Moorabbin forum takes on safety questions

They say talk is cheap, in which case it’s preferable to accidents, because in aviation those are always expensive. Pilots, operators and managers at Moorabbin airport in Victoria have discovered the power of talking, and its positive effect on safety. Today they held the latest Moorabbin Safety Managers’ Forum.

The forum is a time and place for safety managers from all organisations on the aerodrome to get together to discuss and collectively manage safety.

‘It is a great model that typifies the encouragement of industry leaders to take responsibility for aviation safety in the first instance,’ CASA aviation safety advisor Michael White said.

White said CASA actively supported the forum. ‘It embodies encouragement for industry to take responsibility for operational safety, provides a model on which other general aviation aerodromes might adopt and highlights the results that the regulator can achieve from such initiatives and collaboration with industry,’ he said.

‘CASA is thrilled to support the forum through our safety promotion sponsorship program,’ White said.

Head of Safety for the Australian Pilot Training Alliance, Andrew Warland-Browne, said the forum was now an established part of Moorabbin aerodrome’s culture. ‘We started the forum in 2017 and it’s filled a need for information exchange, learning and self-help,’ he said.

Topics on the risk register include runway incursion hotspots, concerns about fixed wing and rotary wing training aircraft operating in proximity over the aerodrome, and the risk of pilots being dazzled while taxiing by car headlights in development areas near the airport.

Working groups report on progress with action items from previous meetings, including a proposed website for the forum.

The forum also invites external experts to speak on safety-related topics, such as managing post-accident psychological trauma, a subject sadly relevant at Moorabbin, after the crash of a Cessna 172 in the circuit in June 2018.