Confessions of a Flight Safety Officer

Mobility Forum, Jul/Aug 2004 by Wahler, Mike

It was August of 2001, four days after I graduated the Flight Safety Officer (FSO) School at Kirtland AFB, NM. I was getting reacquainted with my wife and settling into my new job as Chief of Wing Flight Safety. The job seemed interesting, and the boss was outstanding. It looked like I finally got my "dream job." I was going to fly regularly, get the fun trips, and hopefully get some investigation stink on me. What a deal. Everybody knows the airlines love former FSO's and I could always go to the NTSB when I retired from the Air Force. I had finally achieved nirvana.

I hadn't even filed my voucher when the call came from 21st Air Force. "We had a KC-10 Class A mishap and you're the investigating officer. You leave for Pease International Tradeport tomorrow." My mind was reeling. I couldn't believe I was the most qualified to go on this and I had way too much to do. I filed my voucher from the previous TDY, went home and broke the news to my wife. The fact that I was going to Pease and promised to bring back a live lobster for her consumption didn't hurt my case. I packed everything but the kitchen sink and left the next morning for New Hampshire.

While stuck in traffic in NYC, I remembered what the instructors at the Safety Center said many times: "If you ever need anything, give us a call." I decided to call their bluff, and to my amazement, they weren't bluffing. They answered every question I had and stood at the ready to answer any more that I might need answered in the future. They also told me to contact them and let them know how they could have better prepared me to serve on a board.

I was the second member of the board to arrive at Pease. The maintenance member beat me by a few hours. I called 21st Air Force to get an update on the board president. Their response shocked me to say the least. It went something like this: "You're the board president until we get one up there. We may not even task an O-6, so you may be the board president." I pressed on and started the investigation hoping the second sentence was false.

The support I received during the investigation from the NH ANG was outstanding and my president arrived the next day. It had been years since he was trained and he played catch up ball very quickly and took the reins in a professional military manner allowing me to concentrate on my duties as Investigating Officer.

The investigation was proceeding normally until 9/11. My unit actually tried to recall me, but the 21st Air Force Commander refused. We did suspend the investigation for a day or two because it was virtually impossible to get support, and we assisted the local guard unit in any way we could. After the initial shock, we continued the investigation and eventually finished the final report. It was overall a smooth process, but there were some tense moments as the board deliberated. When all was said and done, we made the KC-10 world a little safer.

March 2003. I was now working in 21st Air Force Safety. This was an even better deal than the Wing Safety Office. I no longer investigated mishaps (so I thought). I just assembled the boards that investigated them. I flew when I was able, and had a lot of flexibility in my schedule. This had to be nirvana. I was home on a Saturday morning when my official U.S Air Force Safety Cell Phone rang. It was the FSO from the 305th Air Mobility Wing at McGuire. They had a KC-10 Class B mishap that morning. I called my boss and we went into the office to start the phone calls and assemble a board. After many hours we soon realized that the best choice for the Investigating Officer was me, as all of the FSO's in the wings were exceedingly busy with the OIF buildup.

This board was local for me as I was still stationed at McGuire. I put in some long days, worked some weekends, but I was one of the few fortunate people that got to see my spouse every night, so I counted my blessings. Once again, the board was outstanding and we eventually found the cause of the mishap. We finished the report and hopefully made the KC-10 a little safer to fly.

November 2003. I was now working on the AMC safety staff. These guys never investigated mishaps (so I thought). We pushed paper, and I still got to fly the KC-10. Surely this was paradise. It was the weekend before Thanksgiving, and I was furiously trying to outdo my neighbors by hanging enough Christmas lights to make my roof sag. I went inside to find several messages from the office. I knew we had a KC-10 Class A mishap the previous week, but had not seen any reason to stress about it over the weekend. When I called to find out what everybody was bugging me about, I experienced my own personal Shock and Awe. The Air Force Safety Center was unable to send a representative to assist the board, and my boss wanted me to find a KC-10 IP, who was a fully qualified FSO with previous board experience. My heart sank. I knew of only one person who fit the bill. The next day I arrived at the mishap site.

This board was long and drawn out. We met for approximately one week a month through February. We would get together, hash through new information, and send more evidence out for analysis. Once again, I'm sure we found the root cause and made the KC-10 a little safer, but it was not without some internal storming.