Approach articles from November 2006

Approach archives from November 2006

The blue threat.(military training)
November 1, 2006... Picture this scenario: You are in a training meeting in your squadron ready room. The safety officer stands up and tells how the squadron is doing to keep your Sailors or Marines safe, and the things you need to do to make sure you are not the...

Execute the plan: since summer 2005, the MPR Force has reaped the benefits from reinstituting a back-to-the-basics from which focuses on using naval-aviation fundamentals and the tenets of ORM to prevent mishaps.(Maritime Patrol and Reconnaissance Force, operations risk management)
November 1, 2006... The Maritime Patrol and Reconnaissance (MPR) Force is involved in an ongoing effort to reasess our vulnerabilities, identify risks, and implement controls to prevent mishaps. As this self-evaluation continues, we have identified two weak areas...

Unsafe acts in the Hornet.
November 1, 2006... Despite intense proactive efforts, the Hornet community continues to struggle to make a significant dent in Class A-mishap rates. As we focus on the root causes of how aircrew have caused mishaps in the recent past, the analysis shows training...

When it rains, it pours.(flight schools)
November 1, 2006... Shortly before my arrival at NAS Key West for shore duty as a station SAR pilot, I was told that the powers that be were sending me to school to become the base aviation-safety officer. "Cool," I thought, "a month-long vacation in Monterey....

The bigger picture.(aircraft safety)
November 1, 2006... By the end of my first sea tour, I thought I had a good idea of how the Navy safety program worked, as well as where I fit into it. I certainly knew what our squadron safety department did. I wasn't a safety guy, but I knew their work was very...

First Typical Day.(aircraft training)
November 1, 2006... The brief was typical. My flight gear check-out was typical. Even the walk to the aircraft was typical. I remember having to shut down for a loose latch on a cowling--a relatively common occurrence. The flight was shaping up to be an...

One minute saved my life. As a squadron safety officer, it is my responsibility to be the CO's conscience on safety matters, promote safety programs, provide training, and get the masses excited about safety as a way of life.
November 1, 2006... At Aviation Safety Officer School in Pensacola, ORM (operational risk management, as if I need to spell out the acronym because we've heard it so many times), is crammed down our throats ad nauseam. As a result, ASO graduates are ORM...

Fumes in the cockpit.(flight training)
November 1, 2006... I was fresh out of the fleet replacement squadon (FSS), 90 hours in type, flying a front-seat event with my first fleet squadron. The flight Was an out-and-in to NAS Fallon--simple enough for an airnav flight. Everything went as planned en...

Enter the process.(operational risk management)
November 1, 2006... Picture this: three carriers and 18 aircraft from three different services, all flying in close formation for the money shot. Then add foreign naval officers observing the show from the flag bridge. Oh yeah, this event was happening three weeks...

Bravo Zulu.(rescue operations)
November 1, 2006... The crew of Venom 513, Lt. Albert Zangrilli (HAC), Lt. Mike King (H2P), and AW1 Robert Bautista (SO), were conducting search-and-rescue training in the Indian Ocean. While established in a Doppler hover, the aircraft started to exhibit a...

Put a Band-Aid on it: I was underway on USS George Washington (CVN-73), somewhere in the Caribbean, bleeding out my side, and staining the dull green of my flight suit and safety gear a deep red.
November 1, 2006... The E-2C carries three NFOs in its combat-information center (CIC). We each have different preflight procedures, depending on which seat we are assigned. I was in the radar-operator seat, and my preflight duties were to make sure the radios and...

Cold and quiet at Angels 16.
November 1, 2006... I was a nugget on my first month of deployment, and I was probably one of the few pilots excited to go flying in the prevailing weather conditions: icing, snow, freezing rain, and low overcast. The poor weather forced the cancellation of the...

Winging it in the cold.(aircraft safety)
November 1, 2006... It was a cold day, as it typically is in Alaska during October. Our squadron had sent four EA-6Bs to participate in Cope Thunder, a Pacific Air Force Exercise located at Eielson AFB. I was crewed with the XO and two other junior officers....

Tweener weather.(piloting)
November 1, 2006... I never before had said that while two miles aft of the carrier on a nigh Case III recovery. However, one bizarre night, I said these words to the level-3 pilot (3P) while he tried to complete his initial carrier qualification and renewal of...