Training vital to proper airfield procedures Published April 30, 2009 By Erin Tindell Public Affairs DOBBINS AIR RESERVE BASE, Ga. -- U.S. Air Force officials are cracking down on a disturbing trend among airfield access at installations such as the one here. According to officials with the Headquarters Air Force Flight Standards Agency, there has been an average of one runway or controlled movement area violation every two days on Air Force installations since 2005. An airfield controlled movement area is any portion of the airfield that requires aircraft, vehicles and pedestrians to obtain air traffic control approval to access. "When pilots, automobile drivers or pedestrians don't follow proper protocol within the CMA, then it results in a runway incursion," said Wesley Jones, 94th Base Operations. Sometimes these incursions are minor and can be easily forgiven or corrected. More serious incursions involve actions that could have resulted in the loss of life or damaged aircraft. These incursions generate a Hazardous Air Traffic Reporting. "Statistics show that these dangerous violations occur within the USAF every 16 days," said Mr. Jones. An example of a recent runway incursion involved an aircraft that landed after experiencing an in-flight emergency and parked between two runways - one runway was active. When a maintenance vehicle responded to the troubled aircraft, the driver mistakenly asked permission to cross the active runway. The vehicle crossed the runway just as two F-15 aircraft were cleared for takeoff. Fortunately, the two F-15s had enough altitude to overfly the vehicle and nobody was hurt. In order to reverse this negative trend, USAF officials encourage commanders and supervisors to follow these actions: · Ensure all airfield drivers are trained and possess an Air Force Form 483 airfield driving competency card that annotates "CMA access" to identify that the driver has specialized runway access training. · Limit vehicle runway access to only those required to perform mission-essential airfield duties. When aircraft are flying, these vehicles should cross at the departure end of the runway. · Ensure drivers have proper radio communication with the aircraft control tower before entering the CMA. · Establish distinct call signs for vehicles to eliminate confusion · Ensure airfield driving program managers are a seven-level staff sergeant or above · Increase training requirements for career fields that commonly require CMA access such as Aircraft Maintenance, Security Forces and Civil Engineers. · Brief airfield drivers on local base conditions in addition to USAF-wide guidance · During in-flight or ground emergencies, all drivers must obtain approval from the control tower prior to entry · Keep the Operations Group commander and Wing Commander abreast of all runway incursions as soon as possible · The safe and effective operation of an airfield is a U.S. Air Force core competency. That's why officials with the HQ AFFSA developed a Runway Incursion Prevention Training briefing for all airfield drivers on Air Force installations. "Drivers are required to review the training briefing no later than June 15," said Mr. Jones. "Dobbins ARB will have a localized version of the briefing available for all those who routinely enter the CMA to review." HQ AFFSA officials say the briefing is designed for drivers who are qualified, thus new trainees should receive this briefing after completing all other required training. If an individual is deployed or on a temporary duty assignment past June 15 they must receive the briefing within 60 days of their return to duty, unless documentation can be provided showing the briefing was given to them while deployed. For more information, please call Mr. Jones at 678-655-4905 or visit the Airfield Operations Community of Practice on the Air Force portal at www.my.af.mil.
