Aircraft Accident Emergency Planning and Emergency Management

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    Aircraft accident emergency planningand emergency management

    by Lindsay Naylor.

    Presented to the International Society of

    Air Safety ISASI 2000 Conference,

    Shannon, Ireland, October 2000

    IntroductionMany lessons are being learned throughinvestigation of incidents around theworldthe subject of this paper is theneed for thorough planning of responsesto aircraft emergencies to ensure thatcasualties and property damage areminimised. Investigation of major acci-dents and some serious incidents invarious parts of the world has shown thevalue of being prepared for the type ofevent that everyone hopes will neveroccur.

    With the inclusion of investigation ofserious incidents in ICAO Annex 13 in 1994,many states have incorporated the re-quirement for such investigations intotheir national legislation. Others nowinvestigate incidents and serious incidentswithout any legislative basis, whilst otherschoose to continue investigating accidentsonly, primarily because of limited resour-ces, skills, expertise and finance.

    The economic and social effects ofemergencies and accidents, including loss

    of life, destruction of property anddislocation of communities, cannot beoverstated. Emergency planning is the keyto minimising the harmful effects of suchevents. Around the world, experience hasshown that communities and organi-sations that have effectively applied acomprehensive emergency planningprocess are better able to cope with theimpact of adverse events.

    Emergency planning may also helpprotect organisations from litigationarising out of duty of care provisions incommon law. The general obligation offulfilling duty of care, and the specificrequirements under local state/territorylegislation, indicate clearly the need forcommunities and organisations to de-velop, test, and review emergency plans.Only by carrying out a stringent planningprocess can the lessons of past investi-gations be learned.

    A vital point in discussing emergencyresponse planning is that aircraft acci-dents can occur anywhere, not just at

    departure and arrival airfields. Hence,planning for such mishaps should be on anational scale, although much of thisplanning will be focused on airportemergency responses. Because of the

    diversity of planning needs, this paper willconcentrate largely on planning under-taken by airlines, and airports and the

    local surrounds.This paper examines these emergency

    planning processes, drawing on theexperiences of past accident and incidentinvestigations. These experiences showthat failure to heed the results of investi-gations can lead to history repeatingitself in later events, perhaps following amajor accident in which lives are lostbecause of poor planning. Ultimately, theaim of comprehensive emergency res-ponse planning is to minimise pain and

    suffering of all associated with an emer-gency event.The paper also addresses ICAO Annex

    13 provisions relating to investigation ofthe effectiveness of an emergency res-ponse in an accident or incident, raisingthe question of whether existing require-ments are sufficiently stringent.

    Emergency response planningProfessor James Reason of ManchesterUniversity has carried out considerableresearch and has published a greatamount of material on OrganisationalAccidents. Reasons (1997) work on latentand active failures and in-depth defencesand the dangers of neglecting or for-getting the effects of things that rarelyhappen, is just as valid in responseplanning and operations as it is to theproduction and transport organisationsfeaturing in his studies.

    For example, Reason has offered thethought that when an organisationoperates for a lengthy period without

    experiencing an accident or seriousincident, a mindset develops in theorganisation that less effort need bedevoted to safety considerations. In thissituation, safety is eroded as productive

    demands gain the upper hand. As a result,investment in safety measures declines,more capital is devoted to productivegrowth and the whole operation becomesless safe. The consequence is an increasedrisk of catastrophe. The corollary of thisline of thinking is a similar effect in anorganisations response preparations. Inshort, We have a safe operation, we havenot experienced an accident for years;why should we spend time and effort onpreparing for the effects of an accident?We would be better off investing more

    money in additional equipment that isgoing to generate income.

    Airline safety managers and airportoperators need to guard against suchthoughts to ensure that their responsepreparations do not suffer. They need topromote the value and wisdom of pre-paring for the unexpected. Devotingscarce resources and spending money onpreparations for responding to an acci-dent may appear difficult to justify, butan old adage applies. If you think

    spending money on safety and preparingfor an accident is wasteful, try having anaccident when you havent done anypreparations.

