Hellenic Air Force Academy

The Fundamentals of
Aviation Safety

Cpt Pan. Kioulepoglou, MSc, MBA, PhDc

Hellenic Air Force Academy
Dekeleia Air Base, Greece 2023-2024
Chapter 2. Safety Risk Management

Cpt Pan. Kioulepoglou

Chapter 2. Safety Risk Management

Cpt Pan. Kioulepoglou

 Chapter 2. Safety Risk Management

Facts
Accidents are
Why do we caused by
adverse events
need Risk Failure to identify
which are caused
Management? by Hazards hazards is the
first step towards
another accident.
Hazards can be
viewed as
Risks Risks are the
product of
Severity and
Based on Risk
Probability of a
versus Benefit
hazards.
logic, we can
Manage any
Risk

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 Safety Risk Management
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FAA
Consequence of an event (Severity) describes the highest level of damage
possible when an accident occurs from a particular hazard. It can be:
• Catastrophic: results in fatalities, total loss of equipment
• Critical: severe injury, major damage
• Moderate: minor injury, minor damage
• Negligible: less than minor injury, less than minor system damage

FAA
• Probability is the likelihood (interchangeably) of an accident with a given hazard.
• Frequent: an event will occur several times
• Likely: an event will probably occur sometime
• Occasional: an event is unlikely to occur, but is possible
• Seldom: an event occurs very rarely
• Unlikely: an event is highly unlikely to occur

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FAA
Risk is a combination of Probability and Severity. It is discriminated into:

• Extremely High
• High
• Medium
• Low

Cpt Pan. Kioulepoglou

 Safety Risk Management
FAA

Cpt Pan. Kioulepoglou

 Safety Risk Management
Scenario 1: Using a hammer without gloves

Scenario 2: Flying visually in Instrument Meteorological Conditions

Scenario 3: Strolling in a marsh full of mosquitoes

Scenario 4: Sleeping with a mosquito in your bedroom

Assess the
Risks for me
please!

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 Safety Risk Management
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Page 12

Cpt Pan. Kioulepoglou

 Safety Risk Management
Risk Management

Risk Assessment is case-

specific. It only tells us whether a Hazard ID
hazard creates a risk that is high,
low, etc.
Risk
Assessment
Risk
Assessment or Risk-Benefit
Management? Analysis

Hazard
ICAO Doc 9859 Avoidance/Mitigation
“Risk management.
The identification, analysis and
elimination (and/or mitigation to
Monitor &
an acceptable or tolerable level)
Feedback
of those hazards, as well as the
subsequent risks, that threaten
the viability of an organisation.”
(ICAO Doc 9859).

Cpt Pan. Kioulepoglou

Safety Risk Management
Risk Management

Risk Assessment

Probability Risk Severity

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Cpt Pan. Kioulepoglou

 Safety Risk Management
Let’s stick with scenario 3: Strolling in a marsh full of mosquitoes

Assume that the probability of getting malaria is high. Evaluate whether

benefit outweighs the risk (Risk Versus Benefit) in the following cases:

1) You needed a walk so you chose to stroll in that marsh

2) You lost your wallet in that marsh (containing 20$)
What’s going 3) You lost your wallet in that marsh (containing 50,000$)
on with 4) Three armed gangsters are chasing you (You owe them money).
Benefits? Crossing that marsh is your only chance to escape.

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 Safety Risk Management
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Four principles govern all actions associated with operational risk
management. These continuously employed principles are applicable before,
during and after all tasks and operations, by individuals at all levels of
responsibility.

• Accept no unnecessary risk

• Make risk decisions at the appropriate level.

Elevate decisions if necessary.

• Accept risk when benefits outweigh the costs

• Integrate ORM into planning at all levels.

The later changes are made in the process of planning and executing an operation,
the more expensive and time-consuming they will become.

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 Safety Risk Management
Page
18

Risk
Management
takes time.
How do pilots
deal with it?

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 Safety Risk Management
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Page 16

Be
sk

ne
Ri

itf

Cpt Pan. Kioulepoglou

Safety Risk Management

Cpt Pan. Kioulepoglou

 Safety Risk Management

Mr. Monkey:
Any real world I used to enjoy
example of the F-16 noise!
hazard ID failure?

Cpt Pan. Kioulepoglou

Safety Risk Management

Cpt Pan. Kioulepoglou

 Safety Risk Management
That’s a lot of
Noise!
Mr. Monkey:
Get a life bro…

Cpt Pan. Kioulepoglou

 Safety Risk Management

Here we have an
example of a hazard Facts
that went unnoticed

Mr. Monkey
treats excessive
Noise as
something good
Mr. Monkey
makes fun of
others who take
protection Mr. Monkey fails to
measures identify a hazard
as a result of his
ignorance

Cpt Pan. Kioulepoglou

 Safety Risk Management
The Center for Disease Control and Prevention suggests…
Sound is measured in decibels (dB). A whisper is about 30 dB, normal conversation is
about 60 dB, and a motorcycle engine running is about 95 dB. Noise above 70 dB
over a prolonged period of time may start to damage your hearing. Loud noise above
120 dB can cause immediate harm to your ears.

Cpt Pan. Kioulepoglou

 Safety Risk Management
The Health and
Safety Executive
(HSE) recommends
use of protective
measures above
85dB

Cpt Pan. Kioulepoglou

 Safety Risk Management

Let’s do a
Mr. Monkey
Risk used to work in
Assessment an excessively
to our high noise
patient! environment

It is estimated that
Mr. Monkey was
exposing his ears
to more than
120dB daily for
more than 5 years

Mr. Monkey took

absolutely no A pilot who fails to hear
protective noises below 50dB is not
measures eligible to fly as per the
regarding it Hellenic Aeromedical
Regulations

Cpt Pan. Kioulepoglou

Safety Risk Management

Here
We are

Cpt Pan. Kioulepoglou

 Safety Risk Management

So we got a high risk

of that fool losing his
flying license! Let’s
do a Risk-Benefit
Assessment!
Benefits:
1.Enjoy the
Airshows
2.Not having to Risks:
carry earplugs Lose your
job

Cpt Pan. Kioulepoglou

Safety Risk Management

Additional Info:
1.Acoustic Traumas are
not reversible
2. Right-handed
individuals are most
likely to damage their
right ear first

Cpt Pan. Kioulepoglou

 Safety Risk Management
Additional Info:
Inner ear hair cells
are cut off by high
noise levels
exposure. These cells
cannot be revived or
replaced.

Cpt Pan. Kioulepoglou

 Safety Risk Management
Mr. Monkey:
60 dB is the noise Yes. Doubling
level of a the dBs mean
conversation. 120 dB doubling the
is twice the noise level noise levels…
of a conversation?? Or not?

Additional Info:
Although an increase of 3 dB
represents a doubling of the
sound pressure, an increase
of about 10 dB is required
before the sound subjectively
appears to be twice as loud.
The smallest change we can
hear is about 3 dB.

Cpt Pan. Kioulepoglou

Safety Risk Management

Cpt Pan. Kioulepoglou

 Safety Risk Management

End of Part 1

Cpt Pan. Kioulepoglou