There’s a lot of innovation happening in aviation right now.
The pandemic has forced airports to rethink the passenger experience and how to protect employees and the public from communicable disease. Airlines are rethinking their service models and the aircraft they use. Sustainability and alternative fuels sources like electric aircraft are no longer pipe dreams. General aviation and business aviation continue to change in ways never imagined.
I love looking at the future, but sometimes we’re reminded that we have issues now that still need to be resolved. This struck me heavily when we recently featured a story in our daily newsletter from the Tampa Bay Times about a fatal misfuelling accident.
According to the National Transportation Safety Board report on the accident, in October 2019, the pilot arrived at the Kokomo Municipal Airport in his Aerostar looking to refuel the aircraft. An airport employee asked him if he wanted jet fuel in his propeller plane and the pilot replied “yes.”
The report states the employee got the Jet A fuel truck, asked the pilot again if he wanted jet fuel and he said yes again.
Despite the differently shaped nozzles, the report states the employee STILL filled the tank with 163 gallons of fuel by figuring out how to hold a nozzle at different angles.
There’s a lot to digest when reading this report. The one thing that stands clear is we still need to keep a major emphasis on workforce training.
The labor shortage is worse than ever thanks in part to the pandemic. The upsetting of all industries has created a massive shortage of workers not just in aviation, but most every industry. Some airports even have issues getting jet fuel because there aren’t enough truck drivers anymore.
There’s no magic bullet for getting more workers, but it’s more important than ever that the ones we do get are better trained and better equipped to do their jobs to ensure less is lost by the company and its customers.
Take time to look at your organization and make sure your employees have the tools and knowledge they need to perform at their position at a top level, not just adequately. Even positions considered “entry-level” before need to be looked at as professional level if we’re to make up the gaps left by less workers.
The misfuelling incident at Kokomo was an example of one of the worst outcomes from a lack of training. There are myriad issues of less consequence from an improperly trained staff, but they all add up to hinder operations, create a culture of ineffectiveness within the organization and can even potentially harm the public in various ways.
Keep an eye on today’s needs while we look to the future. After all, the future doesn’t do us any good if we can’t get there in one piece today.
