1. Late in 1986 the CRM industry recognized the need for a broadened approach
to facilitate CRM effectiveness. This led the commercial industry to include
flight attendants, maintenance, dispatchers, etc. in CRM training efforts. The
FAA recognized the impact ATC played in mishaps, and CRM-type efforts spawned
there as well. The military was only a couple of years behind in
acknowledging this "systems" approach to efficient operation of aircraft.
This "Third Generation" technology birthed the Air Force's CRM regulation.
2. That regulation is currently receiving an update, and will define "crew"
as: "any collection of Air Force personnel who routinely work together to
accomplish an Air Force mission."
3. Meaning? Its TEAMWORK that gets the mission done. UPS management shouldn't
let the pilots fly the plane if there is no cargo (revenue source) loaded into
the aircraft. Delta won't sell many tickets if the cabin crew spills hot
coffee on all of the passengers. And the cabin crew will spill that coffee if
the flight crew isn't paying attention to roll rates, turbulence, throttle
manipulation, and pitch changes.
4. As for Aero-meds in the Air Force, they have a similar role as Cabin
Attendants in passenger operations: they are the custodians of the customer.
As such, they are the liaison between the customer's needs, and those
operating the aircraft controls. Within each of these teams is a set of
regulations, skills, challenges, and risk and each of the teams depend upon
safe and efficient performance of the other. If it were not for the customer,
there would be no purpose for either the "flight" crew, nor the "cabin" crew.
5. The performance of their duties can be identified within the "CRM Skills
List" that Vince Mancuso recently posted. This is a pretty good list. My only
objection to it at this point is the lack of direct reference to regulations,
but on that I'll write later. I strongly encourage ALL Air Force subscribers
to this forum to seriously study the list Vince posted. (foot-stomper!) The
list is adaptable to many technical skills within the Air Force: cockpit crew,
maintenance crew, tower crew, and yes, the medical crew.
6. "Cabin Crew", "Flight Crew", "Medical Crew"; perhaps the "crew" is the
common link, and the "skill" is discriminator. This debate should center on
improving the overlap of those skills, not dividing them.
PS: I surely hope and pray that James Gosnell is "mistaken" at his inference
that a C-130 was operated without a Flight Engineer, especially during an
Aero-Medical mission. Tell me it ain't so!
Greg Deen
HTI