ANG safety adopts airlines' best practices

by Lt. Col. David Paulsgrove
ANG safety office

1/15/2015 - Fort Worth, Texas -- Air National Guard safety officials recently visited the American Airlines flight training center to get a behind-the-scenes look at some of the most effective air safety programs in the industry.

Beside several visits to the National Transportation Safety Board training academy in Virginia, this trip completed a year-long ANG effort to better integrate commercial safety practices into military safety programs.

Director of ANG Safety, Col Ed Vaughan, and Associate Director, Mr. Dan Polanosky met with representatives from the Allied Pilots Association, aircraft maintenance, corporate management, and Federal Aviation Administration regulators.

The meetings were facilitated by Col Tod Wall, 172nd Airlift Wing Commander and veteran American Airlines pilot.

"It's no secret that many ANG pilots also fly for commercial airlines." says Col. Vaughan.  "What is not so well known is how valuable that civilian-military connection is to enhancing Air Force flight safety and spurring innovation."

ANG Safety has adopted three proactive flight safety programs endorsed and sponsored by the U.S. Air Force and Federal Aviation Administration: Aviation Safety Action Program, Flight Operations Quality Assurance and Line Operations Safety Audit.

"We're especially enthusiastic about ASAP. Getting to the root causes of errors is the key here," says Polanosky. "Spending a day participating in American Airlines' ASAP review process showed us one great approach to this. I think their concept of 'Just Culture' is something we'll definitely incorporate into our programs."

ASAP is designed to prevent accidents and incidents by encouraging voluntary reports of safety issues. Under ASAP, pilots and airline employees can openly identify and discuss errors or hazards without the threat of punishment. This information is analyzed in order to identify potential hazards before serious incidents occur.

"The ANG safety office is fortunate to have Lt Col Dave Paulsgrove on staff as the ANG Flight Safety leader and long-time United Airlines Pilot." said Vaughan,  "He is very familiar with the pro-active safety programs."

Look for more information on ANG integration of these programs in the near future.