Two highly publicized, sensational ingestions merit SAFO ???

The FAA has taken an extraordinary step of issuing a SAFETY ALERT FOR OPERATORS based on two incidents. Below are the SAFO and the Media Reports which precipitated this HIGH LEVEL FAA WARNING. Amidst so much turmoil safety concerns, WHY THIS? 

Worker death prompts US FAA to issue aviation ground safety alert 

 Texas airport worker sucked into jet engine took his own life, authorities say | US news | The Guardian 

EDITORIAL NOTE: this Journal is meant to be an extension of the values and perspective of its founder—Joe Del Balzo. A career employee, who reached the highest level of the FAA, was an optimist and tried to find the best in all. This attitude extended to the editorial policy of this blog. On more than a few occasions, my boss would return a draft with TOO NEGATIVE, FIND THE POSITIVE ASPECT. This engineer was particularly protective of the FAA, including the political hacks, of which I was one.  

Recently, the insights posted here have been unusually negative and absolution from heaven has been repeatedly requested from Joe. Today, another critique must be written; apologies, but this straying from the principles of Safety Management Systems (SMS)needs to be called out. 

SMS has been a frequent subject here, because Joe and JDA Aviation Technologies Solutions believe in this discipline’s utility to reduce risk in all aspects of aviation. Margaret Gilligan, a reformed lawyer and former FAA Assistant Administrator for Aviation Safety, brought SMS to US aviation. Her initiative moved our industry’s mode from REACTIVE to PROACTIVE. The remonstrative moniker was “The Tombstone Agency,” insinuating that the FAA only changed when an accident occurred.  

Ms. Gilligan’s solution was to aggregate all of the databases¹ that reported “cracks” (figuratively speaking), examine trends towards impending “failures” and remedy the identified risks BEFORE A POTENTIAL CRASH. This analytical discipline depends on statistical ranking of threats and that review leads to prioritization—all flaws (mechanical, operational, etc.) do not hold the same level of probability. SMS focuses the attention of all aviation professionals on problems posing the greatest and most immediate harm. Such data-driven ordering of remedial actions leads to the safest outcome.  

Here is a SAFO which the FAA recently issued. The TWO incidents (see ‘several”?) were widely reported by the media; so much so that every airline in the world was aware of this horrible, avoidable tragedy. The particulars of each death were points of emphasis in instruction mandatory for these workers. A red rotating light on the fuselage warns all on the tarmac that the engine is a threat to life and caution must be exercised. The engine’s noise should be a clarion alert to stay away from the nacelle. Finally, warning signs are usually displayed.  

The FAA defines SAFO as a formal communication tool that alerts the aviation community to critical safety concerns. Typically, this high-level announcement provides preventative information and recommendations regarding operational issues, emerging or changing conditions, or other safety matters THAT REQUIRE THE IMMEDIATE ATTENTION OF OPERATORS. Thier significance is demonstrated by the fact that over the past three years only 15 have been issued; to better assure that the admonition is recognized as important, and action should be taken,  

Aviation Safety has set the following criteria meriting the preparation and dissemination of SAFO: 

• The safety issue has been identified by the FAA, an operator, a manufacturer, or another source. 
• The safety issue affects multiple operators, aircraft, or products. 
• The safety issue is NOT ADEQUATELY ADDRESSED BY EXISTING REGULATIONS, AIRWORTHINESS DIRECTIVES, OR OTHER PUBLICATIONS. 
• The safety issue requires immediate action or awareness by the aviation community. 
• The safety issue is not of a nature that would warrant the issuance of an emergency airworthiness directive. 

This SAFO does not meet the FAA’s own standards for issuing such a high-profile warning. Responding to two incidents with such a level of alarm may qualify as idiomatic “CRY WOLF” behavior. The airlines already knew about the underlying deaths. The specific SAFO “fixes” added NOTHING. Hopefully, this issuance will not diminish the airlines’ reaction to the next SAFO. The audience may dismiss this press release as a new SMS—SOCIAL MEDIA “SYCHOPHANTry”?