Risk Management Magazine

The tragic death of a young sergeant crushed beneath a tactical vehicle during routine maintenance underscores that repetitive motor pool tasks harbor lethal, often normalized hazards. To prevent such irreversible losses, leaders and Soldiers must move beyond "checking the box" on safety.

A sudden, unannounced banking maneuver by a lead UH-60L Black Hawk avoiding a storm wall nearly caused a mid-air disaster for its trailing formation aircraft. This close call emphasizes that flight crews must proactively reject the mental trap of "get-there-itis" when weather deteriorates.

An actual engine failure during a C-12 evaluation flight was safely resolved because a thorough pre-mission brief and disciplined crew resource management (CRM) enabled the pilots to instantly transition to emergency procedures without hesitation. However, the incident exposed a critical gap in pre-flight diligence.