Approach articles from January 2009

Approach archives from January 2009

Naval Safety Center resources for mishap prevention.(The Initial Approach Fix)(Directory)
January 1, 2009... Naval Safety Center Aviation Safety Programs http://www.safetycenter.navy.mil/aviation/index.asp Director, Aviation Safety Programs Capt. Ed Langford, Ed.Langford@navy.mil (757) 444-3520 Ext. 7225 (DSN 564) Executive...

Human Factors Analysis Classification System.(Brief article)
January 1, 2009... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] The DoD Human Factors Analysis Classification System (HFACS) is an investigative tool designed to classify not only the initial errors made in aviation, but also to identify the root causes and contributing factors...

Bravo Zulu.(Brief article)
January 1, 2009... Squadrons that submitted five or more hazreps during 4th quarter, FY08: VAW-120 VAW-121 VRC-40 VAQ-131 VR-56 HSL-49 HSL-51 VFA-103 VP-1 VP-8 VP-30 VP-45 VT-2 VT-3 VT-7 VT-10 VT-31 ...

Smack, what was that?(BASH: Bird Animal Strike Hazard)
January 1, 2009... Bird and animal strikes continue to be a hazard to all aviation activities. Probably the most important aspect of any BASH program is reporting. Information in these reports of bird and animal activity and actual strikes around airfields...

Making BASH effective.(BASH: Bird Animal Strike Hazard)(Viewpoint essay)
January 1, 2009... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] For years, the importance of reporting bird-strike events has been preached at safety stand-downs, stressed in numerous articles, and presented at every meeting and conference possible. Why is our reporting rate...

My night bird strike: I was ready to key the radio to call for the downwind turn when we were shocked by the explosive sound of an impact to the aircraft.(BASH: Bird Animal Strike Hazard)(Personal account)
January 1, 2009... We had launched from Mayport, Fla., for a routine proficiency flight. On takeoff, the city lights to the south and west of the airfield seemed fainter than on previous nights. We headed north along the coastline. I was a new...

Turkey buzzards and AOA management.(BASH: Bird Animal Strike Hazard)(Personal account)
January 1, 2009... I had been in the squadron for one month and had flown 17 flights since leaving the FRS. Our E-2C squadron was preparing to go to the boat for tailored-ships-training availability I(TSTA), and I was to begin field-carrier-landing practice...

The aircraft can pose hazards.(BEST PRACTICES)(Personal account)
January 1, 2009... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Earlier last summer, a situation challenged our squadron, and thanks to coordination and communication between the aircrew and maintenance, a catastrophic situation was avoided. While combating the lazy days of...

Prepare for glory.(checklists before aircraft engine shutdown)(Personal account)
January 1, 2009... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] The flight was over. We had located a Colombian fishing vessel of interest and had maintained visual and forward-looking-infrared-radar (FLIR) coverage on it until our ship had closed our position. We were back on...

Just lost everything.(Personal account)
January 1, 2009... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] I was ready for my last Operation Enduring Freedom (OEF) sortie before we out-chopped from 5th Fleet. Filling in for my XO, who felt under the weather, I jumped into a good-deal, day mission into southern...

Pitchlocked in Paradise.(Personal account)
January 1, 2009... We were enjoying another beautiful, late-afternoon flight out of Marine Corps Base Hawaii, Kaneohe Bay. After the high-altitude intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance (ISR) portion of the mission, we were about 30 miles from home base....

Same sheet of music.(Crew Resource Management)
January 1, 2009... Our Hawkeye recovery aboard the carrier was a little more exciting than I had anticipated. Flying in Liberty 600, we had returned early to the overhead stack because we were done with our mission. While inbound, we saw the weather below 5,000...

My first combat sortie: after years of training, I finally was ready to go in-country on my first combat sortie. I didn't know at the time that this flight would be an all-expenses-paid, week-long trip to Kandahar, Afghanistan.(ORM Corner)
January 1, 2009... As a squadron nugget, I have taken pride in being the proverbial fly on the wall. The senior pilots in the ready room often boasted about six-hour missions, dueling with the iron maiden, and the flurry of paperwork and cockpit management that...

Single engine over Baghdad.(Personal account)
January 1, 2009... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] My wingman and I departed the right wing of the KC-135 tanker and climbed 1,000 feet to clear the tanking stack. As we cleared the tanker's airspace, I swung the nose of my FA-18C eastward toward Baghdad, the site of...

An urgent situation.(supply delivery mission)(Personal account)
January 1, 2009... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] While the USS Ronald Reagan (CVN-76) CSG was on a routine deployment in the Pacific, typhoon Fengshen tore across the Philippine Islands, leaving a wake of destruction. Fengshen caused an...

The missing holdback fitting.(Personal account)
January 1, 2009... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] This tale recounts a flight I cancelled, but the story begins two flights before the event in question. My squadron was five months into a seven-month cruise to the Arabian Gulf, and we already had flown more...

Mishap-free milestones.
January 1, 2009... Mishap-Free Milestones VP-9 30 years 180,000 hours HSC-28 10 years 56,000 hours HSL-47 10 years 8 months 47,000 hours

Brownshoes in action comix: "the kind real aviators like".(Cartoon)
January 1, 2009... One Day in the Safety Department... All right, let's make this safety stand-down a real grabber Yeah, there's nothing worse than the same ol' safety routine. It's snoozola. We need to really give the message some oomph! ...