PREMIUM ON SAFETY
IN THIS ISSUE
ISSUE 52 | SPRING 2025
IBAC’s Safety Resources 4 Time to Get Back to Basics 6 Does Career Fulfillment Impact Safety? 10
We’re Back!
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e’re pleased and proud to be bringing you our quarterly Premium on Safety newsletter again after a yearlong break. We’ve returned the publication to its legacy look and layout. Some familiar contributors are returning and new ones will lend their perspectives. As always, the goal is to foster a lively aviation safety discourse, share and promote best practices, provide updates, and reinforce safety as a vital process that needs consistent attention. We hope you enjoy this issue and value your feedback.
In Defense of Humility PAUL RATTÉ, USAIG Safety Programs
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Have you addressed these threats? RANCE MILLER, USAIG VP Claims
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viation demands excellence and o ers no shortcuts. Countless incidents and accidents show that inattentiveness or straying from established procedures can wind up costing time, money, and even lives. Some of these outcomes can be irreversible. An ounce of prevention is a much wiser investment than the pounds of cure possibly needed later. Advanced training and safety programs Ground damage thankfully prevent most aviation workers isn’t the from ever getting rsthand experience with far-fetched or a catastrophic aviation accident. But it’s low-frequency telling that 52% of respondents to a recent threat we might NBAA safety survey had experienced at wish it is. least one aircraft ground incident or close call in their own organization within the past 2 years. Ground damage isn’t the far-fetched or low-frequency threat we might wish it is. Is your organization adequately prepared to manage what happens to and around your aircraft on the ground?
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Inclining toward self-centeredness and away from respectful debate and collaboration as normal practice risks sti ing trust and two-way dialogue. If a prevalent characteristic of today’s
Aviation puts a spotlight on everyone involved. That’s welcome when we’re living up to the standards of excellence expected, but not so much when that standard has slipped. It’s one level of challenge to manage risks when parking, servicing, hangaring, and towing aircraft at home. Defending against ground damage in less-familiar environments and working with people and equipment not of your own organization adds to the challenge. Simply put; distractions, procedural breakdowns, or
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rom international disputes, to politics, to morning commutes, interactions rooted in hubris and bluster seem to be outpacing reasoned diplomacy and compromise. I’ve been thinking a lot lately about how unhealthy that is for —let’s face it, humanity in general, but for purposes of this column—aviation safety.
The ‘Ground Damage Half Dozen’