Flight Test Safety Fact, 19-04
As promised, this month’s edition of the Flight Test Safety Fact includes an editorial by LCDR Kurt Pfeffer (USCG). “I had a brief chance to meet Tom Huff as he spoke to our class finishing up at USNTPS (June 2017)
flight test
aerial demonstration and flight test
Des Barker has studied the intersection of aerial demonstration and flight test for many years, and his most recent paper is Airshow Accidents and Incidents 2018. He reports: “I have just finished a three year research task and hope to
Red Flags – SFTE Tech Council Webinar
The Society of Flight Test Engineers Technical Council has studied flight test mishaps for several months and prepared a two-part webinar with findings and lessons learned. Part 1 of the webinar is 28 March from 1-2:30 pm (Eastern). Topics include
Flight Test Safety Fact, 19-03
In what we can only describe as “serendipity”, Flight Test Safety Committee chairman Tom Huff ran into Col Doug “Beaker” Wickert at a safety workshop in California, hosted by Northrop Grumman Corporation. That meeting set off a series of conversations
does better communication reduce errors?
In a research study to examine cockpit communication, psychologists found this surprising result: “No differences were found between the severity of the errors made by effective and ineffective crews, rather, it was the ability of the effective crews to communicate
Flight Test Safety Fact, 19-02
January 20th was the 45th anniversary of the accidental first flight of the YF-16. This phenomenon is not new, but it seems like “some of us” have not learned our lesson yet, with accidental first flights recurring in the closing
feedback 19-w05
How do we disagree, and do so professionally and constructively, with our colleagues? That is the question I pose as you read the following feedback from a reader. “I will say that I much prefer people make any attempts at
scalpels not spears
Words should be scalpels not spears. I want us–the people in this community, the readers of these articles and newsletters–to disagree. In fact, this is one of my core values, one of the things I want to spread. Conflict can
feedback 19-w04
Troy Soileau, an AFIT student, wrote to say this: “I personally don’t know how to get involved with the Flight Test Safety Committee, but I am eager to hear about possibilities.” I proposed three concrete actions as the next steps
safety planning using applied systems theory
In February 2016, Daniel “Mirf” Montes published his doctoral dissertation, “Using STPA to Inform Developmental Product Testing.” In it, he explains that STPA is “an engineering approach that identifies explicit causal scenarios for accidents.” In particular: “I developed a method