14 FTW captures top honors with AETC-level award

  • Published
  • By Capt. Stephen Castlen
  • 41st Flying Training Squadron
COLUMBUS AIR FORCE BASE, Miss. --  
The 14th Flying Training Wing Safety office was recognized as the winner of the 2014 Air Education and Training Command Lahm Trophy.

The Lahm Trophy is awarded to AETC's most effective Flight Safety program and selection was based on the 14th FTW's mishap prevention programs, initiatives, innovations and improvements in the area of flight safety. Columbus Air Force Base last won the Lahm Trophy in 2010 and this will be the fourth time in Columbus' history they have received this honor.

Led by Maj. Isaac Hipple, Chief of Flight Safety, the Flight Safety Office tackled three prodigious obstacles this fiscal year. First, Columbus' T-6A fleet was and continues to be plagued by a rash of binding and jammed rudders. Working in unison with AETC and T-6 technical experts, the flight safety office proposed probable causes for these malfunctions.  They published the first comprehensive safety report to higher headquarters detailing the flight regimes that led to fatigue of several flight components, which is the leading theory for the reoccurring malfunctions. Wing Safety has also pushed forward proposed solutions, which are currently being evaluated.

Secondly, the flight safety office created a comprehensive safety program for the Air Force's newest aircraft squadron, the 81st Fighter Squadron flying the A-29 Super Tucano. The new squadron is located at Moody Air Force Base, Georgia, but is under the supervision of the 14th FTW.  Despite the geographical separation, they were able to set up a world-class safety program that epitomizes the proactive safety mindset.  The squadron is now postured to begin training attack pilots.

Lastly, the 14th FTW SEF, in response to a dramatic rise in damaging bird strikes, immediately launched a three-pronged approach to prevent these airborne hazards from causing further damage. This approach was focused on increasing the accuracy of strike reporting, reducing airfield wildlife attractors and increasing corroboration with regional airfields. They changed the bird strike reporting process to increase precision in strike location reporting, enabling quicker identification of trends and highlighting where hazards were developing. This enabled the identification of several habitats just northeast of the outside runway and under the T-38 traffic pattern. Wing Safety worked with the U.S. Department of Agriculture to modify the habitat on and around the airfield to make them less attractive to wildlife and to move wildlife outside the traffic pattern.

Additionally they led the purchase of high-tech bird-harassing cannons for the auxiliary airfield at Shuqualak, Mississippi. These cannons fire propane noise generators and emit predator calls that harass and dissuade wildlife from encroaching on the airfield.

Lastly, they partnered with several regional airfields to learn from their best practices and provide assistance to their programs.  Their tireless efforts helped curtail the dramatic spike in bird strikes and greatly increased flight safety.

The Lahm Trophy was first awarded in 1979. Initially called the Daedalian Air Training Command Flight Safety Award, it was memorialized to honor Gen. Frank Purdy Lahm in 1981. Lahm was one of the founding fathers of military aviation and was the second military aviator to learn to fly from Wilbur Wright in 1909. Lahm's illustrious career spanned international balloon Races in 1906 to launching a joint U.S.-Philippine flight training program in the 1930s. Lahm's legacy lives on in this award.