by Philip Smart
The Flight Safety Foundation and leaders in Australia’s commercial aerial mustering industry have formed a committee to identify safety trends and offer a standardised risk reduction protocol for flight operations.
The Australian Aerial Mustering Safety Committee (AMSC) met for the first time in the Flight Safety Foundation’s Melbourne office on May 9, establishing its mission, terms of reference and first year objectives.
The committee includes industry identity Craig Crumblin as inaugural chair, with Richard (Dick) Arnold of Townsville Helicopters, Nick Dyer from Heli-Muster, Weldon Percy of Fortescue Helicopters and Shane Brook, Fixed Wing.
The committee formation follows the Flight Safety Foundation’s recent release of a Basic Aviation Risk (BAR) Standard protocol for mustering operations.
“The recent AMSC meeting identified key safety issues for the sector and explored the opportunities for addressing these issues, said Craig Crumblin. “One of the big steps forward is the release of the Aerial Mustering BAR Standard.
“This will provide an opportunity to develop a common approach to managing risk and reveal trends that the industry needs to monitor and put safety protocols in place to manage them. Version 1.0 has been released with the endeavour to get valued feedback from all aspects and operators in the Industry.”
The AMSC will work with the commercial mustering community to improve the level of safety performance, aligning with the goals and initiatives of the Flight Safety Foundation, an independent and impartial global organisation that promotes aviation safety initiatives.
“Feedback on all types of items is critical so the Standard can become a “practical tool” for allsides of industry to depend on, both the end users and the operators and apply it within their operating environment: safety is the key issue here,” Crumblin said.
“This latest partnership with the AMSC shows growing support for the BARS Program and increased industry collaboration,” said Flight Safety Foundation BARS Managing Director David Anderson.
“This is a great example of the work the Flight Safety Foundation does, bringing together stakeholders from adjacent sectors and industries with a common interest in safety of operations, so that we can share expertise and knowledge, and lessons learned, and work together to improve the safety performance of all.”