It is essential to keep in mind 3 strong ideas.

1. As said as an organisation point of view, flight safety won't never be a limited field, with conclusive directions.
2. There is now way to exclude company department, and by the way some staff. Everybody must be part of the safety projects (from finances, marketing to operations...)
3. Moreover, Air safety department must accept to be experimental, in order to test new concepts.

Thus, I suggest seven directions.

If employees behaviour is not what a manager expects, he has 3 choices:

1. admonish
2. dismiss
3. train

Admonishing does unfortunately not prevent the behaviour to be repeated voluntarily (by challenge, by revenge, by lassitude, etc.) or involuntary (lack of knowledge, error, fatigue, etc.).

For sure, dismissing will prevent the behaviour to be repeated, but this will drive the loss of precious resources. A company is nothing with its daily working staff... Thus, the lay off is not the right choice, if we consider the time needed to train a Captain (as example, but it is true for most of jobs), and the costs.

Then, training seems to be the only (acceptable) solution... If we confront the negative and positive aspects of training, advantages exceed from far away the primary profits (qualification received) man we expect. In fact, there always are secondary profits, which will potentialize durably the consequences of the training.

Few negative aspects of training

1. Attendee not available for operations
2. Training organization (somebody should be in charge)
3. Training costs (instructor, tools, environment, etc.)
4. Doubts about usefulness of the training, according to previous (1) (2) and (3)

But much more positive aspects of training

1. Staff beliefs about a variety of work issues are significantly affected by the training they received
2. Staff who are given training tend to feel they are receiving a fairer deal at work
3. Training is always a transferable skill to other functions
4. Training reduce stress and pressure on the long term (even though the first consequence of learning create stress)
5. Staff who benefit from training are less likely to invent illness, change company, or quit their job
6. Training increase skills
7. Training increase proficiency
8. Training maintain skills within company preventing skills and expertise to disappear
9. Training increase motivation
10. Training increase personal fulfillment

At last, and whatever one claimed for a long time the concept of training (and by extension that of memorizing) is a finally rather simple, since it is mainly based on... repetition.
It is thus fundamental TO TRAIN, TO EXPLAIN and TO REPEAT the cycle. And it is the instructor responsibility for not only TRAINING and EXPLAINING, but TO REPEAT as many time as it is necessary, whatever some could think about.

So, it is essential to train people again and again. The advantages for the company are tremendous and essential.

Second direction: Human Factors concept

Reminder: the "Human factor" is the first cause of incidents and accidents! Boeing studies suggest 65%, other 75% or 85%. The issue is more simple. Since only human being manufacture (everything), carry out the maintenance, manage the daily operations and pilot the systems, it is useless to enter a dispute about a percentage.
Human factors constitute the CRM scientific foundations. Applied to aeronautics, they describe and explain the operator's behaviours (pilots, air traffic controllers, technicians, etc.).

I am astonished by the number of pilots, however holding the "Human factors" certificate required by JAA regulations, who applied almost nothing of these concepts in spite of their CRM training (once again, we can here perceive the consequences of the training which are exclusively applied for their lawful obligation...). Beyond what seems a value judgment, most have learned the data (among others) with the sole aim of passing the test in order to obtain a certificate. The Human factors do not constitute only one bank of theoretical data. They are the base and cement of most of the operational behaviours. Beyond the theoretical contribution they must be taught through explicit training, if not practical.

Objectives
The goals of such extensive training are numerous.

1. First of all teaching about human factors, making people to realize what this science is.
2. Second, showing the human behaviour performance in daily operational situations.
3. Third, provide another approach on the human competencies and performances.
4. Fourth, provide another look about his/her own behaviour and competencies.
5. Finally, showing what we can change about human behaviour, which is the goal of every training session.

Third direction: CRM, TEM and other resources management concepts

The result of current CRM training course is crews are pretty well trained for normal situation. On the other side, crews appear weak during deteriorated situations.
Eight new CRM training courses are proposed here.

Fifth direction: Accident prevention and flight safety programme

Objectives
The prime objective consists in preparing the staff by founding confidence and working conditions, in incentive with the observation, by supporting curiosity and imagination. This can be set up only with adhesion and the participation.