    Reasons (1997) studies have includedhigh-reliability organisations as targetssystems or companies having less thantheir fair share of accidents. He foundthat people who operate and managethese organisations do so on the premisethat every day will be a bad day, andprepare for the consequences of a badday accordingly. This attitude can be verydifficult to sustain, particularly in time ofeconomic pressure, and managers needto resist any temptation for complacency.It is the company that continues tooperate in this way, considering andpreparing for adverse events, that is lesslikely to experience a serious accident.Nevertheless, if it should meet with sucha misfortune, it will invariably be preparedfor that day.

    Airport and airline planning commit-tees and senior executives should con-

    sider very carefully all aspects of the scopeand size of the emergency planningproject. The temptation to cut corners,firstly to promote or accept an abbreviatedplanning process, or secondly, to try to

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    operate with less than optimum numbersduring a response, needs to be resisted.The basic premise in both the planningprocess and the emergency response,should be to ensure that adequate re-sources are committed. In practice, thisusually means initially committing toomany resources rather than too few. Thetask can be scaled down if necessary.Another prudent consideration is toutilise the range of staff expertise at alllevels. Only through harnessing thiscollective experience of staff members cana successful response plan be formulated.

    The importance of a comprehensiveconsultative process in producing res-ponse plans has been stressed. Thisconsultative process needs to extend intothe community surrounding the airportand to local government agencies, as theeffects of a major disturbance on anairport, or on a community in the vicinity

    of an aircraft accident will be significant.Clearly, airlines and airport responseauthorities cannot be expected to consultwith every community under aircraftflight paths, but they do need to discussthe potential effects of an aircraft accidenton communities short distances from anairport and with authorities that couldbe expected to respond to accidentsremote from normal operating centres.

    Of particular importance will be thereaction of the public living near the

    approach and departure ends of therunways. These people have unde-rstandable concerns that an aircraftaccident may affect their personal safetyand their property. A firm relationshipbased on mutual understanding and builtup by involving the local community inexercises and de-briefings will allowresidents to appreciate the safety con-cerns of the airline, airport and the airportcommunity. Also, as members of the localcommunity, they value being part of thewider planning and decision making

    process.As in all undertakings of this kind,

    budget provision needs to be made forthe staffing, resources and training of staffin the operation of the response plan, andthis should be set in consultation withsenior company management. Withregard to an actual emergency requiringactivation of local response plans andAirport and Airline Emergency ResponsePlans, there should be a designated budgetwithin each authority that is immediately

    accessible, and on which immediate drawdown can take place. Full reconciliationat the conclusion of the emergency shouldsatisfy company accountants.

    There are many services that are

    required to respond to an accident on orin the vicinity of an airport, such as fire,police, medical, welfare, and local govern-ment agencies, as well as national depart-ments and agencies such as customs,agriculture and health. Each of theseservices will raise its own supportingresponse plan for the airport and will alsoexercise these plans regularly. The exer-cises may or may not involve the airportand other authorities, and are sometimesheld in isolation. However, as a generalrule, there are national and internationalrequirements (eg ICAO, IATA) for fullscale exercises involving all elements ofthe internal international airport resi-dents and responding agencies to be heldon a fixed time scale.

    In consideration of the differing res-ponse plans affecting an airport, one factorneeds to be clearly kept in mind. That is,no matter which service or agency raises

    a response plan, the plan should not beproduced in isolation. An integrated,systemic approach is essential. Thereneeds to be full recognition given to thefact that the aim of an emergency responseplan is to lessen the adverse effects of theemergency on the community and/orunfortunate organisation. This can onlybe achieved through the cooperation ofall responding services and regular mee-tings of the various elements to rationalisetheir individual responsibilities, and to

    practise the command, control, coordi-nation and communications necessary toarrive at a positive outcome to theemergency. Thus, an airline needs to beprepared to contribute to this localplanning process if overall optimumemergency response plans are to beproduced. The result will be a moreefficient response to an emergency.

