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UNTIL THE INTRODUCTION OF A PROGRAM TO IMPROVE U.S. MILITARY AVIATION SAFETY SYSTEMS, THE MOST DEADLY ENEItWY WAS YOUR COPILOT.

CommunicatiOnl

In every modern conflict except the Korean War, more than 54 percent of the United States Army's casualties have re-

'suted from accidents. During World War 11, more pilots were

0~killed in training than in combat, and more than three-fourths of the aviation casualties in Vietnam were due to people's mistakes rather than mechanical malfunc- tions or enemy action. I.

DECEMBER 2000 / RIsK MANAGEMENT 31

PREVENTION

In total, 80 percent of all U.S. mili- tary aviation accidents have been caused by human error.

These numbers used to be consid- ered the cost of doing business-the price of protecting national interests-

Getting Serious About Safety In the early eighties, the words risk management began slipping into mili- tary speak. That was when, according to Thomas Schultz, the aviation sup- port facility safety officer/instructor

In total, 80 percent of all U.S. military aviation accidents have been caused by human error

but not anymore. Over the past fifteen years, army safety has made dramatic improvements. In fact, although there have been more deployments since the end of the Cold War in 1989 than in the previous forty years combined, there has been an almost uninterrupt- ed decline in the number of accidents.

pilot for the Alabama Army National Guard, things started to change for the better.

"Since the idea of risk management started to take hold, the army's over- all air and ground accident rates have dropped dramatically," says Schultz. "It's affected the military decision-

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making process, training manage- ment, force protection, personnel as- signments, maintenance and just about everything else you can think of. As a result, accidental deaths and injuries have had a steady decline."

Even with the Army's improved safety record, Schultz has continued to search for ways to protect men and women on and off duty in all areas of the military. Until as recently as three years ago, a system called battle ros- tering was extensively used as a risk prevention method, It was a buddy system which paired specific individu- als together so that they flew almost exclusively with one another. Al- though the Army still uses this system in a limited number of situations-to give certain pilots the chance to fly to- gether and learn each others' quirks and habits-it was found to be defi- cient in two major ways: lost flying time due to copilot dependence and static or even slight increases in acci- dent rates.

"The basic problem with that kind of buddy system is that it makes you totally dependent on one person," says Schultz. "If your buddy gets sick, goes on vacation or has to be grounded for some reason, that means you've effec- tively lost two pilots instead of one."

When a new program called crew coordination was developed and im- plemented four years ago, Schultz was quick to embrace it. In premise, it seems simple: teach all aviators to respond to a particular situation or emergency in exactly the same way, regardless of which copilot or crew members they are flying with on that mission.

Better Communication Every aviator now goes through ex- tensive ground school training and flight simulator training on crew co- ordination. This includes studying operations and crew manuals that lay out exactly how every course of ac- tion-including emergency proce- dures that might occur in an air- craft-should be responded to and performned. Responsibilities are listed, and pilots are instr-ucted to give a spe- cific set of commands or react in a specific manner. "That way, the pilot

32 RISK MANAGEMENT / DECEMBER 2000

and crew react automatically and pre- dictably," Schultz says.

The data given by a pilot or crew should tell a story. VVord choice is an integral part of their communication. For example, the crew chief has the preassigned responsibility of air space surveillance, Instead of just spouting, "there is an aircraft over there," the crew chief would give as much specific information as possi- ble, such as "there is an aircraft at three o'clock moving northwest at three miles same altitude." General terms are avoided and the descrip- tion must include the tasks, equip- ment, materials, personnel and con-

ditions in precise terminology. In ad- dition, there is a pattern for deliver- ing the infornation. When pilots and their crews speak and act in the same way in any given circumstance, there are no surprises.

"And just in case something goes wrong or someone is off their game, there is also the three challenge rule," says Schultz. If the copilot says, "There is an aircraft at three o'clock traveling northwest at three miles alti- tude" and there is no response from the pilot even after the informnation is repeated, the copilot can take control of the aircraft by saying, "I have con- trol of the aircraft." He must state clearly why he has assumed control; this important detail means every- thing is explicitly stated so that there is no confusion.

