Small Operator Symposium Focuses on Actionable Steps to a Safer Small Flight Department

Oct. 22, 2024

At NBAA’s ever-popular Small Operator Symposium, top safety experts shared their perspectives and gave attendees useful guidance developed for small flight departments, focusing on five simple steps to a safer flight operation.

David Keys, chief pilot at Peace River Citrus Products and chair of the Domestic Operations Committee, opened the session, explaining that many available safety resources are not applicable to small flight departments, typically considered organizations with one or two aircraft.

NBAA’s Domestic Operations Committee’s Small Flight Department Subcommittee published the new resource, “Five Simple Steps to a Safer Flight Operation,“ to fill the gap.

Implement briefings and an aviation safety action program (ASAP)

Scott Birdsall, chief pilot at Lionheart Holdings, Inc., encouraged attendees to start conducting pre-departure and post-flight briefings. Pre-departure briefings, for example, might discuss airplane status, weather, airport conditions and routing.

“More conversation is always going to be better,” said Birdsall.

Implement flight risk assessment tools (FRATs)

Tom Klassen, president and director of operations at Reliable Airlines, shared how an operator can develop their own FRAT, considering pilot, aircraft, environmental and operational factors. Klassen explained that the overall risk score can indicate whether mitigations are necessary or if the flight is a no-go.

“That risk score makes it real,” said Klassen, adding the objective score can help make no-go decisions easier to explain to passengers, more effectively managing customer experience.

Develop standard operating procedures (SOPs) and an emergency response plan (ERP)

Matt Simmonds, captain at Pepsico Aviation and vice chair of the NBAA Domestic Operations Committee, urged attendees to develop SOPs and an ERP applicable to their own organization. Manufacturer or commercially produced manuals and checklists may not accurately represent how you conduct a flight. In other words, do what you say – say what you do. Meanwhile, for some small flight operations, an ERP could be as simple as a one-page checklist with important numbers or specific tasks.

“An ERP is something you will probably never think about, but you will desperately wish you had if you ever need it,” said Simmonds.

Implement a safety management system (SMS)

Zohrab Grigorian, founder of Volaree Aviation, shared tips on implementing an SMS, essentially a proactive approach to continuous improvement, in a small organization.

“An SMS is an opportunity to learn as an operation,” said Grigorian. “SMS is basically a quality program that we put in place so we can keep track of the pulse of the organization. How can you track safety performance and close calls if you don’t have an SMS?”

He added that pilots are inherently safety-minded and are mostly likely already doing many elements of SMS now. Keeping it simple will allow an operator to start an SMS and improve on it over time.

Implement safety audits and flight data monitoring (FDM)

Finally, Michael Whannell, chief pilot at Jack Henry, said that while formal external audits can be beneficial, even asking another operator to assess your organization can bring fresh perspective. He also explained the benefits of FDM, including safety, compliance, maintenance efficiencies and cost savings.

“Start with the end in mind,” Whannell said, suggesting attendees consider what they want to achieve with their FDM while developing the program.

Leading from any Seat

Attendees also learned about leadership regardless of title, with Mike Nichols, founder at Flieger Strategies, LLC, providing strategies and innovative methods to elevate leadership skills.

Nichols explained while pilots are taught to aviate, navigate, then communicate, leaders need to switch that paradigm and communicate, navigate, then aviate. That simple shift in perspective can help pilot leaders more effectively lead their organization.