Hurlburt Flight Safety Hosts First MACA Conference

Photo By Staff Sgt. Edward Coddington | U.S. Air Force Maj. Christopher Buzzetta, 492nd Special Operations Wing chief of flight safety, briefs civilian aviators on navigational safety at the midair collision avoidance conference in Mary Esther, Florida, July 13, 2021. The goal of the MACA conference was to eliminate midair collisions and reduce close calls through continuous flight safety and proper flight planning. (U.S. Air Force photo by Senior Airman Edward Coddington)  

HURLBURT FIELD, FL, UNITED STATES

07.16.2021

Story by Senior Airman Edward Coddington 

1st Special Operations Wing

Hurlburt Field, Fla. —
Air Commandos with the 1st Special Operations Wing Safety Office recently hosted the first midair collision avoidance (MACA) conference in Fort Walton Beach, Florida, July 13, 2021.

MACA encompasses all precautionary actions taken to prevent aircraft from making physical contact with each other while airborne. This is an important part of aviation and ensures safe airspace operations for aircrews in the crowded skies above the Emerald Coast.

“We conduct a ton of training here on the Gulf Coast and our airplanes are flying all throughout,” said U.S. Air Force Maj. Anthony Ortiz, 1st SOW Safety Office chief of flight safety. “So are aircraft from other bases and civilian pilots enjoying the beautiful skies that the gulf coast provides. All of this results in crowded airspace.”

Naval Air Station Pensacola, Naval Air Station Whiting Field and Eglin Air Force Base are some of the military airfields that operate in the same airspace as Hurlburt Field. In addition to civilian aviators from the Pensacola International, Destin-Fort Walton Beach airport and other local airstrips along the Emerald Coast.




“Airspace safety is critical around Hurlburt because of the multitude of aircrafts and airfields that operate here,” said U.S. Air Force Maj. James Green, 1st SOW Safety Office flight safety officer. “There is a lot of risk inside our airspace. It’s critical that aircrew both civilian and military understand how to effectively integrate with each other and prevent a midair collision. That’s why our MACA meetings are so important. It provides a place to talk about issues and take steps to rectify them.”

Part of Hurlburt Field’s flight safety office modern approach to MACA is to disseminate this information to the platforms used by civilian aviators. Many civilian pilots now fly with tablets and use apps like Foreflight for flight planning, aviation weather, maps and charts. Along with uploading information to these platforms, flight safety has taken the initiative to hold an in-person conference to create a dialogue and help answer questions the aviation community has about midair collision avoidance.

“It allows people to put faces to a community and all of these communities to generate valuable contacts that can be used throughout the year to further prevent mishaps,” said Ortiz. “Nothing beats actually talking face to face with another person. It makes it so much easier to address their questions and concerns.”

The conference allowed the military to be transparent with their communication to civilian counterparts and improve awareness of areas where military aircraft are operating and how to stay clear. Military aviators were able to understand where the majority of civilian aircraft are operating and how they can incorporate this knowledge into future mission planning and avoid these high traffic areas.

Ortiz went on to describe how the discussion allowed all pilots in the area to get together and educate each other. Focused on his point -- the more we can learn from each other the safer we will be; he hopes that this conference can become an annual event.

“We are doing a great job of preventing mishaps,” said Ortiz. “Initiatives like this will further improve our safety to execute our missions while also being good neighbors to the rest of the aviation community. We greatly appreciated the participation of all of our local aviation partners.”

The goal of the 1st SOW flight safety office is to identify threats and hazards to aircrew and aircraft before they culminate in a mishap. This allows them to identify trends with aircraft and put measures in place to prevent them from turning into catastrophic failures. This ensures every aircraft is fully mission capable and Air Commandos are able to safely conduct effective training and support Air Force Special Operations Command’s mission of providing our Nation's specialized airpower capability across the spectrum of conflict, any place, any time, anywhere.

“Typically, I show up and the first thing I do is to check if there were any incidents the day prior,” said Green. “If there was, I begin the investigative process of trying to find out what caused the incident. That usually will involve talking to maintenance and the crew that flew the aircraft that had the issue. Most days it's small issues such as a blown tire or parts that break from normal wear and tear. Honestly, if we’re doing our jobs right in identifying those potential hazards early, my day should be quiet.”

For Hurlburt Field MACA references or safety information visit - https://www.hurlburt.af.mil/Helpful-Info/Flight-Safety/ or https://www.hurlburt.af.mil/About-Us/Fact-Sheets/Fact-Sheets/Article/1084037/1st-special-operations-wing-safety/.

• Date Taken: 07.16.2021
• Date Posted: 07.19.2021 09:39
• Story ID: 401073
• Location: HURLBURT FIELD, FL, US