Risk Management Magazine

Many aviation mishaps or near misses result from a failure to practice procedures that have been taught since the beginning of pilot training. As time passes and we gain experience, sometimes these foundational elements become easily overlooked. If so, the results can be catastrophic. As the mission evolves and the timeline condenses, it’s essential to not overlook these keystone elements to ensure the job is done safely and successfully.

Snow and ice — while not an uncommon forecast to receive depending on the season and operational environment, it contributes an additional layer of planning and tasks for aviators, maintainers and operations personnel. While deployed, this forecast is taken heavily into consideration, as it is a requirement to maintain mission-capable aircraft.

Growing up in an aviation family, most of my dad’s stories tended to start with, “No kidding — there I was, inverted in my Huey. I could tell I was inverted because my Air Medals were dangling in my face.” Back then, I used to just laugh at his tales because I had no real experience in aviation. Several years later, I was in a flight of four aircraft that almost went inadvertent instrument meteoritical conditions (IIMC) while trying to return to Fort Drum, New York. The concept of going inverted and not realizing it made a lot more sense at that point.