| Flight Safety Roll-up November 2012 |
| 1. General:A. The purpose of this roll-up is to provide all Maritime Air stakeholders in the JOA with visibility and understanding as to current and ongoing Flight Safety issues. The overall objective is to capitalize upon National Flight Safety Programs and reports so as to enhance Flight Safety, and therefore force protection and preservation through shared awareness and mutual education. |
| 2. Observations:A. Laser Illumination. There were five reports of aircraft being illuminated by lasers along the Omani coast. Of these, three were by green laser and two by blue laser.(1) Discussion. In all the cases reported, the pilots were wearing protective eyewear and thus the sorties continued without incident. Of note, the blue laser incidents were described as being particularly bright and indeed, brighter than the green lasers previously encountered in this area.
B. Frequency Interference. There was one report of a P3 experiencing excessive feedback when transmitting on Cheerleader (246.8). (1) Discussion. One of our crews experienced excessive feedback on Cheerleader. The reported immediate action was to deselect UHF Guard; an action that reportedly eliminated the problem. A request was issued by the ACE team to other operators in the area to determine whether this was a systemic issue or, possibly, isolated to a single airframe. From this initial survey, it appears that the issue is indeed isolated to a singe airframe. We do not anticipate any further action on this issue. This said, operators are encouraged to report any similar occurrences to the ACE team for trend analysis. C. Bird Hazard. There are reports of consistent bird hazard in the vicinity of Musanna, Oman. (1) Discussion. Of interest, bird scaring procedures are not permitted at this location. D. FOD Hazard. Due to ongoing construction at Musanna, Oman, FOD remains a particular hazard. |
| 3. Trends: A. We are seeing continued reports of lasing events along the Omani coast. Fortunately, the correct and consistent use of personal protective equipment has aided in avoiding mission impact or personnel injury. The Links/Products section provides additional information and reading on this very real hazard to our operations.B. Reports of FOD hazards at both Djibouti (last month) and Musanna currently highlight both the amount of construction activity in our operating areas as well as the attendant hazards to aviation. |
| 4. Links / Products: A. The purpose of this section is to provide the broader maritime air community with a forum for posting national products and/or links to flight safety items of interest to the broader audience. Readers are encouraged to provide additional relevant links and products for broader dissemination.(1) The following article in RCAF Flight Comment magazine discusses the physics, physiological effects and impacts of lasers vs aircraft.http://www.rcaf-arc.forces.gc.ca/dfs-dsv/pub/nr-sp/index-eng.asp?id=10991 (2) The following forum dedicated to Laser Pointer Safety shows the geographic breadth of what is an escalating aviation safety hazard. http://www.laserpointersafety.com/news/news/aviation-incidents_files/tag-color003a-green.php (3) The following report by Lt Stephanie Young, USCG outlines the direct operational impact of green lasing incidents on SAR missions. |
| 5. Feed-back: A. All Maritime Air units in the JOA are encouraged to submit copies of Flight Safety reports of general interest to the CMF Chief ACE via their CMF LNOs. Suggestions for improvement to this monthly roll-up are greatly appreciated. |
| Yours AyePeteP.J. Saunders
LCol RCAF CMF Chief Air Coordination Element Peter.Saunders.CA@me.navy.mil Supra Mare Volamus
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Combined Maritime Forces (CMF) 