Course seeks to eliminate Murphy's Law

  • Published
  • By Staff Sgt Matthew McGovern
  • 60th Air Mobility Wing Public Affairs
TRAVIS AIR FORCE BASE, Calif. --  The Air Force posted its lowest rate of Class A flight mishaps ever during the 2006 fiscal year according to Air Force Magazine.

This decrease may result from courses such as the Air Mobility Command's Safety Investigation Board/Accident Investigation Board course. 

AMC hosted the three-day course at Travis Sept. 27 to 29 in the 9th Aerial Refueling Squadron's auditorium.

The course qualifies lieutenant colonels and colonels as both safety investigation board and accident investigation board presidents.

The course instructors discuss the SIB/AIB process and procedures, roles and qualifications. It also provides examples of past safety and accident boards and their outcomes to prepare future board presidents.

"The process works very well to prevent future mishaps," said Maj. Brian Moles, SIB/AIB course instructor. "These are the folks who are going to be in charge of the board from start to finish. The better we prepare them, the better recommendations they will make in preventing future mishaps."

Colonels from various AMC bases attended the course to bring this knowledge back to their base.

Lt. Col. Sonny Lemasters, 93rd Air Refueling Squadron, Fairchild Air Force Base, Wash., knows the importance of the course from his experiences with a mishap.

"My guys were involved in a Class A mishap - the degree of scrutiny was huge. It was the collision between the TU-154 host nation passenger plane and KC-135 at Manas International Airport in Bishkek, Kyrgyz Republic," said Colonel Sonny.

According to Air Force Print News, the accident investigation board, convened by AMC officials, determined that the accident was caused by the air traffic controller who cleared a civilian airliner for takeoff without verifying the KC-135 was clear of the runway.

"Knowing how this process works enables us to understand what causes the mishaps and provides our major commands awareness on how to prevent the next mishap," Colonel
Lemasters said. "After the SIB process and procedures were implemented, it became a safer and more efficient mission."

Teaching real mishap situations and outcomes has its rewards for the instructors as well
as the students.

"It's rewarding to make sure our board presidents are prepared to meet the challenge of conducting these important investigations," said Maj. Drew Krog, course instructor.
Travis' leadership shares the idea that the course is key preventative measure.

"Aircraft accidents aren't going to go away - it's important to understand that boards are important entities to help prevent further accidents," said Col. GI Tuck, 60th AMW vice commander.