    Composition of an airport responseplan is flexible, but should include: an aim or objective, the scope of the

    plan, and authority for its issue

    joint management arrangements, e.g.organisational responsibilities, mem-bers of airport emergency planningcommittees

    emergency response facilities/centresand their likely locations

    operational response details, includingairport access and emergency responserequirements

    activation of plan welfare of staff involved in response and

    counselling arrangements

    recovery operations and management details of supporting plans, e.g. Care of

    Relatives Plan, Media Handling Plan,Terminal Evacuation Plan etc.

    arrangements for training exercises

    and testing the response plan.In joint response operations in some

    parts of the world, perennial areas ofuncertainty are the arrangements speci-fied relating to command, control, andcoordination arrangements. The reason foruncertainty (and sometimes inter-agencyconflict) is a general lack of understandingof what the terms mean, because althoughthe elements for successful resolution ofany accident are graphic in their simplicity,they can be complex in their execution.On occasions, this has led to the responseoperation being hindered.

    An essential part of the emergencyplanning process is to ensure that there isno doubt or ambiguity as to all aspects ofcommand, control, and coordination ofall aspects of the operation. Indeed,regular exercising of these elements withall agencies that may be involved is equallyimportant. Agencies include those inter-

    nal to the airline or organisation, thoseoutside the immediate sphere of thatairline and, more particularly, those thatwill involve the local community.

    Different countries may utilise dif-fering interpretations of what is meantby command, control and coordination,but following are explanations that havea general acceptance.

    Command

    Command can only be exercised overstaff in ones own organisation. It is the

    commitment and direction of resourcesby an officer of that organisation. To avoidany confusion, and in quiet times wellbefore the event, management of manyof the aspects relating to the aftermath ofan accident needs to be considered byresponsible members of the organisation.A clear path of action outlining thesearrangements should be followed, so thatmanagement and subordinate staff willnot be confused by any contention that amember of one organisation has com-

    mand over an employee of anotherorganisation during the response. As anexample, a Police officer may be theoverall Incident Controller, and he/shemay be empowered to direct seniorrepresentatives from other services tocarry out certain tasks, but command ofpersonnel always remains with an officerof that organisation. Simply put, com-mand is exercised vertically within aservice, never across services.

    Control

    Control relates to the situation itself. It isthe broad direction or control of aresponse operation as described imme-diately above. For adequate controlflexibility, there needs to exist the ability

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    to vary existing plans that are already inbeing, and to formulate new criteria andaction paths as the accident scenariounfolds. Control involves using all agen-cies to reduce the effect of the accident,and can require certain specific actionsfrom other agencies. An overall IncidentController (usually a police officer) willnormally be specified in response plans.However, until an accident site has beendeclared safe, a Fire Service officer willusually retain site control. Control isclosely related to coordination.

    Coordination

    Coordination also relates to bringingtogether all those resources, particularlythose that are readily available or pro-curable and considered necessary tohandle those ongoing phases of theaccident. The coordination role is usuallythe responsibility of a controlling auth-

    ority as designated in the emergencyresponse plan, and will involve close liaisonto identify how resources can best beprovided. An important part of theplanning process is to determine areas thatwill provide staff quickly and possibly beprepared to work with shorter numbersuntil the immediate effects of the eventhave passed. Equipment-oriented re-sources can cover a wider range of logistics.For example, there could be a requirementfor providing or obtaining the plant and

    machinery necessary to continue rescue,salvage and clean up operations. Whateverthe resource, coordination is required tomake appropriate local, national andinternational decisions, and thereforebring about a successful conclusion to theoperation. Controllers will certainly requirepassenger and cargo details very quickly.(Note that provision of detailed passengerand crew manifests and details of cargocarried should not present a problembecause these details are available to airlineliaison officers, but experience has shown

    that gaining this information can indeedtake time).

