'Incredible. It’s even worse than I thought it would be. '
Marvin the Paranoid Android, from The Hitch Hikers Guide to the Galaxy, by Douglas Adams
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The comedic appeal of Marvin lies in his sense of deadpan pessimistic irony – and the fact that robots are not supposed to have feelings at all.
Many aviators, glider pilots included, take some delight in reading accident reports, often referring to them as ‘crash comics’. When misfortune happens, buzzes spread with viral speed, sometimes mutating and taking on legendary dimensions.
From time to time, we lose one of our brothers or sisters in gliding accidents. We grieve, we seek answers to cascades of ‘why?’ questions, seek information and hypothesise. Sometims fingers are pointed, other elements of the aviation community rail against ‘gliding cowboys’ with scant regard for families, friends, or club colleagues. Some blogs take on sewer-like qualities, muddied with misinformation.
Yet in the morass of online data, we also find valuable reports and resources, insights from ATSB, CASA and overseas counterparts, international gliding associations and gliding YouTube channels. We participate in international gliding safety and technical working groups. Enlightened members share lessons learned every flying day.
Gliding Australia are seeking to improve our IT systems and member user interfaces, and over the coming year refine and better integrate our SOAR and SDR reporting systems, improve feedback to originators and members, derive insights from data analysis, and produce occurrence summaries.
We are working with CASA to organise an online Safety Webinar event, for all aviators, where we will address the timely topic of mixing it safely with other forms of aviation, improving commercial, general and sporting aviators’ awareness of gliding operations and limitations.
This webinar, and follow-on safety awareness materials and online recordings, will also tackle the need for respectful safety conversations between groups of aviators. We have to counter ignorant blamestorming and misconceptions.
Gliding Australia member surveys highlighted the high value attributed by members to safety seminars and dialogue. Areas for improvement were cited, and are being addressed, but one recurrent theme was the need to renew face to face (F2F) safety seminars, with many stressing that wider audiences beyond operations and airworthiness office holders should be able to attend.
Hence our push to renew safety seminars in 2024 and beyond, commencing with the 20 April Skyward Summit in Brisbane. Our strategic intent is to then convene regional safety seminars in WA, SA, VIC and NSW, with priority being afforded to more remote regions. Gliding Australia and Regional Association members will soon confirm dates and venues for these events. We will refine the Brisbane presentations to ensure similar scope.
We are pleased that CASA and ASAC members will support the Brisbane event, giving members opportunities to build relationships and enjoy dialogue on issues that matter to us all.
No, this is not a one-sided lecture session, rather an opportunity for providing information of value to clubs, and listening to feedback on concerns and insights. Listening to club members who have lost valued friends is most important.
We are not just focussed on errors. Over 99.9% of flights have safe outcomes. Great people work hard in clubs to enjoy our sport, safely. Building and better sharing our body of safety knowledge, building positive safety ingredients, collective safety strategies, are key themes of our national safety conversations.
Your ideas on improving our collaborative efforts on airworthiness, operations, competitions, events, personal safety, inclusion, integrity, administration, promotion and image of our wonderful sport will be appreciated.
Every Gliding Australia department is committed to this. Any ideas? Email
'I want to go somewhere I've never been, and I'd like to go with you.'
Trillian, from The Hitch Hikers Guide to the Galaxy, by Douglas Adams.
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Drew McKinnie
Safety Manager