Incorporating a Safety Management System into Flight Test

Incorporating a Safety Management System into Flight Test and Research Operations Tim Leslie Supervisor of Flying Operations and Training Flight Research Laboratory National Research Council Canada

A Quick Overview of the Fleet YFR~800 hrs 8 Aircraft… 5 pilots

Vice President and Chief of Operations…

• Spitfire • Mustang • Spitfire Hurricane (x 2) Mustang • Corsair • P 40 • Harvard • Staggerwing • Taperwing • Tiger Moth • Fox Moth • Beaver • Lysander • Swordfish

A Rose is a Rose… • Military, test, research, recreational…all types of flying • TQM, CRM, SMS… • TC issues…political…sloganeering…sluffing…fox in the henhouse (dangers of self regulation)… • First principles…simply…there exists a requirement, no matter what it is called, no matter what type of flying you do; to facilitate an opportunity to record incidents in such a manner to afford some capability to learn from something other than accidents • CALL IT WHAT YOU WILL… • A simple system can help in the context of an otherwise complicated environment…but first the complicated environment

Prior to discussing SMS…perhaps it is best to situate its context as it applies to our specific operations… • • • Who is the Flight Research Laboratory? When were we formed? Where are we located? What do we do? How do we get this job done…safely? In the meantime…you will notice some handouts…

When and Where The Flight Research Laboratory formally came into existence as a section of the Division of Mechanical Engineering of the National Research Council in 1943. The Laboratory commenced research activities in 1946.

Hangar U-61

In-Flight Icing Research The NRC Convair 580 instrumented for cloud physics / aircraft icing research

In-Flight Icing Research Convair 580 - Instrumentation • State Parameters • Cloud Physics • Remote Sensing

NRC Airborne W and Xbands radar (NAWX) v Fully Polarimetric and Doppler v Provides data on cloud structure, types and motion v. Currently used in validation of satellite radar

Hyperspectral Imaging System Pushbroom 37. 7 degree FOV 1. 14 mrad IFOV 1. 8 f-number Spectral method: recording with an MCT the reflected or absorbed solar incident radiation from a target 644 spatial pixels 160 channels in Incom Diffracted Energy 644 Spatial Pixels MCT Detector Dispersion Prism 850 nm-2525 nm range 14 bit Hyperspectral: 100+ wavelengths (channels) are recorded simultaneously 16 ms Frame Rate CMIGIT III GPS/INS A “DATA CUBE” is used for 3 -dimensional conception 160 Spectral Pixels ergy g En

High Altitude Atmospheric Research Aircraft FRL WAKE VORTEX/JET WAKE REGIME RESEARCH, TECHNICAL ISSUES: – enroute wake vortex: – NRC WV measurement program: upsets in vortex instability encounters in regulated airspace (8/13 nm), medium behind heavy: 300 s-1 roll accel. & 2. 5 g spikes – aircraft emissions: – jet wake regime (not co-located, but adjacent to the wake vortex regime); – ICAO emissions standards tech issues include transformation with wake length – contrail microphysics: – Jet wake condensation (to ice crystallization) – transport and transformation in ambient cross-flow

Wet Runway Tests were performed on the NRC Falcon 20, Nav Canada DHC-8100 and Bombardier DHC-8 -400 aircraft to determine the safety margins for landings on wet runway surfaces.

Twin Otter C-FPOK • Internationally renowned atmospheric research facility specializing in: – cloud physics, atmospheric turbulence, air pollution, and remote sensing – global warming studies involving the measurement of the atmosphere-surface exchange of energy and greenhouse gases – aircraft dynamics experiments in support of university level training of aeronautical engineers

Winter Storms Research This slide shows some of the research areas studied by the Twin Otter in cooperation with Environment Canada in the first Canadian Atlantic Storms Project in 1986.