    Although this paper focuses on airportand airline emergency planning, theemergency planning process and therequirement to have a proven EmergencyResponse Plan in place are not theexclusive provinces of the aviationindustry. There are many other segmentsof the workplace that benefit through acomprehensive planning process. Mostlarge organisations now adopt this

    process (at least to some extent) to fulfiltheir legal obligations and to make theworkplace a safer environment for theiremployees. According to media reports,a notable exception was the Japanese

    nuclear plant that experienced a significantaccident in September 1999. There appearsto have been no emergency plan inexistence for the plant and the companyhas faced massive legal/compensationdamages and senior dismissals/resig-nations. There is little doubt that anyindustry that operates in a potentiallyhostile environment,would benefit byhaving in place a prepared emergencyresponse plan. One of the functions of sucha plan is to lessen the impact on legal andfinancial aspects of the organisation intimes of stress.

    Investigation of emergencyresponsesAny responsible authority charged withresponding to a particular facet of anaircraft emergency will carry out acomprehensive investigation of theeffectiveness of its part in a response

    operation. Similarly, authorities respon-sible for the overall coordination of aresponse will complete a detailed studyof the whole operation. These investi-gations (albeit sometimes in the form ofa relatively short discussion or debrief)are usually carried out after any acti-vation of an emergency plan for anoperational or training response. Thus,provided these authorities are preparedto learn, and implement appropriatechange when necessary, emergency

    response plans should remain adequate.While this process ensures ongoinginternal scrutiny of emergency responseplans, it sometimes lacks the necessaryobjectivity and independent focus suchas that generated by an ICAO Annex 13investigation. Clearly, the investigatingauthority of a state is best-placed toensure that an impartial analysis of allaspects surrounding an aircraft safetyoccurrence is completed. This is theobject of an aircraft accident or incidentinvestigationto gather and analyse

    information, to draw conclusions, and tomake safety recommendations to assistin accident prevention. Ultimately, theinvestigation should minimise futurecasualties.

    The provisions of Annex 13 are directedprimarily at an investigation contributingto prevention of accidents and incidents.This is clearly stated in Chapter 3. Thefocus is not on the aftermath, the emer-gency response, although this can certainlyaffect the ultimate outcome of the event.

    Regrettably however, investigations ofincidents do not always result in anaccident being prevented, so some effortneeds to be devoted to determining theeffectiveness of a response.

    Annex 13 does not preclude an investi-gation delving into a response, but theprovisions are not specific. For example,the Survival Aspects section of aninvestigation report requires brief des-cription of search, evacuation and rescue,location of crew and passengers etc. Annex13 does not require any specific commenton the coordination of the response,although survival issues which may dependon relevant emergency response plans,would probably be investigated in depth.(In cases such as the El Al accident inAmsterdam, emergency response plans forthe various city emergency services wouldhave been outside the scope of the accidentinvestigation, but would probably havebeen the subject of a separate, independentinvestigation.)

    Further, in examining Organisationaland Management Information, an investi-gator is required to examine various

    organisations influencing operation ofthe aircraft. An emergency response doesnot fall readily into this category, as it isonly required when there is already aproblem with operation of the aircraft.

    Perhaps the area that provides the bestopportunity to include an investigationof the response is the catch-all sectiontitled Additional Information, whichprovides an investigator with the dis-cretion to investigate anything he/shechooses. However, in an incident investi-

    gation, or a less serious accident investi-gation, the effectiveness of the responsemay not spring to mind as warranting anystudy. In such cases, there is no externalinvestigation of this facet of the incidentor accident.

    Considering that a well coordinatedemergency response may be vital insaving lives, there may well be a case for aslight expansion of Annex 13, to providemore guidance to investigators in exami-ning emergency responses both inaccident and incident investigations.

    Emergency response structureRegardless of the frequency of use of anairport, or the likelihood of large aircraftaccidents, all airport authorities shouldinclude emergency response structuresas part of the agreed emergency responseplan. Some parts of an airports emergencyplanning structure may never be used, buttrying to respond to an accident that isbeyond the scope of a response authoritysexpectations if prior deliberations and

    planning have not taken place, is a recipefor disaster.

