Premium On Safety - Issue 10, 2013 - (Page 1)

PREmIUm oN SAfETy INSURING SAfE SKIES ISSUE 10 yEAR 2013 IN THIS ISSUE Best Practices: The Accident Number 03 Accident Prevention: Putting It All on the Line 04 ASI message: Push the Buttons—Capiche? 05 flight Vis: Wildlife Awareness 06 ASI online: Heads Up! Improving Runway Safety 07 A mESSAGE fRom USAIG Greetings! It’s hard to gauge who has benefited more in the proliferation of tablet computers: the aviation industry, which constantly innovates with, and increasingly depends on them, or the tablet makers, who find in aviation a perfect, highly mobile, tech-savvy audience for their wares. Our lead story looks at several operators’ experience with tablet (or electronic flight bag—EFB) programs. I hope the shared views might aid others seeking to implement or improve existing EFB programs. Also, check out Flight Vis for a discussion of bird strike hazards and management issues. Among his many great points, contributor Gary Cooke reminds us that, like SMS, active and timely reporting of wildlife incidents and observed hazards is vital. Fly smart and fly safe! Paul Ratté Director of Aviation Safety Programs, USAIG Who Needs Paper Navigating the transition to paperless cockpits for fAR Parts 91 and 135 operators By LEE SmITH AC 120-76B specifies a number of hardware and software requirements, such as battery standards, interference testing, and rapid decompression testing, that a device made specifically for aviation use would be designed around. However, since the iPad is not specifically an aviation device, a challenge for many operators interested in using the devices is to be able to demonstrate that the iPad meets the FAA requirements to be an EFB in the first place. Today, there are clear paths for providing the required testing proof, but early adopters were left to figure it out as Having to deal with battery management they went. LJ Aviation, a management and is another reality of going paperless in charter company out of Latrobe, Pennsylvania, was an early adopter the cockpit. of using the iPad as an EFB, and their approval experience is typical. Terry EFB can be a daunting task for a flight departLascher, who manages the iPad program for ment from both an operational and regulatory the flight department, recalls that their initial perspective. The FAA provides guidance for letter of intent was sent in May 2011. FAA operators transitioning to EFBs through AC approval was granted in September 2011 and 91-78 and AC 120-76B. Non-fractional Part was followed by a six-month evaluation pro91 operators do not require FAA approval, cess, resulting in a total of 10 months from inialthough subpart F operators should still foltial interest to being paperless. Since Part 91 low the specific guidelines contained in AC operators are not required to obtain approval, 120-76B. Fractional and commercial operators their transition timeline can be condensed. For require FAA approval and are issued OpSpec/ instance, the flight department for Home Depot MSpec A061 documenting their approval. Electronic Flight Bags (EFB) have been around since the 1990s, but interest in adopting the technology has increased dramatically since the introduction of the iPad in 2010. Many flight departments equipped with bulky and expensive Class 3 EFBs are interested in using the light and inexpensive iPad as a Class 1 EFB as well. As a commercial off-the-shelf product, the iPad presents several advantages over older types of EFBs, as well as additional challenges. The replacement of paper charts with any (continued on page 2)

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Premium On Safety - Issue 10, 2013

Premium On Safety - Issue 10, 2013
Contents
Best Practices: The Accident Number
Accident Prevention: Putting It All on the Line
ASI Message: Push the Buttons—Capiche?
Flight Vis: Wildlife Awareness
ASI Online: Heads Up! Improving Runway Safety

Premium On Safety - Issue 10, 2013