"The three challenge rule is there so that it is more of a proactive pro- gram rather than just waiting for a re- action," says Schultz. "What we've tried to do through crew coordination is when something goes wrong me-

chanically, the pilot has the ability to act and respond. Someone has to act on the controls while someone else deals with the problem."

The roles are clearly defined, but everyone can perform each task as needed, depending on what their as- signment is on that particular mis- sion. "On this mission, I'm flying the aircraft and you've got technical re- sponsibility, but tomorrow it might be reversed," Schultz says. "No matter who you are, we have a pattem that we can follow to get us through any emergency that pops up."

The crew coordination program has had positive results. The Safety

Center at Fort Rucker, Alabama, where Schultz taught helicopter training after a one-year tour of duty in Vietnam in 1969, ran a study on the improvements of crew coordina- tion over other programs like battle rostering. It found that crew coordi- nation achieved greater efficiency by improving communication between individuals even while they were per- forming multiple tasks. By studying the recorded conversations of flights, the center found that reactions be- tween the crew and pilot proved that crew coordination cut out confusion in the cockpit.

According to U.S. Army Accident Information Historical Statistical Re- port, total aviation accidents (which includes flight, flight-related and ground) dropped 12.5 percent from 1997 to 2000, with a 60 percent drop in class A accidents (those with loss- es of $1,000,000 or more, destruction of the aircraft and fatalities or perma- nent disability) and a 40 percent drop in class B accidents (those resulting in

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DECE-MBER 2000 / RISK MANAGEMENT 33

The number of military aviation fatalities

caused by human error dropped from 15 in 1997 to 4 in 2000, a 73 percent decrease.

MISSION ACCOMPLISHMENT

$200,000 to $1,000,000 damage, permanent partial disability and hos- pitalization of five or more people as inpatients). Most importantly, the number of military aviation fatalities caused by human error dropped from 15 in 1997 to 4 in 2000, a decrease of

more than 73 percent. The long-term numbers look better

as well. From 1990 through 1999, the total accident rate fell from 7,869 to 2,310, with the rate of accidents falling from 1.64 in 1994 to .65 in 2000 per 100,000 flying hours.

Challenges Ahead Especially with the challenges the military faces as its personnel tackle ever-increasing levels of technology, new safety methods must be consid- ered. "Right now we're in the process of changing over from the old model

UH-1 huey, which I've been teaching in for years, to the much more so- phisticated Blackhawk," says Schultz, whose more than thirty years of mili- tary experience includes instructing on the UH-1, as well as the AH-1J Cobra attack helicopter and the OH-6

long range operations helicopter. "That means more sophisticated sys- tems to deal with, more crew and changing the mission purpose from medivac to combat support. There's more combat mission risk assess- ment, which means I have to get around to ensure our people are talk- ing to each other on the right level. I have to make sure they understand the new level of risk."

Just like life for civilian risk man- agers, however, a rap on the door by risk management-minded Schultz is not always a welcomed sound.

"When they see me coming, they know usually it's because there's a problem," he says. "A lot of times they know it's going to mean extra work: meeting, planning, approval. Or at the very least they know it's going to put them behind because if I say they have to stop for fuel on a particular mission, they're going to have to get someone higher than me to approve otherwise."

Schultz stresses that the main goal for him as a risk manager is mission accomplishment. "My job is not to tell you how to do the mission, but how to anticipate and overcome any haz- ards that might occur. And that's got to be a team effort. Just like in the business world, sometimes you've got to go on even if the risks are high." In that way, life as a military risk manag- er planning a mission is like life as civilian risk manager planning a busi- ness venture. "My job is to plan ahead and consider the risks involved, but meanwhile never forget that the main objective is to accomplish the mis- sion," says Schultz.

Some risk managers say their job is like being a dentist: everybody thinks they can get along without you until their teeth start falling out. Schultz has a lighter approach. "Sure it can be a thankless job," he says. "I like to compare it to being a cook. When the smell from the kitchen is good and everything is going along fine, everybody just takes you for granted. But serve up a bad one, and they'll throw you out of the kitchen. As long as I can get them to at least look at the menu, I know I've done my job."

34 RiSK MANAGEMENT / DECEMBER 2000

A rap on the door by the risk management-minded Schultz is not always a welcomed sound.

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TITLE: Communication coordination SOURCE: Risk Management 47 no12 D 2000

WN: 0033600849007

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