Avionics News June 2014 - 14

In this monthly column, Ric Peri of the AEA's Washington, D.C., office, informs members of the latest regulatory updates.

B Y

R I C

P E R I
A EA V I C E P R ES I D E N T O F G OV E R N M E N T & I N D U ST RY A F FA I RS

Culture
I

recently returned from a week in Europe where I
attended Aero Friedrichshafen followed by the AEA
Europe Regional Meeting in Vienna. As I drove
from Munich International Airport to the Messe at
Friedrichshafen Airport, I enjoyed the uniquely German
experience of legally determining just how fast my rental
car would go. Technically, I wanted to test whether it
would actually reach the maximum speed listed on the
posted sticker. For the record, I wasn't able to open it up
quite to that level. But I did get close, and I certainly
was well beyond the double nickel speed limit posted
on most U.S. roadways.
I noticed that even though a speed limit was
absent from government regulations, there was a
culture of safe and proper driving. Drivers cruised
on the right, passed on the left, kept appropriate
following distances and slowed for curves - all
without government intervention. In the 230 kilometers
from Munich to Friedrichshafen, I did not observe one
accident or even one area of concern - things that are
daily occurrences in the highly regulated controlled
speeds of metropolitan Washington, D.C. Why? Is it
possible that overregulation creates an unsafe culture?
Is it possible that overdependence on the government
to tell us what is safe and unsafe has created a culture
without the ability to assess personal risk?
I recently had lunch with a longtime friend who
worked in the industry and then joined one of the
associations in Washington, D.C., before finally joining
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avionics news

june

2014

the Federal Aviation Administration. As we talked about
my recent observations about the "aviator's" culture in
maintenance and safety, he reminisced about his first
days after joining the agency. He said that in the three
previous positions he held, each hired him because of
his work ethic and culture. He was hired to perform
a task, which he was very good at, and he completed
those tasks without any real consideration of time.
In contrast to his private sector general aviation work
Is it possible that overdependence on the
government to tell us what is safe and unsafe
has created a culture without the ability to
assess personal risk?

culture, he spent the first six months at the agency being
retrained. In fact, he was counseled by his superior that
his first responsibility was to perform for eight hours
a day. According to his supervisor, "That's what the
American taxpayers are paying for, and any effort to
actually clear projects off your desk are futile, since
someone will just fill the void as soon as it becomes
available."
I am glad to report, for my friend's well-being,
as well as general aviation, that the training was not
successful, and my friend retained at least some of the
general aviation work culture.

Avionics News June 2014

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Avionics News June 2014