Flight safety: award of the quarter

From Oct--Dec 04, Maj Booth worked diligently to resolve Bird Aircraft Strike Hazard (BASH) issues related to increased migratory bird activity by completing a 3-year infield burn plan and supervising removal of significant bird habitat. He also revamped the BASH program by changing the Bird Hazard Working Group format from a "briefing" to a round table discussion where ideas such as bird avoidance radar for the Global Hawk aircraft are discussed. As a result of his vision, BASH incidents are down 43 percent from the previous year. He oversaw all Beale operations including T-38, KC-135, U-2, and Aero club activities as well as U-2 and Global Hawk operations at three Forward Operating Locations (FOL) despite having his Flight Safety NCO deployed. He received laudatory comments from the 8 AF Safety Staff Assistance Visit team for a sound program and for establishing a strong safety culture throughout the wing. Maj Booth developed a strong Midair Collision Avoidance (MACA) program incorporating issues associated with flying the UAV Global Hawk in the busy Northern California airspace. He also updated and published the MACA pamphlet, updated the local BASH plan, and re-wrote the Mishap Response Plan. He prepared outstanding Safety Investigation Board (SIB) facilities as well as pre-stocked "Go" kits for SIB members in the event that a board is established. He was also instrumental in the scheduling and training of SIB presidents and has created the largest relative pool of SIB-trained members in 8 AF. Bill served as the acting Chief of Safety during a short-notice absence of the Chief of Safety and managed to alleviate several issues during the period. One such issue was the emergency upgrade of a four-way intersection to alleviate increased risk due to recent traffic flow changes as well as the removal of view-obstructing signs at another high risk intersection. He is currently updating the Flight Safety vehicle with a newer model with new light bars and an upgraded radio that will allow Flight Safety to monitor multiple radio channels that are in use by T-38s, U-2s, and Aero Club aircraft simultaneously. Maj Booth has created an impressive database that tracks all program incidents and spot inspection results and has added access to all unit Flight Safety Officers (FSOs). This allows FSOs from all deployed locations to input and retrieve safety data and trends from the database via the Internet. Due to his vision and dedication, Maj Booth has developed an innovative worldwide flying safety program that is preserving high value combat assets for the fight.

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Maj Ralph William Booth, 9th Reconnaissance Wing, Beale AFB, Calif.

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