    Thus, small or large airports shouldconsider joint emergency responseagencies to cater for the whole range of

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    companies that have a separate welfareand counselling plan, look to providingsuitably trained and rostered staff to beattached to a particular passenger in theratio of two staff per surname. Thisattachment, provision of counselling andairline assistance may continue for anumber of years.

    To minimise the traumatic effects of adisaster on company personnel thereshould be no embellishment of the eventto staff but simple and proven facts given.Counselling should be made availablefrom the outset. The stress experiencedby on-site response and investigationteams is self-evident, but equally impor-tant is that a watch should be kept onstaff in other areas. For example, staff whohave contact with the public will be subjectto a range of pressures and stresses andmanagers will need to ensure that opera-ting personal are not suffering adverse

    effects.There should be provisions made to

    bring in more staff to augment thoseengaged in the ongoing handling of theaccident administration as well asoperational procedures and a need toprovide relief and rest facilities near theworkplace. Transport to and from workshould also be considered. As always,provision of a surplus of staff rather thaninsufficient numbers is the preferredsolution, downsizing later if required.

    Attempting to expand the operation isalways difficult and will increase thestressful working environment for thoseon duty, increasing the likelihood of staffmembers requiring counselling and timeaway from the workplace.

    Emergency response trainingThe raising and provision of an appro-priate response plan is only the first stepin an ongoing process to ensure that theagreed requirements to mitigate theeffects of an accident are achieved. To

    ensure that the plan is meeting theresponse objectives as required both bythe airline and by airport and responseauthorities, there is a need to regularlyreview the Plan and carry out trainingwith staff involved. This training alsoensures that airline plans remain inharmony with those of external agencies.Relevant laws and regulations (inter-national and national considerations) willchange occasionally, so these also need tobe considered in reviewing and exercising

    plans. This process will ensure that airlineplans conform to the highest standard.

    Unfortunately, some managers like toconsider themselves exempt from theneed to undergo emergency response

    training. However, senior staff need toexercise their roles as much as anyone inthe organisation and responsible exec-utives will willingly participate. Trainingalso needs to be given to the managementin activating and operating the plan onbehalf of the company, with the trainingautomatically flowing to all those whohave an active role in the operation ofairline response plans. Once training hasbeen given there is a need to ensure thatit is reinforced with regular and appro-priate exercises.

    The frequency and scope of the exer-cising of various components of the planis essential. Managements aim should befrequent, low cost exercising of portionsof the plan, such as activation andcommunications. Exercises can be tabletop where selected management person-nel run a simulation of an accident andcan vary in size and complexity. They may

    involve actual deployment of resources,be simple or complex as the planningcommittee desires, or can be full-scalefield activities, either held in house or inconjunction with an outside agency orairport authorities.

    International obligations specified inICAO Annex 13 require a full-scaleexercise involving the equivalent of thelargest aircraft to service that airport, tobe conducted every two years. If theairport is near hostile terrain, the exercise

    should involve sub exercises that willrequire response agencies to demonstrateproficiency in operating in that terrain.

    With international operating standardsprescribing full-scale field exercises atlicensed airports at least biennially,participation in exercises of this naturemay satisfy airline requirements. Con-versely, airline management may deemthat more is needed from an exercise thanthe all-embracing field exercises canprovide. On many occasions, such exer-cises touch on airline reactions only

    superficially. Therefore, airlines need toconsider programming additional specificpurpose exercises, such as the previouslydescribed table top exercises, to ensurethat all areas of the company are well-prepared.

    Selection of an appropriate facilitatoris vital to the success of a table topexercise. The facilitator is responsible forensuring that the exercise flows smoothlyand needs to be familiar with emergencyresponse processes to explain areas that

    may not be clear to all participants. He/she also needs to be comfortable inleading discussions in front of an au-dience comprising representatives of arange of organisations.

    Any response plan that has beendeveloped by an airline operating over anetwork needs to be regularly exercisednot only in conjunction with the localauthorities (although this can be a goodstarting point), but also with local airportsand agencies. Careful planning of theseexercises is needed to ensure that theymeet their primary goals and not becomevehicles for local political points scoring.