These two last qualities will constitute the base of the second objective who is to create a "frame of mind" by which all the personnel directly or indirectly implied in the course of the flying activity will feel concerned by flight safety questions and will be able to support these issues.
This psychological context must go hand in hand with technical staff know-how, in particular with regard to the knowledge of the aircraft type, the knowledge of breakdowns and emergency procedures coupled with the evacuation procedures which can be considered.

The third objective is to fight preventively, against all the faults, failures or errors likely to be made and to correct with clearness all that could be noted. It is a very large objective, ambitious, with a sensitive approach... It requires a cutting of the flying activity in successive sections, and an analysis through each section of the strong points and the weak points noted as regards of flight safety:

1. preparation of the planes;
2. preparation of the flights;
3. execution of the flights;
4. flights data exploitation.

A last objective relates to the activity and the life of the employees:

1. Flying hours distribution and work shift
2. Training courses suggested
3. Physical and mental preparation
4. Medical supervision
5. Food habits
6. Conditions of rest

Domains (None of the following actions can be regarded as restrictive)
They are the translation in various forms of the actions to undertake to reach at the laid down objectives. It concern many fields of the aeronautical activity, some still remain to be defined.

Operations (These actions must be known by employees)
1. Crew team constitution
The following measures require that the pilots can report the encountered difficulties. Operations and/or planning personnel have a preponderant role here. They must express a full open mind, incomparable welcoming and listening qualities. These personnel would have, inter alia, to implement the following actions:

• to avoid the couples young Captain - young First officer (- as the JAA OPS 1.940 envisages it -)
• to try (as far as possible) to manage the (human) incompatibilities known
• to determine a scale of difficulty of the flights and to make the new flight crew progressing through it
• others

2. To draw up a monthly note of operational information
It will allow the operational information to be diffused, but also the company information, for example:

• Staff changes
• Operational information
• Technical information
• Health information
• Administrative information
• Etc.

Ground instruction
It regularly must reinforce the pilots assets on the subjects directly related to safety.
The training programmes should not be fundamentally different from those used usually. Nevertheless, they must be different from usual training for two reasons. On the one hand, by the focus on a true safety philosophy, in addition by strongly integrating the training within the accidents prevention and flights safety programme.
These training will initially be integrated directly into the Recurrent Training and Checking such as it is envisaged by the OPS 1.965.
Later on, these training will be proposed during one or more daily sessions dedicated to flight safety. One can see at least three advantages. The first makes it possible not not to weigh down too much the concept of safety , the second to propose very short training sessions in order to preserve a maximum level of attention, finally the third allows to vary the topics.

3. Recurrent briefings

• emergency procedures
• non normal procedures
• evacuation drills
• life jacket and lifeboat drills

4. Recalls about unusual operations

• icing conditions
• winter operations
• turbulences in operations
• windshear
• fogs

5. Recalls about operational limits

• distributions of the weights and balance
• use of the automatic systems
• fuel management
• operational minima
• recalls about daily preflight

6. General subjects

• application of the operating manual
• human factors (self medication, diseases and flight, fatigue, stress, risk management, etc.)
• techniques of communication
• public communication
• crisis communication
• problems solving
• Decision-making

7. Safety

• meetings about past events within the company (incidents, accidents, others)
• publishing a Flights Safety Bulletin of of (FSB) specific to the company (see operational feedback).
• use of the safety equipments
  • meetings sessions regarding the airplane evacuation systems for the flight crew
  • meetings sessions in swimming pool regarding the ditching equipment for the flight crew
  • meetings sessions regarding the extinguishers according to types of fires
  • training sessions regarding the use of the first aid kits for the flight crew
  • regular checking of the backup facilities aboard planes.

Staff
Safety being like the perfection, never achieved, it is necessary to keep in mind that the next positions claim perpetual adaptations and modifications as well in their missions as in their profiles.

The Flight Safety Officer (FSO)
It is the main leader of the flight safety department and its all staff, as well as the Flights Safety Commission. .
He must use all the available resources within each staff member in order to reach and to maintain a maximum level of implication favourable to a serene and positive air safety approach.
He promotes frequent and numerous contacts in all the possible forms (meetings, telephone, fax, e-mail, etc.) between the Flight Safety department staff, in order to maintain an optimal level of cohesion and collaboration.
He ensures all the reported events are correctly processed between their emission by the flight crew and the final conclusion by the FSE. He validates the conclusion of the event before the publication.
He answers every report so that the writer is ensured of the utility of his/her work.
He ensures the editing and the publication of various media (FSB, Flash Information), as well as the Accident Investigation Board recommendations to the concerned departments.
He informs the Company CEO and the General Manager if the company operations enable a decrease in the level of flights safety.
He defines the annual accident prevention and flight safety programme, by choosing some target and by preparing the necessary means.
He develops research to define new means of prevention which could be technical, semantic, or organisational.
Various forms of internal communications must be installed with:

