Ramp and Hangar Safety
Ramp and Hangar Safety
Introduction:
Aviation can be dangerous business, but a look at hangar and ramp accidents shows the costs can be high, even deadly. Training, attitude and reasonable expectations can reduce the number of incidents.
Discussion/Analysis:
For all glamour, aviation is a dangerous business. Pilots and mechanics are well aware of this risks and they are highly trained to manage them. But the same can not be said for many of the ground support workers in aviation ramps and hangars. The lack of standard approach to training, the persistent time pressures which many of these workers face, their congested and sometimes confusing workspaces, and their physically demanding but ill-paid positions can create a dangerous environment.
The industry recognizes this and is taking steps to improve it. There are major obstacle to understanding the scope of the ramp safety problem and thus improving it; government data is incomplete and privately collected data is considered ownership.
The cost of ramp accidents is high. According to the Flight Safety Foundation, approximately 27,000 ramp accidents and incidents occurred annually worldwide and around 243,000 people are injured - about nine per 1,000 departures. The cost to major airlines was estimated to be at least $10 billion a year. The International Air Transport Association (IATA) calculates the direct costs of airplane damage to be about $4 billion a year. IATA regards the origin or cause of the problem to "minimal oversight" of ground service providers in the selection and licensing process, in system implementation, training and development, and in auditing, reporting and compliance procedures.
In a report published in 2007, the U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) described the typical ramp as a "small, congested area in which departing and arriving aircraft as serviced by ramp workers, including baggage, catering and fueling personnel...the presence of a large number of people utilizing
Introduction:
Aviation can be dangerous business, but a look at hangar and ramp accidents shows the costs can be high, even deadly. Training, attitude and reasonable expectations can reduce the number of incidents.
Discussion/Analysis:
For all glamour, aviation is a dangerous business. Pilots and mechanics are well aware of this risks and they are highly trained to manage them. But the same can not be said for many of the ground support workers in aviation ramps and hangars. The lack of standard approach to training, the persistent time pressures which many of these workers face, their congested and sometimes confusing workspaces, and their physically demanding but ill-paid positions can create a dangerous environment.
The industry recognizes this and is taking steps to improve it. There are major obstacle to understanding the scope of the ramp safety problem and thus improving it; government data is incomplete and privately collected data is considered ownership.
The cost of ramp accidents is high. According to the Flight Safety Foundation, approximately 27,000 ramp accidents and incidents occurred annually worldwide and around 243,000 people are injured - about nine per 1,000 departures. The cost to major airlines was estimated to be at least $10 billion a year. The International Air Transport Association (IATA) calculates the direct costs of airplane damage to be about $4 billion a year. IATA regards the origin or cause of the problem to "minimal oversight" of ground service providers in the selection and licensing process, in system implementation, training and development, and in auditing, reporting and compliance procedures.
In a report published in 2007, the U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) described the typical ramp as a "small, congested area in which departing and arriving aircraft as serviced by ramp workers, including baggage, catering and fueling personnel...the presence of a large number of people utilizing
References: 1. http://asrs.arc.nasa.gov/publications 2. www.TATA.org, Internation Air Transport Association 3. www.gao.gov, U.S. Government Accountability Office 4. www.bls.gov, Bureau of Labor Statistics.