    Training exercises may be randomlytimed, or they may be a set piece withstaff aware of the time of commencementand ending of such an event. The tabletop exercise lends itself to the latter, moreregulated timings. Selected observersshould be detailed to attend exercises,primarily to critique the airlines effortsin relation to its formulated response plan,but also to pass similar thoughts on theperformance of other participants. Theaim is always to enhance an airlines and

    local response capabilities, and this canonly be achieved through constructivecomment.

    Table top exercises offer the advantageof bringing all response agencies (inclu-ding hospitals, local government etc)together at relatively low cost, in a closedenvironment to work through a scenario.Thus, all involved maintain an awarenessof how their roles fit with other responseagencies. Too often in the past, someresponse agencies have given the im-

    pression that they would prefer to operateindependently. However, the results ofincident investigations have confirmedthat no one can hope to operate in avacuum if a response is to be successful.Appropriate education and training of allconcerned is vital.

    Programming of training exercisesshould consider actual experiences inresponding to actual emergencies. Anyemergency that results in activation of anAirport or Airline Emergency ResponsePlan (from any sector of the airline, airport

    or allied agency) can be regarded as atraining opportunity. When the emer-gency has ended, such an event should bethe subject of a full debrief, with atten-dance by appropriate staff members.

    Emergency planning in AustralasiaBy international standards, Australia is

    fortunate to have so far avoided the large-scale responses that have been necessaryin some countries. However, Australiarecognises that its good safety records are

    somewhat fortuitous and takes steps toguard against complacency.

    As with the provision in many parts ofthe world, there is a general requirementfor all Australian states and territories to

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    produce emergency response plans. Theseembrace policy and procedures forresponding to all types of disaster, andinclude airport emergency plans asessential ingredients. Vital to this planningprocess is the role of local government,which is pivotal in ensuring that prepara-tions are appropriate, although in generalairport operators around the country haveembraced the need enthusiastically.

    In some countries, broad-based NationalDisaster Plans are produced to cover allknown adverse phenomena that may havean impact on the country as a whole, withserious consequences to the economicand social structure of the state and thecommunity. There will be contingencyplans in being with a section devoted toacquisition of transport to cater for theemergency, whether it be weather related,geological or industrial in origin, or evenwar or acts of violence. Designated

    international flag carriers, as well asinternal and domestic airlines will beidentified as transport providers, andexpected to make their aircraft and crewsavailable to the national government ondemand.

    Australian States and Territories havedeveloped their own disaster and emer-gency plans that support the nationalplans. In the same vein, local planningprocesses ensure that plans producedcomplement state/territory and national

    plans. It is important for airlines to bepart of the national planning team and totake part in the decision making process,factoring into their own response plansthe likelihood that their aircraft andmanpower resources may be acquired bythe particular State or Territory in timeof national crisis. Once the national planhas been evolved, the airlines ownplanning documents should reflect agreedcourses of action and levels of partici-pation in the national calamity.

    Again, by law, every licensed airport

    owner in Australia is required to publishan airport emergency response plan, andto exercise those plans regularly. Therationale for compulsion is because theeconomic and social effects of any majoraviation disaster will involve damage toproperty, at best a disruption to the localairport community and the surroundingenvirons, serious injury, and the possibilityof loss of life. Each of these elements willrequire special and specific needs to bringabout a restoration to some kind of

    normalcy to the affected organisations andareas. Coping with the problems generatedin an emergency requires recognition ofspecific arrangements and procedures thatwill be required to manage the emergency,

    and gives a reason for pre-accident focusand planning. These special arrangementsand procedures should be derived fromthe planning process and reflected in awritten document, an agreed emergencyresponse plan.

