By Adria Markowski
viation mishaps are the most expensive category of mishaps tracked by the Naval Safety Center. Given the cost of aircraft, this information comes as no surprise. From FY03 through FY06, aviation mishaps made up 87 percent of the total Navy and Marine mishap costs. This percentage equates to $2,977,181,814 (Figure 1) for that four-year period. Reducing this cost by just one percent would have yielded a savings of nearly $30 million. If all the mishaps that occured because of improper procedures were prevented, what would the Navy and Marine Corps have saved? With this line of thought, I will discuss the “woulda, coulda, shoulda” considerations for all models of FA-18s and H-60s with Class-A flight mishaps in FY03 through FY06. Nine mishaps were the result of improper procedures. While nine mishaps might not be a breathtaking number, $265,018,417 is. This figure includes $4,401,782 in total injury costs, which would have been avoided if the personnel involved had followed the
Figure 1
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Figure 2
proper procedures. This cost equates to 8.9 percent of all aviation mishaps. When considering all mishaps (Figure 2), not just aviation, the cost is 7.75 percent of all mishaps ($3,420,588,222) during this period. The red slices in these figures may seem small, compared to the whole pie; however, the totals are close to and more than $3 billion, respectively. These dollars are even underestimated because they are not procurement dollars or what it would cost to buy the aircraft in today’s dollars. These results show that following procedures in even a few cases can significantly reduce the total costs of aviation mishaps. Here are a few examples from the nine mishaps, along with analyst comments and the costs involved. Scenario No. 1 The Bad The pilot at the controls (PAC) of an HH-60H failed to recognize the loss of tail-rotor drive. With this type of emergency, the chances are excellent it will end badly, no matter what you do. Your intention is to Approach
