Risk Management Magazine

On a busy flight line, the boundary between a routine maintenance day and an in-flight emergency can hang by a single, unseated fastener. During a postflight inspection on an AH-64E Apache, a discrepancy was noted involving an airframe panel that had been removed during earlier maintenance. Although the panel appeared secure at a brief glance, an intuitive feeling that something was wrong prompted a closer look — challenging the immense pressure to turn aircraft quickly and keep operations moving.

Imagine dangling 300 feet in the air beneath a Black Hawk with only a single communication cord and a loose safety strap between you and a fatal fall. This was the terrifying reality for one Soldier during a routine drill weekend.

We can preach situational awareness and vigilance until we are blue in the face, and we can practice endless techniques to keep ourselves out of dangerous scenarios, but no individual can see everything. In aviation, we rely on the entire crew to fill in those blind spots.