I had written the following blog post “Steering Away From The Past” last week with the intention of posting it today. It was written before the tragic accident on the Kenai Peninsula this past weekend. It is with a heavy heart that I post this blog post today –
Quite disappointingly, the report card on aviation safety in Alaska 2019 year-to-date remains less than stellar.
Despite the September 2019 NTSB Safety Roundtable where stakeholders collectively agreed upon the critical need for short-term safety improvements in airport/airspace infrastructure, use of automation and technology, pilot training, regulatory oversight, and operational risk management, the books show that there have been two more Alaskan fatal accidents in 2019 (total of 11) than in the preceding year (total of 9). That number, unfortunately, has now become 3 more fatal accidents with a total of 12.
Clearly, this is not the level of progress that was committed to in September only three short months ago. Of recent, industry insiders are going on record as openly expressing their frustration and concern on the litany of aircraft accidents occurring in the State.
Specifically, they are concerned that lack of progress/action will perpetuate the perception that due to the lack of infrastructure and unique weather / environmental conditions in Alaska, accidents are “… just going to happen” and that absent large amounts of Federal and State funding, air safety levels are doomed to repeat the past.
Most recently, this frustration has cascaded into non-productive finger pointing and assignment of culpability which is clearly against everything that Safety Management System methodology teaches us.
The NTSB Roundtable takeaways, of which there were many, included the creation of a singular point of leadership with the credibility and authority to “make things happen” within the Alaskan aviation industry. GHS fully supports this very important “first step” in steering away from the past and ultimately achieving the level of aviation safety that the citizens of Alaska clearly desire and deserve.
In closing, I would like to express our deepest sympathies, along with the Alaskan aviation community, to Security Aviation, Medevac Alaska, and to the family and friends of RN Robert Cartner, MICP Maddox Burts, and Director of Operations Glen Morthorpe.