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INDUSTRY INSIDER December 2015/January 2016 airportbusiness 27 CAN YOU DEFINE WHAT IS MEANT BY SAFETY IN AVIATION? Safety in and of itself does not exist. A lot of people say, 'You really believe in safety.' No. I believe in competency. Safety is a resultant of competency. Safety in and of itself is not an entity. Competency is an entity. The resultant of that competency is safety. The question then becomes, 'how do you make people more competent?' WHAT ARE THE PRIMARY TYPES OF AVIATION ACCIDENTS? AND WHAT CAN BE DONE ABOUT THEM? There are accidents that are related to weath- er. There are accidents related to mechanical failure. There are accidents related to air traffic control error. The major contributor to accidents is human error. It is often referred to as pilot error. But that's way too narrow of a focus. Many times an error occurs because of communication differenc- es among the pilot, the copilot and the flight engineer. Understanding how to prevent an accident requires us to fully understand human factors. How do we map out our own weaknesses? How do we track our own error patterns? What things can we put in place to help prevent those types of errors? What can be done to improve safety? We have things called standard operating procedures. Standard operating procedures, in the aviation business as in the medical field, are absolutely essential. They are critically essential and they need to be developed and executed properly. But that's only part of the formula. The other part of the formula is understand- ing yourself and the people around you, so that communication can be more easily understood and anticipated. WHERE IS SAFETY AT IN THE FBO BUSINESS? We've been studying human error as it relates to cockpits for a very, very long time. To a lesser degree, we've been studying human error as it relates to the surgical operating room, but it's almost unknown in the FBO business. What aviation does very well is put structure around organization, process and planning. You have a flight crew that meticulously plans a flight from point A to point B. They know when they're going to arrive, plus or minus three or four min- utes. They should how much fuel they're going to land with, within just a few percent. But when the airplane lands, we turn the airplane over to operators, FBOs, which move the aircraft, tow the aircraft, intermingle it among other aircraft, fuel the aircraft, provide services that require the opening and closing of various doors and access points on the airplane, and the risk processes aren't there. For this reason, there is a far greater proba- ALL ABOUT AGOSTINO f Aviation's Draw. I think I wanted to fly before I was born. It's just something that was always there. I don't know what drew me to it, but I know that I'm very fortunate to have been able to spend so many years doing what I love. We've had rather long days, but I don't think I've ever worked a day in my life. f Favorite Aviation Book. "The Wright Brothers" by David McCullough. It really ties things together. Everybody knows who the Wright brothers are, but no one ever remembers the name of Charlie Taylor. Charlie Taylor was the mechanic who built the engine. Without Charlie Taylor, there wouldn't have been a first flight. There book covers a lot of things that are lost in history. f Favorite Aircraft. I've had the privilege in flight tests to fly the first of a kind. When I gradu- ated from college, I bought a little airplane, and it's called an AA-1A, a Grumman American Aviation Yankee. I've had that airplane for 43 years. I don't know that I have a favorite, but I will tell you that the 20 Series Learjets and Gulfstreams have to be among my favorites f Spare Time Flight. Aviation, for me, is a lifestyle. It's part of who I am, and so if I'm not flying, I'm reading about it. Or, I'll fly my little airplane, and go visit friends. I'm not a man of many parts. ON SAFETY VS. COMPETENCY… Safety in itself does not exist. … Safety in itself is not an entity. Competency is an entity. The resultant of that competency is safety. ON SAFETY AT THE AVERAGE FBO … When the airplane lands, we turn the airplane over to … FBOs, which move the aircraft, tow the aircraft, intermingle it among other aircraft, fuel the aircraft … and the risk processes aren't there. ON THE BENEFITS OF IS-BAH CERTIFICATION … In my mind's eye, it is definitely a delineator. It distinguishes an FBO as one that is truly interested in the safety of passengers and aircraft. ON WHY MORE FBOS ARE NOT IS-BAH CERTIFIED … I think some FBO operators view this as just another expense. But I assure you, that for the amount of expense that is incurred, the benefits far outweigh the cost.