Posts about stuff relating to airports

Next Global Initiative: Taxiway Safety?
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Next Global Initiative: Taxiway Safety?

Last month I mentioned the widespread attention being paid to runway safety (runway incursions, excursions etc.) but over the last few months, and the last few weeks in particular, we've had quite a few high-profile taxiway accidents. So much so that maybe the next global safety initiative will be taxiway safety (excursions, clearances, traffic etc.). Recent Boo-boos

Image credit: Marina Hinic

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Risk-based Low Visibility Operations Standards Review
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Risk-based Low Visibility Operations Standards Review

I may have mentioned my recent trip to Jakarta a couple of times already and this may be the last post about it but its the one I'm most excited about. The quick re-hash is that I went to Indonesia as part of Australia's Indonesian Transport Safety Assistance Package (ITSAP) to conduct a workshop on safety management principles for future members of their State Safety Program's Safety Action Groups - specifically airports and air navigation directorate members. The workshop focussed on acceptable levels of safety/safety objectives and risk management.

Image Credit - (cc) Bill Abbott

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Spending time with our ATC cousins
Blog, Videos Dan Parsons Blog, Videos Dan Parsons

Spending time with our ATC cousins

i only occasionally get to spend time with the ATC community but last week offered one of those chances. My co-facilitator in Jakarta was Tim Abberton, a very experienced "airservices" ATC'er and safety guru and at least half the course were members of the Indonesian DGCA's Directorate of Air Navigation. The combined course was an excellent opportunity for the airport and air navigation worlds to work together as well as compare and contrast their approaches to similar problems.

Header image: Media Design and Media Publishing (via Pixabay)

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Aerodrome Reporting - in a Flowchart
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Aerodrome Reporting - in a Flowchart

Aerodrome Reporting Flowchart - Landscape - v0.2 I like to sit at my computer and draw things, despite the fact that I'm no artist. A couple of weeks ago, I thought I would have a go at putting the various aerodrome reporting requirements, the procedures you might find in that section of the aerodrome manual, into a flowchart to help out anyone who is a bit confused by the various requirements.

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St. Barth's Airport
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St. Barth's Airport

On the face of it, no Australian airport should ever have obstacle problems. I mean, look at the space we have! But of course, we have the odd hill and good ol' urban encroachment means that some airports are struggling with obstacle control. Nothing like St Barth's airport though...

Header image: Pixabay (via Pexels)

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Indonesia, here I come...
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Indonesia, here I come...

I'm off to Jakarta next week to present a workshop on SMS to the Indonesian DGCA's SAG members from their Directorates of Airports and Air Navigation. It'll be my second trip to Jakarta and I'm really looking forward working with the Indonesians again - they are a great bunch of people, very friendly and polite. Anyway, I thought I would share the slides I'll be presenting - just for general interest's sake. I've had a go at translating most of the headings into Bahasa Indonesia using translated versions of their regulations and Google translate. I hope there are no major errors!

Image credit: Tom Fisk (via Pexels)

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Unusual Wildlife Hazards
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Unusual Wildlife Hazards

Its been a week of unusual stories relating to wildlife and aviation. The big one making its way around the internet at the moment is the one involving the big red flying rat*. But the one I personally encountered this week involved geckos. One of the aerodromes I visited this week had a problem with geckos and the printed circuit boards found within a Pilot Activated Airport Lighting Control and Aerodrome Frequency Response Unit (PAL+ARFU). Apparently, they like to damage such things and this unit had already been found unserviceable and sent off for repair.

Image credit: Jimmy Chan (via Pexels)

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A Really Old Bomb Scare
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A Really Old Bomb Scare

As I've travelled around I've heard my fair share of stories of underground bunkers, gun placements and even possible ammunition caches. Perhaps these stories should be included in the aerodrome's risk register which had been developed as part of it safety management system. For any WWII-era aerodrome, I don't think this scenario is beyond serious consideration.

Header image: Alex Toi (via Pexels)

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Apron Rampage
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Apron Rampage

This story, to me at least, falls well into the security sphere which I tend to consider somewhat separate from safety. The difference between the two would make for an interesting discussion (maybe one to revisit later) but I usually consider security to encompass events involving an agent from outside of the aviation system intent on causing harm to it or within it. Of course there are exceptions to aspects of my definition - for example the security threat may come from the inside and the issues surrounding such events may straddle the security/safety disciplines.

Header image: Pixabay (via Pexels)

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What if ... the NOTAM system went down?
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What if ... the NOTAM system went down?

A great deal of risk/hazard identification is running through "what if" scenarios. Obviously, the big one is "what if an aircraft crashed?" but others include "what if the lights failed?" and "what if key staff left?" A tweet and associated webpage from the NBAA got me thinking about this scenario - "what if the NOTAM system went down?" Granted, the linked scenario is planned maintenance but it still requires consideration and maybe so does it's unplanned alternative scenario.

Header image: Kaique Rocha (via Pexels)

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Expectational Debt
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Expectational Debt

Merlin Mann introduced this idea in his (relatively) new podcast, Back to Work and its a concept which, for me, hit a button. In a nut, it is the psychology burden one experiences from the expectations relating to one's outputs. These expectations can be real or perceived, from others or ourselves, they can seem minor in isolation but are cumulative in effect. The end result is that you carry around a great deal of ill-will, nearly all internal, due to the gap, again perceived or real, between those expectations and your output. I guess the key is to manage those expectations1 in such a way that minimises the debt. So, lets get those expectations out there...

Header image: Laura Balbarde (via Pexels)

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