    Several years ago, the then AustralianCivil Aviation Authority published gui-dance to airport operators on howemergency response plans should bedeveloped. Although this guidance inclu-ded a detailed listing of planning consi-derations, it was grasped with varyingdegrees of enthusiasm by operators. TheNational Airport Emergency PlanningCommittee (NAEPC) is a vehicle forairport operators and airlines to partici-pate in a national planning process, andadds emphasis to the need for compre-hensive planning processes around thecountry.

    Almost from its inception, the NAEPC

    was chaired and managed by the FederalAirports Corporation (FAC). However,with the demise of the FAC, there wasconcern amongst airport and airlineemergency planners that the work of theNAEPC may have been impeded. However,to the credit of all concerned, the com-mittee has continued to function effec-tively and airlines and airports still enjoythe central planning process to assist inmaintaining effective response plansaround the country. The NAEPC (among

    other things) is responsible for theproduction of Airport Emergency Plan-ning in Australia, the planning documentmentioned in an earlier section.

    For sceptics who would cite Australiasgood safety record as justification forminimising time and money spent onemergency preparations, they shouldreflect on years gone by when Australianairlines did not enjoy such good fortune.For example, some 50 years ago, Austra-lian National Airways experienced fourmajor accidents (hull losses) in a period

    of about three months. The airline didnot collapse, but was taken over by acompetitor within a short time. Evenconsidering that aviation is now far saferthan during the 1950s, accidents at (say)Sioux City and Amsterdam show thatevents requiring a major response fromlocal authorities can happen at any time,even in a safe industry.

    A fundamental point in gaining accep-tance and cooperation from all concernedis that in developing this type of plan,

    airlines need to put their normal compe-titive spirit aside and involve rival airlinesin the response planning process. InAustralia the major airlines have shownthat they are willing to undertake this type

    of mutual cooperation. In the very busyperiod shortly after an accident when anairline will rarely have sufficient staffavailable to carry out the increased rangeof duties, respective managements mayagree that staff from a competing airlinecould be used to assist it through thedifficult period. The types of serviceprovided in this way would probably belimited to essential, short-term require-ments, and is a means of maintaining thecollective safety health of the airlineindustry.

    These procedures are adopted in manycountries with similar responsibilitiesbeing accepted. However, the organi-sational titles and legislative responsi-bilities vary from country to country soairlines in particular need to be aware ofdifferences in states into which theyoperate or overfly.

    As an example, under New Zealand law,

    responsibility for national disastermanagement is vested in its Civil Defenceorganisation. Airports are required tohave a Response Plan, but unlike Australia,there is no central, designated planningcommittee. The New Zealand CivilDefence Organisation deals with alldisasters including airports and majoraircraft accidents and exercises arecarried out regularly for all types ofemergencies.

    Universities in various part of the world

    have been specialising in advancedaviation studies for some years. Thesecourses include a range of subjects relatedto most facets of aviation, but only inrelatively recent times has the scope ofthe courses been expanded to includeemergency responses.

    In Australia and New Zealand severaluniversities and technical institutionsinclude such emergency planning modulesin their expanding aviation undergraduatecourses, so awareness of appropriateemergency preparations is growing

    amongst those who can be expected to holdfuture executive positions in the industry.Aviation safety professionals are engagedto deliver these programs ensuring thatstudents are provided with the benefits ofpractical experience to complementtheoretical information.

    As in one or two other countriesAustralian university students are en-couraged to join their local society (orchapter of ISASI) so that they can receivea very early foundation in all aspects of

    air safety. The Australian Society of AirSafety Investigators reinforces thisencouragement by having an annualstudent award for the best paper by astudent on a relevant subject.

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    ConclusionClearly, an accident is an unplanned orunscheduled event, or is the end result of acombination of events and circumstanceswhich usually produces unintendedsuffering, injury, death or property damage.Those who are involved in the operationof an airport or airline always need to beon their guard to lessen the effect of such acalamity on their customers, the public,their organisation, and just as importantly,themselves and their staff.

    The problems that need to be con-sidered and resolved by an organisationcommence at the time of the impact andmay continue for many years. There isonly one proven way to combat the effectsof the event: a well formulated andaccepted company Emergency ResponsePlan supported by strong leadership.

