February 2011 - Indian Airforce

- drops them home...but forgets to explainthe dosage of the medicines to his wife, and indouble fast speed reaches back to the squadron...is 15 minutes late.... immediately assumes dutyafter getting a big shout from his supervisor andgets going with the work on the aircraft. Whenthe aircraft goes for a ground run in the evening,there is a screeching sound and the technicianremarks: Oh !! I left a spanner inside. Imaginary,but possible.When the medical assistant is asked abouthis role in Flight Safety, his answer : How are LPmedicines for a child connected to flight safety?You ask the treating MO. Why did he not prescribemedicines that were available in the SMC? Simpleanswer- these were better? But was he aware thatthe procedure took three days? No, that’s SMOresponsibility. Any relation with flight safety? Youmust be joking? Ask the SMO? Simple answer...The procedure takes that much time. MOs shouldbe aware of what is available in the SMC, and mydoors are always open for everyone if anyonehas a problem! Flight Safety: how do medicinesprescribed for a baby affect flight safety- theseare remote, absolute remote connections!The same scenario can be visualised in anyother section- Accounts, Admin, Engineeringservices, Logistics etc. Claims processed late,individuals with financial responsibilities, PORs nottaken, advances delayed, clothing not available,accommodation deficient, accommodationcomplaints not attended to promptly andefficiently and so on... the list can be endless.We can think of a whole lot of activities in everysection. The affected individual is obviously notat peace with himself mentally where he can givehis 100% to the ‘aircraft’ task. And if we were toask the host individual if any of these were relatedto flight safety- we will definitely get surprisedand bemused look! But as elaborated in detailabove, they all have the potential to adverselyaffect flight safety.I am sure that all these individuals will tell usthat flight safety relates to ‘flight’ and ‘flying’.There is a section dedicated for this and theyare so spatially and temporally distant from theaircraft and the runway, how could they possiblyadversely influence flight safety. A typical ‘it’snot my baby ‘it’s his baby syndrome’. This needsto change. Flight safety activities within theorganisation at all levels need to take an ‘inclusive’look and approach rather than being consideredas an ‘exclusive’ directorate, section activity at alllevels. Flight Safety has to become ‘everyone’s’baby.Why should flight safety become ‘our’ baby?We need to bring/inculcate the ‘our’ conceptbecause of the critical significance of a mind freefrom worries when operating in/ near an aircraft.14 Aerospace Safety F e b r u a r y 2 0 11INDIAN AIR FORCE