IAMA Spotlight: Mission Safety International

Mission Safety International (MSI) was founded in 1983. Their purpose is to promote safety, security, and operational excellence within the mission aviation community and related agencies.

We accomplish this through conducting safety seminars, safety audits, publishing safety material (including accident, incident, and “Share Your Experience” reports), assisting with accident and incident investigations,  assisting with developing operations manuals, and coordinating safety resources around the world.

We work in any country where missionary aviation is active.

Our website is www.msisafety.org

Here are a few recent testimonials about our work from field missionary pilots:

Dear MSI,

You have made an impact on this place!

Friday I was going out to a grass airstrip near Biri.  It was my 5th solo flight in our new airplane, the Pilatus Porter, and half way there I got a report from another mission operator that the airstrip was wet, slippery, and soft due to heavy rain that had just ended.

It took me about 5 minutes to make the decision, but the bottom line was that I turned around after I used the AESOP risk management tool you gave us.

The P for “Personnel” reminded me that my experience level in this aircraft was not up to taking on a wet, soft, slippery airstrip.  Thanks, thanks, thanks.

On a sad note, one of our pilots is on his way to Jayapura to pick up some body bags.  Friday morning, a commercial operator here, hit a mountain with their Twin Otter aircraft.  I know the family of the copilot.  They were flying from one mountain airstrip to another and trying to cross a ridge at 10,000 feet when they hit.  I know of 4 Twin Otter crashes at the place they left and this is the 3rd Twin Otter crash at the place they were going.

  If these neighbors of ours would have been at the “To Live Another Day” safety seminar you gave, they would be around to live another day.

Your AESOP Papua pilot, Paul

Dear MSI,
The last time you were here to give a Safety Seminar, one of the speakers talked about how we should use all of our senses in our work.  He said that we shouldn’t just use one sense when doing a job, but to use as many as possible to confirm what we’re doing.  That advice saved us from having a bad accident.

I was getting ready to fuel an airplane the other day, and opened a new drum that was marked “av-gas” but something didn’t smell right.  I poured some fuel into a bucket, and instead of the blue colored liquid that I expected, it was orange!  It looked just like car gas.  I showed it to the pilot and he was shocked!  We checked the markings on the drum and it was clearly marked av-gas, but someone at the refinery had put auto gas in it instead.  The pilot thanked me for doing a good job and for saving what could have been a bad accident.

That day, my nose and my eyes worked together with my hands to prevent a serious mistake.

Godfrey