    The heart of this plan or any set ofprocedures, is a quick and accurate

    response to a given set of circumstances,produced by pre-planning and demon-strated by exercise and practice. However,

    just as management of an airlines opera-tions is by human beings, managementof an accident and its aftermath is bypeople and is therefore subject to humanfrailties. The complexity and sophisti-cation of the equipment used by anairline are unimportant unless the indi-vidual is prepared to deal with theunexpected, the system failure. That is the

    key to successful emergency responseplanning, planning for the unexpected,and definitely the unwanted.

    The catchwords to successful miti-gation of any accident aftermath are stillcommand, control and coordination.Nevertheless, we should still bear in mindthe thought that carefully planned trai-ning and the prudent (and sometimesreluctant) allocation of resources for thattraining are strong factors in the mindsof management. However, if sufficientfinance and resources are not committed

    to the planning, training, and exercisingprocesses, the organisation will risk a lessthan optimum response, loss of companyimage and perhaps bankruptcy.

    In some countries, incidents andserious incidents were being investigatedlong before ICAO formalised the require-ment in 1994. However, even now, manyinvestigations are not required to addressthe success (or otherwise) of the emer-gency response, and whether it waseffective in reducing casualties. Indeed,

    Annex 13 requires only a brief descriptionof the rescue operation etc., so in aninvestigation of an incident, this may notbe mentioned at all.

    Incident investigations are invaluable

    in assisting relevant authorities, com-panies etc. to reduce the likelihood of anaccident, or to minimise casualties in theevent of an accident occurring. Forexample, an awareness of how an airportauthority may have reacted to an aircraftemergency would certainly assist inreviews of emergency plans. However, theinvestigation of an incident (or anaccident) first needs to focus in somedetail on the broader aspects of theresponse, with appropriate recommen-dations to enhance response measures.

    Finally, to learn from incident investi-gations requires those in authority to beprepared to change, and this can bedifficult to achieve. However, failure toheed the results of investigations willinvariably lead to safety stagnation;

    nothing will change, lessons will not belearned, incidents will lead to accidentsand increased numbers of casualties.

    ReferencesFederal Airports Corporation, 1993,Airport Emergency Planning in Australia,Emergency Management Australia, Can-berra.

    International Civil Aviation Organi-zation ICAO 1994,International standardsand recommended practices: aircraftaccident investigation, annex 13 to theConvention on International Civil Avia-tion (4th ed), Montreal, Quebec, ICAO.

    Reason J. 1997, Managing the Risks ofOrganisational Accidents, AshgatePublishing, Aldershot.

    Conference Announcement

    The Future of EmergencyManagement

    Saturday 24th November, 2001

    At the MFESB Training College, 619 Victoria Street, Abbotsford

    Again this, our 23rd Seminar, will be a One-day presentation. We have selectedthe theme The Future of Emergency Management this being of majorimportance to each of the various Emergency Services, support Agencies,Municipalities and corporate sector. Speakers will present various aspects ofthe theme and, as always, we are targeting hands on people and planners.

    The Seminar will be opened by the Minister for Police and Emergency ServicesHon. Andre Haermeyer MLA and Victorias new Chief Commissioner of PoliceMs Christine Nixon will deliver the keynote address.

    Among the papers to be presented are Emergency Risk Management.

    What role will volunteers play in the future? Chemical, Biological and Radiological Training. Health risks faced by emergency personnel DNA profiling, as part of DVI. Overseas exchangesthe Timor experience Recovery from Emergency

    Unfortunately, due to the change of venue, the seminar is limited to the first 200attendees so book early and avoid disappointment. Further details will becirculated when finalised.

    Mark your diary now - Saturday November 24th 2001.For more information contact:

    Mr. Mark OConnorThe Registrar, P.O. Box 52, Briar Hill, Victoria, 3088 (Enclose S.S.A.E)Phone: (AH) 03 9432 5300 Fax: 03 9432 3656 Email: [email protected] you can register on the website at: www.cess.au.com