LIFE CYCLE AVIATION SYSTEM SAFETY PROGRAM

Emphasis on Aviation System Safety. Why? Aren't we safe enough? The answer is no. Remember January 28, 1986 when the country was shocked by the accident of the NASA spacecraft Challenger and seven lives were lost? During the launch sequence, the catastrophic failure of the booster rocket "0" ring seal and operational temperature limits became media and public system safety management issues. Department of Defense (DOD) subsequently emphasized system safety to all services and this paper will address the Army aviation systems safety implementation and responsible authorities. The challenge of a safety program is to prevent materiel and personnel costs attributed to safety mishaps. Mishaps are the identified (Army Regulation 385–40) incidents that impact the safety of aircraft ranging from complete loss of aircraft or life (CAT A) to a flight abort due to a false master caution warning device (CAT E). Identified safety issues have documented costs fast approaching $100.00 per flight hour. High tech, high cost aircraft need to emphasize safety in design, production and support equipment to reduce mishap costs. The Military Deputy of the Under Secretary of the Army for Research, Development and Acquisition, has personally emphasized System Safety to each Program Manager (PM) and has designated them as the System Safety Officer. This paper will address system safety in existing systems and identify challenges to reduce mishap rates. The bottom line is to assure senior management recognizes that a life cycle safety program is a required management function. A safety professional must have free access to inform management how well resources and functions of system safety risk assessment are integrated during design, manufacturing and the logistic support processes.