OVERTIME THIS YEAR. SOON AS I GO GET A MATCH, THIS TRASH IS TOAST. THINK I'LL GIVE TH' BIG GUY A HAND. THIS WILL ADD A LITTLE SPUNK TO TH' SPARK. WOOSH! SOMETIMES THEM TWO JUS'...

Mishap statistics scoreboard.
October 1, 2003... Aircraft Notes Sports fans, we're on a roll! That's 2 months running without a Class A mishap. Class Bs were in the single digits and both Class Cs and Es were in the mid-teens. Primary culprits are... no surprise here... engines and...