Colleagues and friends are familiar with my determined avoidance of anything that requires me to experience bugs, dirt, perspiration, or ugly shoes. Consequently, they might be a tad puzzled that I have chosen to focus this issue’s Checklist column on an FAASafety Team brochure developed for — ready for it? — aviation agricultural operators. But I have a good reason. So, climb aboard as I plow ahead with the explanation and smooth a few furrowed brows. 

Cultivating the Culture 

The title of the brochure is “A Positive Safety Cul­ture: A Guide for Aviation Agricultural Operators.” I stumbled across it while researching safety culture material that meets this column’s mission. My first inclination was to dis­miss it as irrelevant to this audience. But it’s a short and easy read, so I decided to glance over it before I moved to more fertile fields of inquiry. 

By the time I had finished, I knew I had been mistaken in deeming it immaterial. Advice directed to “operators” and “companies” might be less perti­nent to individual pilots or mechanics, but most of the brochure’s concepts and recommendations are applicable to anyone seeking to establish a positive safety culture. Here’s a slightly whimsical summary: 

Safety Policy: Pick What to Plant 

I don’t pretend to be an expert in agriculture, but the farmers in my family did teach me that crops — at least the ones you want — don’t exactly crop up by accident. The farmer starts with a desire and com­mitment to plant a specific thing, like tomatoes. 

In aviation, a positive safety culture begins with a desire for, and a commitment to safety excellence. Just as a farmer can’t assume that tomatoes will just grow, pilots and mechanics can’t assume safety will just happen. Safety-minded companies usu­ally develop a written safety policy statement. An individual airman can start by developing written personal minimums.  

Safety Risk Management: Weed It and Water It 

Weeding my father’s vegetable garden was hardly my favorite childhood chore, but I knew that if I wanted to savor the succulent taste of his tomatoes, I had to help tend them. I was always amazed by how quickly those evil weeds could take over if we neglected the job. 

It’s the same in aviation. Like weeds, safety haz­ards pop up everywhere. They can quickly choke the “real” crop — safety — if we don’t constantly moni­tor and eradicate them. As in agriculture, we can also use proactive means (aerial application, anyone?) to prevent some of those weeds from sprouting in the first place. 

Another part of safety risk management is akin to watering those lovingly planted crops. Things change quickly in the highly dynamic world of avia­tion, and your personal safety culture can wither if you don’t water it with regular infusions of fresh knowledge and training. 

Safety Assurance: Measure to Manage 

My Wisconsin-based beau has schooled me in sayings common to America’s Dairyland. For instance, as we traveled to Oshkosh last summer, I learned that farmers look for their field corn to be “knee high by the fourth of July.”

You can think of that little rhyme as a form of safety assurance, which involves tracking and evaluating performance against a known standard. A good practice is to conclude every flight by honestly assessing your performance against the metrics in the applicable Airman Certification Standards. Don’t tol­erate deviations; remember that it’s easier to uproot both weeds and bad habits while they are small. 

Safety Promotion: Share the Wealth 

My dad took great pleasure in sharing the bounty of his harvest, and we pilots can do the same. Safety promotion starts with setting the best possible example. As you gain knowledge and experience, you can also contribute to safety promotion by men­toring your fellow pilots or mechanics.  (FAA Safety Briefing – JulAug 2019)