Approach articles from May 2005

Approach archives from May 2005

Admiral's corner.(Navy Safety Campaign Plan)(Editorial)
May 1, 2005... The Navy Safety Campaign Plan has been distributed to all commands. The campaign motto is "Work, Play, Live," emphasizing the 24/7 nature of risk. It focuses heavily on three key areas that produce approximately 75 percent of all Navy/Marine...

The ORM and fundamentals campaign: get a triangulation fix.(WORK ZONE: REDUCING MISHAPS BY 50%)
May 1, 2005... Fleet squadrons seem to misunderstand the difference between two programs offered by the Safety Center's aviation directorate. We receive phone calls weekly from newly trained ASOs asking to be scheduled for "one of those...

My decision matrix.(Hypoxia)(Column)
May 1, 2005... I was scheduled for my first night flight since returning from deployment two months earlier. I was proud to have completed my nugget cruise but still was humbled by the new-guy label I had had for the last year. With limited flying the...

Are you a hypoxia expert.(Hypoxia)
May 1, 2005... Do you consider yourself an expert on hypoxia? After all, you've been through your physiology training, and maybe even have tons of flight experience. You already know hypoxia means inadequate oxygen. But, hold on for a second. Maybe there's...

Hypoxia in the hornet: what we know, and what we're doing.(Hypoxia)
May 1, 2005... An FA-18B pilot flying at high altitude experienced hypoxia after 30 minutes in flight. The aviator (flying in the rear cockpit) experienced disorientation, tingling, discolored skin, and extreme fatigue. He told the other pilot they needed to...

Oxygen para-what? The oxygen paradox phenomenon.(Hypoxia)
May 1, 2005... Most people never have heard of oxygen paradox. The condition is rare and, until just a few years ago, was poorly understood. Oxygen paradox is a physiological phenomenon that occurs upon reoxygenation after periods of either prolonged or...

Hypoxia training for jet refreshers: why are my fingertips blue?(Hypoxia)
May 1, 2005... A Hornet was on a high-altitude ferry flight when it descended from 42,000 feet and crashed. The pilot never ejected. Investigators determined the most plausible explanation was pilot hypoxia. The incident appeared to be caused by a...

Investigating hypoxia.(Hypoxia)
May 1, 2005... In the last 10 years, naval aviation recorded more than three dozen episodes of hypoxia, 12 of which involved the FA-18. Three of the Hornet episodes resulted in Class-A mishaps. In one instance, the first report of the mishap's scenario seemed...

Feeling drunk on thanksgiving.(Hypoxia)(Column)
May 1, 2005... Our strike group was halfway through work-ups, and, if everything went smoothly, we would get to enjoy Christmas at home before our long deployment. This meant spending Thanksgiving bobbing up and down off the Florida coast, but no one was...

What is he doing?(Hypoxia)(Column)
May 1, 2005... The air wing was in the Gulf of Alaska getting ready for Operation Northern Edge, scheduled to start in a few days. We had a nighttime, double-cycle, airborne-early-warning (AEW) and 2 v 2 air-intercept-control (AIC) hop. Our E-2 had a...

The night shift: can we completely adapt and how? (Circadian Rhythms & Coast Guard Flight Operations.
May 1, 2005... Scenario One: In August 1993, a DC-8 crashed in broad daylight in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. The crew had been awake for 19 to 23.5 hours; the effects of fatigue and the completion of this nine-hour leg proved too much. The pilot fixated on the...

Road trip: "have car; will travel! No distance too far; no cause too modest," is the mantra.(Column)
May 1, 2005... Ask any teenager or young adult, and they'll tell you a road trip is synonymous with fun and adventure. "Have car; will travel! No distance too far; no cause too modest," is the mantra. The road trip, a perceived right of adult passage, has...

Paying homage to the FOD God.
May 1, 2005... "Get your hands out of your pockets Eyes on the deck... No talking... Let's go!" Every morning around sunrise, Navy and Marine Corps aviation personnel walk the flight lines in a ritual almost as old as naval aviation: the FOD walkdown....

Ditching into the deep.(Crew Resource Management)
May 1, 2005... "Ok guys, this is it, we gotta do this," was the last thing I said before we lost all power to the aircraft. Those words could have been my last ones had I not had the proper training. I was straight out of Aviation Safety School and just...