Kedarnath &Kobe’s helicopter accident has again highlighted the issue of the use of special VFR operations in conditions below VFR visibility requirements. Has a comprehensive risk assessment been carried out?
Comair crashed while AirIndia timely rejected takeoff
The discoverers of ‘place cells’ in the brain won the Nobel prize in 2014. Who would have ever imagined that there was a GPS-like system in the brain? When the GPS fails safety is compromised & accidents happen. The Comair CRJ aircraft took off from the wrong runway & crashed. Air Arabia A320 turned towards […]
When the influential can’t defend themselves in aircraft accident investigations
Was weather the real culprit in this King Air C90 accident that occurred 20 years ago? Some intriguing but obvious facts and questions that would have changed the probable cause of the accident, not the flight crew.
Why did the accident investigators not answer the obvious question, poor braking?
Poor braking action by the aircraft during the 1st stage of deceleration proved very costly. Was it due to the runway surface which holds water and has a smooth finish? Matters which were not investigated.
Catastrophic, had an engine failed during takeoff at Trichy
Air India Express flight IX-611,a Boeing 737-800, VT-AYD 11th Oct 2018 suffered an accident soon after getting airborne. During takeoff roll, the Captain’s seat recline lock failed and the seat reclined. This resulted in an inadvertent action on the throttles pulling them back inadvertently. The thrust reduced from 98% N1 to 77% N1 and the […]
A350 goes astray as Pilot incapacitation occurs over Paris
An unexpected wind shear warning. The crew had disconnected the auto pilot on final approach at Orly. Thereafter no one flew the aircraft for a few tense moments.
Safety must adopt High-Reliability concepts
A high-reliability organization is an organization that has succeeded in avoiding catastrophes despite a high level of risk and complexity.
A question of Safety or Ethics, how Boeing & Alcoa handled differently.
Two accidents where supposedly Boeing did not inform the pilots about important technical information affecting safety. Is it a Safety or Ethical issue.
Non-functional SMS,some accidents are just inevitable
All systems are composed of three basic elements: people; processes; and technology. While managing safety, all three elements have to work cohesively in order to produce the desired results. The cost of workplace injuries is staggering: employers pay as much as $1 billion per week in direct and indirect workers’ compensations costs. Indirect costs include training […]
Pathological state of aviation safety. Learnings from recent SpiceJet incidents.
Establishing a safety culture in the organization is the most effective means of safety assurance in the long term. Humans play a vital role in the running of the processes and are also the cause of most errors. There are a number of reasons for both errors and violations. Instead of increasing controls in terms of engineering controls and SOP’s, it is beneficial for the organization to implement a generative safety culture, wherein safety becomes a way of life and there is little oversight or control required. Losses are prevented at every stage and hazards are actively identified and risk mitigated.