1. top executives during the monthly Flights Safety meetings
2. concerned departments during monthly Flights Safety meetings:
   1. to define the training courses,
   2. to define the application conditions of the measures taken in flights safety Commission,
   3. to reactualize the potential risk for each airplane/route operation;
3. the Maintenance department in order to develop the flights safety concept within its personnel.

Outside the company, communications are installed with other companies, as well as the civil aviation department:

1. Accident Investigation Board
2. Air Traffic Control
3. Civil Aviation Authority.

Lastly, the FSO supervise the chartered companies operations.

Responsibilities
The FSO is responsible for the installation and the correct operation of the accident prevention and flight safety programme.
He is the privileged interlocutor of all crew member for everything linked to flight safety, in the total respect of the confidentiality.
He can develop all the means and measures which he considers useful for the prevention of the accidents and the flight safety, which could be technical, semantic or organisational.
He implements the necessary corrective or preventive actions, in coordination with the flight crew management and under control of the General Manager.

The of Flight Safety Expert (FSE)
He is ESV for a type of airplane. His specialty allows him a technical approach with the flight deck crew, which the FSO not qualified on the concerned plane, could not hold with the same precision.
He is so in contact with the flight crew of a given airplane type. He must listening the crews for the specific operation issues related to the concerned airplane type.
It carries out the technical surveys with maintenance for each event report. These investigations will lead to conclusions controlled by FSO and publicized to the crews. This diffusion allows to inform the crews on the exact conditions of the revealed event.
He develops air safety subjects, which can be publicized in the FSB.
Finally it compiles all reports descriptions for a semi-annual diffusion.

The Sector Maintenance Technician (SMT)
He is SMT for a given type of airplane. He is the FSO or FSE correspondent the technical aspects, the regular maintenance and the line maintenance.
He should give his technical analysis about reports of events which concern maintenance or line maintenance.

The Flights Safety Secretary (FSS)
One of essential qualities of the Flights Safety Secretary is the confidentiality of any information.
She/he is receiving reports of events of which she/he ensures the transmission to the recipient departments and in particular the related FSE.
She/he will ensure the transmission of the conclusions of events to the crews and the recipients services.
She/he ensures the writing of the FSB.
Lastly, she/he is responsible for inserting the data of each event in the data base as well as the archiving of all the data received or those which are produced there.

Flights Data analysis program

• analysis of the data of the flights files of (in particular the conformity of the contents of the flights files)
• analysis of the data of the engines
• systematic flights analysis

Operational feedback
It is a complete concept but which must be part of the accident prevention and flight safety programme.

Risk awareness program
General
This program (imposed by the JAA OPS 1.037) is in fact "a super" tool which synthesizes the various contributions of each stages of the Accident prevention and flights safety programme.

Objectives
It is a question to develop the risk awareness by the personnel concerned directly or indirectly with the air operations, especially by the fact that the risk of incident and/or accident is permanent. By its omnipresent character this risk should not be drowned in the daily operation routines.
The objective of this program is to reactivate and maintain the risk awareness by the staff concerned with the operations in order to allow them to take more safe decisions.

Actions
It is those which were defined in the preceding points. But, in no case, is this list restrictive.

1. Operations
   1. Crews constitution
   2. Aeronautical information
   3. To draw up a monthly operational information note
2. The ground instruction
   1. Periodic briefing
   2. Recalls about unusual conditions subjects
   3. Recalls about operational limits subjects
   4. General subject

These preceding formations can be realized either during the Recurrent training, or during specific flights safety sessions.

1. Safety
2. Meteorology

Various modes of operational feedback
It is those which were defined in the Operational feedback.