Air Quality Research The FRL Twin Otter has flown several air pollution studies in cooperation with Environment Canada. The 2000 MITE project investigated the plumes from the Nanticoke Hydro Electric Station and the copper refinery at Rouyn. Noranda

Trace Gas Flux Measurement In the period from 1982 -1986 the FRL, in cooperation with Agriculture Canada and Mc. Gill University, developed instrumentation and flight techniques to make airborne measurements of the exchange of energy and trace gases between vegetation and the atmosphere. Agriculture Canada C 02/H 20 gas analyzer

Bell 205 C-FYZV Bell 205 Airborne Simulator: • Full authority experimental fly-by-wire system • Experiments in helicopter handling qualities, modern control systems, cockpit technologies • • Helmet Mounted Display Research and Enhanced and Synthetic Vision Systems Test pilot and engineer instruction, modern control law design and flight testing, shipborne recovery handling qualities

Vision Systems Studying how the pilot and the system interact….

Night Vision Research Program Lab DRDC RCMP Transport Canada Fire Suppression - OMNR

Night Vision Goggle (NVG) Work The NRC B 206 helicopter was retrofitted with NVG compatible lighting in 2004. Working with Transport Canada, DND, RCMP, CRESTech, Carleton University, Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources, Qineti. Q, York University, & Adventure Lights, NRC has improved the effectiveness and safety of NVG flight in North America.

Aero Medicine – Monitoring Pilot state

Harvard C-FPTP • Avionics and human factors research facility: – experiments in fundamental human-machine interface related to display symbology – investigations of pilot performance in upset/unusual attitude recoveries • Economical instrumented platform for airborne systems installations and flight test instruction to universities and test pilot schools

So where does SMS fit into all of this?

! For more information on this program you can go to: http: //www. tc. gc. ca/Civil. Aviation/SMS/menu. htm It is a great source for a number of basic safety aspects of flying

But we are not in possession of an operator certificate, so not required to comply…so why are we complying? We have reviewed the information provided to us and consider that your operations are not considered as commercial air services operations which would require an Air Operator Certificate pursuant to Part VII of the Canadian Aviation Regulations…

Because SMS principles are congruent with our operating philosophy… Basic SMS Principles: 1. A safety issue or concern is raised, a hazard is identified or an incident or accident happens. 2. The concern or event is reported. 3. The event, hazard or issue is analyzed to determine cause or source. 4. Corrective action, control or mitigation is developed and implemented. 5. The corrective action is evaluated to make sure it is effective.

The older I grow, the more clearly I perceive the dignity and winning beauty of simplicity in thought, conduct, and speech. A desire to simplify all that is complicated and to treat everything with the greatest naturalness and clarity. - Pope John Paul XXIII

Not everyone liked the idea!

Acceptance Issues • We live in an environment of competition…nobody likes to look bad. • We live in an environment of reluctance to accept fault…some of it is pride…some of it is a very real concern of job action; i. e. unions aren’t big on individuals accepting individual responsibility. • We live in an environment of distrust. • We live in an environment where some want to use a program to make others look bad. There were very real suspicions when I first instituted this program in 1997…it took ten years of consistent “non attribution” and focus on “what is right…not who is right” to garner acceptance – even so, I realize one misstep will undo years of our trust building.

Some early examples…

Okay…it’s been reported…now what?

Basic SMS Principles: 1. A safety issue or concern is raised, a hazard is identified or an incident or accident happens. 2. The concern or event is reported. 3. The event, hazard or issue is analyzed to determine cause or source. 4. Corrective action, control or mitigation is developed and implemented. 5. The corrective action is evaluated to make sure it is effective.

• What research organizations love most are data points • FRL Safety Management System Data Points Handout CAUTION! In the immortal words of Mark Twain…there are lies, damned lies, and then there are statistics. • One test pilot’s synopsis of the situation…

In conclusion… Keep it simple, don’t focus too much on the data, don’t read too much into the data, and react in such a manner to correct the situation in an expedient and tangible way. Focus on what is right…not who.