Aviation Safety

It is not until you have flown several times with different airlines do you totally appreciate the rules that have developed to ensure aviation safety.

If we look first of all at the planes themselves. It can be very irritating to get on the plane, the door is closed and the pilot starts moving the plane away from the gate and you start taxiing towards the runway and you realise that you are heading back to the gate. The pilot says that one of the gauges is not working and he wants an engineer to have a look at it. Initially you are annoyed, as this is the only plane that goes to your destination and any delay will mean that you have to stay over until the following day. Then you realize that in the greater order of the universe – which it worked out OK as the gauge stopped working before you took off and not whilst you were at 10,000 feet above the Prairie and 10 of miles from anything. That is when you truly realise the importance of safety checks and how much you rely on other people doing their job responsibly.

There are set procedures for safety and even if you have heard the message several times before, always listen to the safety messages and read along, it could save your life or the life of someone close to you. Health and Safety exists everywhere and you are just as responsible for the application of the directives as the flight crew. This is exactly the same as when you are in work, Health & safety is everyone’s responsibility, if you spot a problem it is your responsibility to tell someone in authority.

One of the biggest threats to Aviation Safety is people, ordinary travellers that are not terrorists, or crazed fanatics, just ordinary people. There are strict rules for what travellers are allowed to take on an aircraft and there are reasons for that. If you take the example of the directive concerning taking an extra laptop battery on board an aircraft this primarily is not about terrorism it is about the issues of a particular type of battery being stowed in the checked in baggage and being exposed to very cold temperatures which can result in possible combustion. Some travellers may consider that they do not have to comply with the rules and they are surprised when their checked baggage is screened and not allowed on the aircraft.

You can be sure that whatever the aviation safety rules are there is always a very valid reason for their existence.