Utility Aircraft Safety: CRM for Developing SOPs

摘要

A neglected facet of the corporate aviation safety discussion is utility aircraft operations. The safety concerns of corporate aviation, as covered in the professional journals and academic studies, are usually focused on high flying jets whose primary purpose is to transport executives in safety and comfort if not opulence. However, almost one half of the NBAA fleet is comprised of light fixed-wing piston and turboprop airplanes and helicopters. Also, an even greater number of these kinds of aircraft are contracted to perform essential work, often carrying employees of the corporation under whose aegis safety responsibilities ultimately lie. These are the aircraft that often, if not usually, fly people wearing blue jeans, the people who actually perform the work that the company says it does. Because of the versatility of these aircraft, they typically fulfill a multi-mission utilitarian role. They are flown for many reasons, including medevacs, security, environmental surveys and research, information gathering, photo mapping, legal documentation, fire fighting, contract military operations, remote sensing, and the usual―hauling people and freight to and from work sites at small airports or unimproved landing areas on short notice. New and traditional use of these aircraft is increasing, driven by globalization, the financial need for efficiency in business operations, and the application of new technologies now making their way into utility aircraft which makes them even more useful and efficient. The question of why there is this slighting of corporate utility aircraft operations might lead to a variety of speculations. Human nature is not impervious to the hierarchies of corporate structure, the pervasive habit of CEO celebrity-making, or even the more mundane influence from advertising of high cost executive jets, synonymous with success and status, in the business aviation press. In many cases utility aircraft operations take place far from the home office and do not involve "important" people and so are ignored because managerial attention is directed toward high visibility VIP transport in big iron. These and other issues can lure personnel away from the practical matter of attention to safety for all company-related aviation. Pilots, maintenance technicians, and managers would do well to take special note of these tendencies and focus on the inherent risks, as well as the benefits, associated with their own utility aircraft operations.