Colgan and Alaska Accident - Case Study Example

 Introduction: Safety management system can be defined as a well-planned, documented method which carried along with the time and technological development in different countries in order to manage different kinds of hazards and risks associated with it. In the civil aviation department, safety management service can be defined as an systematic, organized and well planned approach to manage safety that include organisational structural modification, technological innovation, accountability, policies and several complex procedure (Thomas, 2012, p.1). COLGAN and Alaska Accident: A Case Analysis: Flight COLGAN 3407 crushed on the 12th of February 2009 at 10:17 pm East Standard Time as it was approaching buffalo New York. It had successfully transitioned to Q400 in December 2008 and flown for only two months at the time of the accident. While analysing the reason behind accident it was found that air plane as well as the flight crew was properly certified as there was also no evidence of any pre-impact structural, engine, or system failure. On analysing this we can say that a proper safety management pressure can save more life in this kind of situation. On September 30, 2012, , an amphibious float-equipped Quest Aircraft Company, LLC, Kodiak 100 airplane, N745, face a major at the time of halting at the Lake Hood Seaplane Base, Anchorage, Alaska. An eyewitness of the incident suggested that the airplane seemed to drop down in a minor nose-low attitude. After landing, the airplane twisted left and right, and set rolling from side-to-side and the airplane turned to the right, flipped, and came to rest inverted. (Kathryn’s Report, 2012) Degree of Mistakes and Solution: On analysing the cause behind both that accident it is very clear that advance auditory warning of the switch shaker in a normal condition would have been operative in warning the pilot by signifying that there was slow rise in low-speed which might have stimulate an instant response from the pilot earlier the onset of the stick shaker thus raising the alarm in advance. Reason (1990), in his review mentioned that there are three different levels of human failure which may create an accident. The first level includes the state of the aircrew as it affects enactment. It deals with general health status of the crew, with special emphasis is being given on the mental state of the crew members and coordination practices. This is what is referred to as crew resource management (CRM). Failure to communicate in the cockpit can lead poor decision being made as exhibited by the captain and pilot in the flight. Generally in case of any accident it has been observed that the accident took place due to over stress on the captain’s mental condition; less training and sometime miss communication with the control room. The third level unsafe management entails combining of inexperienced pilots and crew members and sending them to fly into unknown diverse weather; here the potential for miscommunication and errors is magnified if this is coupled with lack of quality training (Reason, 1990). Safety Measures In Case of Quest Airlines scenario: In a quest airline hazards scenario or to ensure that there are no hazards officials’ used to follow several processes such as: 1. Identifying the hazards sequences from previous incidents and to remove those factors from the operation at the ground level so that there is no miscommunication among the flight crew and ground staffs. 2. Continuously follow the flight route and also give necessary instructions to the crew members about the weather and other necessary activities. 3. Organisation has ensured that there is proper training for the crew member and ground operation staffs. 4. There are Continuous processes in the entire organisation to improve all the safety measures associated with the flight and route of the flight. 5. Improving the radar technology and communication system 6. Before assigning the duty, organisations always ensure that pilots have enough experience in operating the aircraft in different situations. 7. Regular observation of the related Safety management services. (Thomas, 2012, p.1) For any organisation across the sector, safety management system is based on four basic principles. These are Policy, Risk Management, Safety Assurance and safety promotion. All these four parameters are closely interrelated and dependent one another. A perfect safety management system involves proper coordination among all these four principles and regular evaluation is also necessary. Generally in the aviation sector, Safety management operation in every organization has four main aspects: these are safety policy; risk management, assurance about safety and finally safety promotion. All the four parameters of safety management have some sub divisions as well which every aviation company have to give special care. In Policy segment of the SMS services there are parameters like practice, principle for the crew members; under risk management there are factors such as proactive measurement in unavoidable and uncontrollable circumstances, also the prevention measure based on the previous experiences, under assurance there are policies like reporting, auditing and investigation that the aviation company have to follow to minimize the risk factor. In the promotion part there are points like learning, training for the new people, training both in house and in practical situations, and proper communication methods. All these are in place so that both ground staff and cabin crew in flight can avoid the hazards.(pp. 24-27) Safety Measures for the Future: On the basis of above analysis following measures of steps can be implemented in order to increase the level of safety in the aviation sector. The safety action can be enhanced by uniform action by operators. A proper training for the pilot and crew member is always helpful to reduce the level of accident. Generally, there is a concept that if there is continuous conversation between flight crew members and the operators then there is a high chance that the crew member or pilot get distracted can make mistakes. Apart from the above method following steps can also be implemented to increase the level of safety. All the airline companies must come up with a scheduling system which ensures that there are equal amount of work and rest available for all pilots. If this policy is being implemented then the average volume of work done by the pilots would not change, so the operating cost for the organization surely is not increasing and with the availability of sufficient number of trained pilot and crew member, company can ensure that regular flights are operating timely. Aviation companies have to make it sure that there is sufficient place for rest for the pilots and crew members who are regularly involved in long flight. A proper rest in between or arrangement of necessary medical back up is absolutely important for the aviation companies to make it sire that in case of emergency fast action can be taken. Government must come up with a formula whereby pilots can change from airline to airline devoid of having to start over at the bottom of the pay, so that experienced pilots can get proper values. Moreover there should be regular training session for the new and junior pilots both theoretically as well as practically (by accompanying senior pilots) so that they can also mentally tough while handling that situation. Proper communication method and training must be in place for the people who are there in the control room so that they can give proper information swiftly to the pilots (Greenspun, 2009). References Greenspun, P.; (2009), To Improve Airline Safety, Give all Pilots the Same Schedule, Philip Greenspun’s Weblog, retrieved on 29.1.2014 from http://blogs.law.harvard.edu/philg/2009/05/21/to-improve-airline-safety-give-all-pilots-the-same-schedule/ Quest Aircraft Kodiak 100, N745: Accident occurred September 30, 2012 in Anchorage, Alaska, (2012), Kathryn’s Report, retrieved on 29.1.2014 from http://www.kathrynsreport.com/2012/09/plane-crashes-in-spenard-lake-alaska.html Reason, J. T. (1990). Human error. Cambridge, England: Cambridge University Press. Thomas, J.W.M.; (2012), A Systematic Review of the effectiveness of Safety Management System. Australian Transport Safety Bureau. Read More