• Personalized operational feedback ,
• Collective operational feedback,
• Publications (Flash Information and FSB);

Additional formations

• Other training regarding flights safety
• Participation in air safety training courses within the company or another company
• Participation's in Human factors training courses within the company or another company;

Additional information
Other information by various media regarding flights safety;

The creation of a committee
This group is specific to the company.
It is managed by the FSO. When created, this group must regularly meet (every 3 months) in order to decide and to found the various actions allowing the risk awareness in operations.
Without reaching a critical number of members who would make this group not very productive, its access must be relatively open, in order to benefit from the external competencies. It can be made up:

1. Organizers of the safety of the flights
   1. Flight Safety Officer
   2. Flight Safety Expert
   3. Sector Maintenance Technicians
   4. Flight Safety Secretary
2. Security Manager
3. Quality Manager
4. Ground Operations Manager or his representative
5. Flight Operations Manager or his representative
6. Flight Crew Training Manager or his representative
7. Chief Pilot
8. Maintenance Manager or his representative
9. One or more flight crew from the company
10. Other members from other departments (sales, etc.)
11. Company external members (air traffic controller, specialist in a given field, etc.)
12. Other members.

Concerned Personnel
They are all those concerned with the air operations (Flight deck crew, Cabin crew, mechanics, operations, agents on the ground, etc.).
One will also add all the company managers, because their roles of supervision, training and leadership are essential here.
One can also invite to these meetings external company members, but strongly implied in the company operations (for example the air traffic controllers in the home base airport, Firemen, etc.).

Sixth direction: Operational feedback

Why the operational feedback
Incidents reports, investigations and analysis are very effective means for accidents prevention.
The most important incidents characteristics are:

• Their similarity with the accidents, except the final event which in an accident causes wounds or material damages; the incidents can thus be as revealing as the accidents on the existence of a danger;
• They are much more numerous than the accidents (10 to 100 times more according to ICAO statistics); they thus constitute an important source of information about dangers;
• The people implied in an incident are (in general) available to provide additional information on the factors which caused it.

The accidents and their investigations remain the source of the most obvious information as regards prevention. The accidents provide an irrecusable proof of the gravity about the dangers. Their often catastrophic consequences and their extremely high cost encourage to focus on prevention of the means which otherwise could appear excessive.
By definition, an accident causes at least serious wounds and important damages with the aircraft. It is thus probable that an official procedure will be started.
Because of its official position, the investigator could be regarded as a very indicated source of information to establish the facts and the culpableness in front of the courts. In the case of a parallel legal procedure, the investigator with the witnesses and the other people implied in the accident will be incited not to reveal the information, so that it will be difficult to include/understand the event, in particular about human factors, before the end of the legal procedure. Although appendix 13 of the ICAO on the investigations of accidents states clearly that an accident investigation has as a prevention objective rather than the determination of the faults, in practice when justice also inquires, the distinction is not so clear.

FDR and CVR
The FDR and CVR were initially conceived to help to determine the causes of the accidents, and in particular of the catastrophic accidents to large planes.
Appendix 13 of the ICAO recommends to protect the data confidentiality obtained by means of these devices. Nevertheless, in the event of voluntary negligence or of serious professional misconduct, and on request of the legal authorities, the information contained in these recordings can be used at other ends than the determination of the causes of the accidents or incidents.

Objectives
It is a question of communicating to the personnel the analysis regarding the events brought back by the company agents through reports, as well as events brought back by other companies.

General

The operational feedback can be provoked by the singular character of the event, or repetitive character of the same type of events.
With teaching ends, specific operational feedbacks could be carried out on events which took place within other companies.

Operational feedback modes

All the events must be reported to all the personnel directly or indirectly concerned.
Beyond the educational aspect, this information must also appear as incentives to take part in the reporting system and improve the aeronautical safety in general.
These operational feedbacks could be carried out in two ways.

Personalized experience feedback
Each agent reporting an event must receive an individualized information feedback in written (even oral), on the notified event.

Collective experience feedback
As soon as a singular danger or a succession of similar events is identified, the event will be the subject of a diffusion towards the whole staff. This diffusion could be done in three manners:

• Firstly during mandatory annual recurrent training,
• Captain training courses,
• With the FLASH INFORMATION about a specific event requiring an immediate information.

Finally the publication of the FSB must be regular (quarterly).

Contents

Concerned Personnel

It is all the various concerned personnel. First the various company operators (pilots, mechanics and operations, agents on the ground), then all those which from their position in the company must promote safety (management, administration and commercial, etc.), finally the various leading aeronautical authorities which could be involved (they should be local, regional, etc.).

Seventh direction: Selection and hiring