This article was suggested to me via an email sent from a reader at a repair facility who read my June column in AIN, Pilots and Mechanics Must Communicate after Critical Maintenance. He thanked me for the link to the NTSB’s recent safety video about misrigged flight controls and indicated he had forwarded it to his manager for inclusion in the company’s training of mechanics. 

Of course, I was glad to see that my article was helping to get the NTSB’s safety information to the hangar floor, at least at this particular organization. I thought it was a particularly powerful video because the pilots told a harrowing story of trying to control an aircraft whose controls were not responding as they should and because the mechanic who made the mistake spoke so openly about what occurred. But it got me thinking about the age-old problem of how to get training to the people who need it most when there is no training department. How do you get people to watch safety videos or even read safety bulletins? The NTSB and other organizations, certainly NBAA, AOPA and the FAA, have produced their share of excellent safety materials–many now in video and online format–but producing them and getting them seen are two different things. You can’t produce the information and just hope it will be seen.

Airlines, aircraft manufacturers and other large entities have training departments to ensure that required training is given and that safety information is disseminated. Of course these departments vary in the quality of the work they do, but at least training is institutionalized with someone responsible for assessing and delivering training to the workforce. Pilots are most likely to get regular safety training because of the FAR requirement for recurrent training. Since mechanics don’t have a requirement for recurrent training, they are less likely to get additional safety training–beyond what they need to accomplish the work assigned–even at the major airlines. And when money is tight, extra safety training–no matter how beneficial–usually falls by the wayside at many, if not most, aviation facilities. 

But my greatest concern in this area is with employees of small companies and the individual GA pilot or mechanic who has no training department to provide support. For these people, formal training, beyond the minimums required by the FARs, is little to none unless the person seeks it out. Any additional safety training that an individual receives becomes that person’s responsibility. And how much or how little he gets will vary widely. This is an important issue for many reasons, not the least of which is that the GA accident rate has remained stubbornly high compared with the rate for airline and air-taxi flights. According to the FAA, approximately 450 people are killed annually in general aviation accidents.

Reaching an Audience with Varied Investment Levels

So how do you get the benefits of safety videos and safety alerts to this audience? Part of the answer involves knowing something about human nature. In my experience, there are three basic “types” when it comes to training. The first type seeks out training, whether safety seminars or online videos. These are the people who subscribe to several aviation magazines or newsletters, read the NTSB and FAA safety alerts and even accident reports. Basically, these are the people who understand the importance of staying current with the latest safety information and do so.

The second type consists of those who are open to learning about safety issues and get additional training but who are not actively seeking it out. Unless their job requires them to take specific training, any additional training they get is usually a function of chance; they happen upon an interesting article that contains the safety alert or they see a particular safety video mentioned on social media and take the time to watch it.

The third type, and the toughest case, encompasses the ones who not only don’t seek out training but also don’t think they need any. I’m sure you’ve all met this type. This type inspires people to shake their heads and think “accident waiting to happen.”

The first type is the easiest to reach. When it comes to getting safety training to them, the most important thing is to disseminate the training information and make it easily accessible. If it’s available and relatively easy to find, you can be confident that these people will find it. 

The second type–the ones who are open to training but don’t seek it out–might view safety information if it was disseminated on Facebook or other social media. Clearly Facebook and Google know a lot about us based on what’s posted on our pages or what we look up on the Internet. FAA and NTSB safety information, similar to other types of ADs, might be targeted to people who are pilots or mechanics on social media feeds. This might raise the odds that these people would read or view safety material. 

And for those who resist training, maybe a little creative safety selling is in order. One area I would like to see explored is using the same “tricks” advertisers and many in the news media use today to get people to click on their ads or media content.  Known in the industry as “click bait,” these are headlines or teaser ads that get viewers to click on the content. Once a person clicks, maybe the content will entice them to stay and watch. If it works for advertisers and certain news sellers, maybe it will work for safety information.

I know some of you are probably thinking safety is too serious a business for “click bait” tricks. But it’s too serious a business not to give it a try! I would be interested in hearing what you think could be done, short of mandating more rules.