D.O.M. Blogs

Oshkosh is a town, population 66,000, in Wisconsin. But every summer, almost 600,000 aviation enthusiasts visit this Wisconsin town for EAA AirVenture — a one-week event that has come to be known by many as simply "Oshkosh." EAA AirVenture 2018 is less than two weeks away. The D.O.M. magazine staff will be there. Will you?

While attending a safety seminar recently, the subject of normalization of deviance came up. The discussion reminded me of the importance of understanding normalization of deviance and how it affects safety in aircraft maintenance.

A basic definition of normalization of deviance is the gradual process by which the unacceptable becomes acceptable in the absence of adverse consequences.

There are some unhappy workers in our industry. They are fed up with low wages and increased outsourcing by the airlines — the same airlines that are recording record profits. They feel that their contribution to those airlines' profits have been ignored and they want increased pay! After all, nearly 40 percent of these workers make under $15.00/hour according to a press release sent to D.O.M. magazine by the Transportation Trades Department of the AFL-CIO.

Well, I guess it is.

On March 24, self-taught rocket scientist “Mad” Mike Hughes, who happens to believe the earth is flat, launched himself over 1,800 feet in the air in his homemade rocket.

The rocket came back to earth by parachute. One deployed right after the launch was complete. The second one was deployed before touchdown, but it seems to me it was deployed a little late — which may account for the hard touchdown that injured Hughes’ back.

There are a few questions that came to mind as I read the news story:

My wife and I recently had a horrible experience on a flight back from our 20-year anniversary trip to Punta Cana. Those of you who are friends with me on Facebook have probably read some of my posts during that experience. Allow me to share.

Our flight was supposed to be a five-hour flight from Punta Cana to Chicago O’Hare. Other than the flight being overbooked and the airline asking for eight volunteers to give up their seats for a $500 voucher, a room at a resort overnight and a guaranteed flight out the next day, everything went pretty typical – until we boarded.

As we get closer to the New Year, many people are thinking about New Year's resolutions.

The problem with New Year's resolutions is that they often fail. We set our minds to a goal and often set ourselves up for failure. 

Let's look at one example. We make a resolution to lose weight. We sign up for a gym membership and start a diet.

I have been interested in human factors and how they affect our jobs for roughly 20 years. D.O.M. magazine contributor Gordon Dupont, known as the father of the Dirty Dozen, shares his knowledge on human factors with our readers each issue. Earlier this year, I signed up for the Aviation Human Factors Industry newsletter from Roger Hughes.

Though not yet official at the time of this writing, word has gotten around in the industry that GE has closed its flight department (Corporate Air Transport) this month. Apparently, it is still keeping its helicopter operation, and there is speculation that it will be using a fractional/leaseback type arrangement for future corporate travel. Several of its flight department personnel have reported that they have already been dismissed.

My editorial column in the July issue of D.O.M. magazine, What Doesn’t Kill Us, discussed the benefits of stepping out of our comfort zones. You can read the editorial column on our digital edition HERE.