The Special Flight Inspection Group (GEIV), held, from July 25 to 28, the 2022 Flight Safety Journey, at the Santos-Dumont Complex, in Rio de Janeiro. Internal and external speakers discussed various topics with the audience composed of pilots, in-flight inspection system operators, aircraft positioning system operators, mechanics and aircraft maintainers.
The presentations were also watched by pilots from the external crew, through live transmission. The cycle of lectures is held annually with the aim of maintaining the high standard of safety in air operations.
The event was initiated by the GEIV commander, Lieutenant Colonel Bruno Michel Marcondes Alves. The official thanked those present and celebrated the resumption of activity, after two years of interruption, due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
“Historically, GEIV promotes this event in July. It is a period in which the workload increases a little, both on the ground and in the air, but we cannot fail to think about and reinforce the accident prevention theme. I thank the speakers for taking the time to share information with us”, emphasized Lieutenant Colonel Alves.
Performance of aircraft
The first day featured a lecture by Captain Thiago Breener, pilot of the GOL airline, who addressed topics related to aircraft performance. He presented the calibration differences of PAPI and Glide Slop; of the PAPI and RPN; in addition to discussing the situations in which pilots must decide to abort the takeoff (Go, No Go Decision); special exit procedures and rules involving ACN and PCN. Participants were able to ask questions and exchange experiences.
“What I find most amazing about the Air Force is that it performs a lot of special operations. I am very happy to know that you are also interested in our work, in knowing our side. I am honored to have been invited to this conversation.” declared the speaker, Commander Thiago.
The Head of the Aeronautical Accident Investigation and Prevention Section (SIPAA) of the GEIV and one of those responsible for organizing the event, Captain Felipe Alberto de Lima Souza, commented on the choice of this topic.
“We are operating with two jet aircraft, the Legacy and the Hawker, and Captain Thiago is very knowledgeable about this topic, as he usually deals with it on his Youtube channel and in his classes.”
“He has a lot of baggage and manages to demonstrate to the entire staff, regardless of the specialty, the performance of each aircraft for landings and takeoffs, in addition to dealing with some breakdowns that can occur in real situations”, declared.
Fauna Risk in the Operation, Meteorology in Flight Planning and Criminal Responsibility in Air Accidents
On Tuesday (26/07), there were presentations on Fauna Risk in the Operation; Meteorology in flight planning and criminal liability in air accidents.
The speakers were, respectively, the head of the Aeronautical Accident Investigation and Prevention Section (SIPAA) of the Air Force Academy (AFA), Aviator Captain Fernando Lopes da Silva; Meteorology Specialist Captain Vicente Batista Rangel, from the Aeronautical Meteorology Integrated Center (CIMAER) and the president of the Aeronautical Law Commission of the OAB-RJ and TAM pilot, Antonio José e Silva.
In aviation, fauna risk is the possible collision between an aircraft and birds. Since 2012, the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) has expanded the scope of this definition, including bats and, mainly, terrestrial animals that are involved in collisions in aircraft landing areas around the world.
Captain Silva mentioned the accident on the Hudson River, which occurred in January 2009, and reported that there was a significant increase in reports of events of this nature from that year onwards. “And it was not because the occurrences grew, but the importance of the fact was noticed by the pilots, who started to report the situation”, pointed out the speaker.
Captain Rangel's class made the audience reflect on the various issues to be considered for meteorological planning, such as the type and limitations of the aircraft; reigning synoptic condition; among others.
“Always look for flight safety. No flight plan is riskier than a mind on autopilot.”, warned the weather specialist.
On Aeronautical Law, the specialist lawyer Antonio Jose e Silva, who is also an aeronautical expert at the Federal Court, addressed the concepts, objectives of the investigations, criminal types and criminal responsibilities of the air accident and, mainly, the security guarantors.
He also emphasized that Law 12.970 is a milestone in the legislative system in the air activity, pointing out and talking about the changes in some articles in the investigation of the Aeronautical Accident Investigation and Prevention System (SIPAER) and how it can contribute to an investigation criminal.
