The Airline Pilots Association, in a letter to its Union Members, declared that American Airlines has seen a “SIGNIFICANT SPIKE” in safety incidents. A spokesperson for AA replied:
“Our robust safety program is GUIDED BY OUR INDUSTRY-LEADING SAFETY MANAGEMENT SYSTEM” that includes collaborating with regulators and its unions.”
The letter and the AA reply suggest that a SAFETY CULTURE is not functioning at a level of buy-in needed to really reduce risks there. The airline has published a policy with all of the SMS holy words and posted signs everywhere stating the SMS principles:
What are the signs, reported by both parties, that real SAFETY CULTURE is “robust” or not:
- The Union President issues a letter to his members and obviously the press declaring a safety issue. The significant message was a list of events, which should have been included in a message by a pilot or an AMT to the SRM process, obviously wasn’t.
- As a result of this PUBLIC COMPLAINT, APA and AA management met and there, it was agreed to that APA would be involved “earlier in the safety risk assessment (SRA) process, and we are likewise seeking a commitment that APA will have a seat at the table for the entire quality assurance process.” A robust SMS would have made the union, the FAA and a 3600 team from the airline management an intrinsic part of SRM from Day 1. This omission suggests that there is not the collaborative environment found in organizations with true SAFETY DNA.
- The AA spokesperson, after the meeting, is quoted as saying:
- That the company’s SMS is a “SHARED MISSION” and is an “industry leader.”
- That its SMS “includes collaborating with regulators and its unions.”
- APA continued to remind its “pilots not to rush or be intimidated “and don’t be pressured into doing something that doesn’t pass the ‘smell test.’ Just because it’s legal doesn’t make it safe.”
That sequence does not speak of a SMS in which the unions (pilots, mechanics, flight attendants, etc.) and management really rely on and trust this risk management tool. Clearly the dissonance between the airline SMS exhortation and the statements by AA’s SMS partner is strong evidence that all is not well. Similarly, unions have been known to use such statements for tactical reasons.
A highly functioning SMS is led by a visible Accountable Executive (AE) —
Title 14 CFR Part 5, §5.25 requires Designation of the Accountable executive. Applicants must identify an accountable executive who, irrespective of other functions satisfies the following:
• Is the final authority over operations authorized to be conducted under the certificate holder’s certificate(s).
• Controls the financial resources required for the operations to be conducted under the certificate holder’s certificate(s)
• Controls the human resources required for the operations authorized to be conducted under the certificate holder’s certificate(s).
• Retains ultimate responsibility for the safety performance of the operations conducted under the certificate holder’s certificate.
That individual is responsible for building the trust between management and the unions. He/She should have been the spokesperson in this “dialogue” with APA; no, that person’s mission, well met, would have assured that the SRM team’s agenda for improvements included hammers, pliers, and screwdrivers ALREADY. The ideal AE includes a “walk around” management practice—being out on the ramp, being seen in the hangar, knowing the QA/QC team—all part of bring Safety Culture as a core value for everyone in the airline.
APA pointed to its lack of participation in SRM. In that the unions are predominant participants in AA’s safety, why not include APA’s senior safety officer in the 14 CFR §5.25 list. Putting a union representative in this regulatory responsibility category might incentivize their rigorous participation.
REAL SAFETY SOLIDARITY?
An idea that might be considered by all airlines.
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American Airlines pilots union warns of “significant spike” in safety issues
Kris Van Cleave
Updated Tue, April 16, 2024 at 9:12 AM EDT·
In a warning to American Airlines pilots, their union, the Allied Pilots Association (APA), says it’s seen “A SIGNIFICANT SPIKE IN SAFETY- AND MAINTENANCE-RELATED PROBLEMS IN OUR OPERATION.”
The union claims that among the “problematic trends” it’s been tracking are tools left in wheel wells, an increasing number of collisions between aircraft while they’re being towed, an increasing number of items left in the safety area near jet bridges and “pressure to return aircraft to line service to maintain on-time performance due to a lack of spares.”
[NOT THE ACTUAL LOGBOOK]
CBS News obtained pictures of a hammer the APA says was found in an Airbus A319 wheel well on March 25 at Phoenix Sky Harbor Airport before Flight 1654 departed for Cedar Rapids, Iowa. According to the APA, the flight’s first officer discovered it during his pre-flight walkaround and notified the captain. The captain called maintenance, who in turn inspected the aircraft and found a “Channellock style pliers and a screwdriver also located inside the wheel well.” The union says there were no open maintenance actions when the tool was found.
A hammer is seen being held by an American Airlines pilot after, the carrier’s pilots union says, it was discovered in an Airbus A319 on March 25 at Phoenix Sky Harbor Airport before the flight left for Cedar Rapids, Iowa. / Credit: Allied Pilots Association via CBS News
In a message to union members Monday, APA President Capt. Ed Sicher says, “We met with (American’s) senior management earlier this month to discuss the operational hazards we have identified. … We now have management’s full attention. We secured management’s commitment to involve the union earlier in the safety risk assessment (SRA) process, and we are likewise seeking a commitment that APA will have a seat at the table for the entire quality assurance process. ... MANAGEMENT’S INITIAL RESPONSE TO OUR CONCERNS WAS ENCOURAGING.”
American, which is based in Fort Worth, Texas, said, “Safety at any airline is a SHARED MISSION and it’s especially true at American. Our robust safety program is GUIDED BY OUR INDUSTRY-LEADING SAFETY MANAGEMENT SYSTEM” that includes collaborating with regulators and its unions.
While not commenting directly on the issues raised by the APA, the Federal Aviation Administration said it “requires all U.S. airlines to have Safety Management Systems (SMS) through which they identify, monitor and address potential hazards early on before they become serious problems.”
Complaints about mechanics being pressured to quickly return planes to service aren’t new at American, as CBS News reported in 2019.
United Airlines is currently the subject of an FAA audit after a series of concerning incidents that included a wheel falling off a Boeing 777 as it was taking off from San Francisco and an aerodynamic panel that flew off a 737 during a flight from San Francisco to Medford, Oregon.
“While United Airlines is currently under public and government scrutiny, it could just as easily be American Airlines,” the APA memo says.
The union safety committee urged pilots not to rush or be intimidated “and don’t be pressured into doing something that doesn’t pass the ‘smell test.’ Just because it’s legal doesn’t make it safe.”
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