Real Risk Situations and Contributing Factors
On the third day (27/07), the contributing factors to the occurrence of aeronautical accidents and incidents were discussed. The public had access to data, reports and videos on real risk situations.
The first topic of the day was “What is the point at which an accident becomes irreversible?”.
To answer this question, the speaker Captain Aviator Eric Ferreira dos Santos, from the Fourth Regional Service for Investigation and Prevention of Aeronautical Accidents (SERIPA IV), presented the report of an investigation involving a Hawker 800 aircraft for private use. Although this case had no record of fatalities, the aircraft was rendered unusable.
“Since here we have crew from the same model aircraft, Hawker 800, this conversation generates a reflection on the need for constant qualification and training, in addition to helping people to review some emergencies, mentally training some decisions they would need to make”, explained the speaker.
The last two talks of the day highlighted one contributing factor in particular: the human factor. According to data presented by the Instituto de Psicologia da Aeronáutica (IPA), 70 to 80% of accidents can be attributed to this cause.
To draw the participants' attention to the topic, Army Lieutenant Fabrício Pereira Padilha, from the Army Aviation Instruction Center (CIAVEx), presented some videos that dealt with situational awareness during his lecture “The unknowns of prevention”.
The military pointed out that none of the incidents recorded to date at CIAVEx were related to lack of maintenance, but to human error in this process. According to him, an error cannot be eliminated, but it can be avoided and the keyword for this is management.
“When we talk about the air activity itself, we focus on the issue of the human factor. It is the human being who makes it fly, through piloting or maintenance. In this presentation we talk about the unknowns that are present, because they are part of our nature”, declared Sub-Lieutenant.
The last lecture of the day, with the theme “Human Factor in Research”, was taught by Second Lieutenant Cintia Franklin, from the Institute of Psychology of the Air Force (IPA). The official one showed the evolution of Operational Safety, since 1950; she explained the Shell and Reason research models; and dealt with three groups of contributing factors: material, operational and human.
According to data presented at the lecture, three out of four accidents are caused by behavioral failures committed by qualified and healthy people. The speaker also spoke about the importance of reporting incidents, which can serve as parameters for new measures to prevent accidents.
“Everyone's participation is important. Our intention is to highlight the need for them to report any failure, any error, which may prevent an accident”, said the psychologist.
legacy case
On the last day of the lecture, pilot and aeronautical engineer Fábio Couto Bonnet, coordinator of Embraer's accident investigation and prevention team, presented a case study of an accident that occurred in Paris, , in 2017, with a Legacy 500, one of the aircraft models that GEIV uses in its missions.
ionate about an area of engineering called the cognitive system, Bonnet stated that human factors can be converted into binary form and – amazingly enough – manages to establish mathematical equations to define human behavior. So much so that the bias brought by the speaker was based on his experience both as a crew member and as an aeronautical researcher.
“Who makes mistakes or who succeeds starts from the same principle, with the same values, the same intentions. But the difference is seen through the results” he stated.
Closing ceremony
The closure of the Security Day was carried out by the head of the Operations Subdepartment and former commander of the GEIV, Air Brigadier Eduardo Miguel Soares. He reflected that, in of flight safety or operational safety, there are some aspects that are important. One of them is the information about the organizational culture and the facts that happen in a mission.
“That is why it is necessary that they be reported, circulated in some way, either through Relprev, anonymously or not. The important thing is that they reach the knowledge of those who are entitled. This is positive and important in the SIPAER philosophy. The question is not to know who made the mistake, but to make these failures known, to prevent them from happening again and becoming an accident later on”, warned the head of the SDOP.
According to Brigadier Miguel, GEIV has experienced and mature pilots. But this is not enough to prevent accidents.
“Let's respect the machine and our mission. Specific details with the aircraft must be noted. Everyone has to be aware of their importance in the Group to contribute to flight inspection, safety and the mission!”, recommended the former commander of the Air Unit of the Department of Airspace Control (DECEA).
Brigadier Miguel recommended that personnel take the knowledge shared at the event into daily operations. “Do the exercise of always revisiting these teachings for flight safety”, finished.
Street: DECEA
