MARINE CORPS BASE HAWAII, KANEOHE BAY, Hawaii -- Marine Heavy Helicopter Squadron 363, Marine Aircraft Group 24, reached a milestone this month in aviation safety by flying 20,000 hours without a Class "A" mishap.
According to Capt. John Kirby, HMH-363 safety officer, a Class "A" mishap would involve more than $1 million in damage to government property and/or death, dismemberment or serious incapacitation of a service member.
"The last time we had a mishap of the magnitude was in 1994," said Kirby. "Thanks to the implementation of proper safety checks and the operational risk management system performed by the helicopter pilots and crew, we were able to avoid such serious incidents throughout the past decade."
Though the pilot ultimately controls the helicopter, the responsibility of completing a mission without mishap rests in the hands of all the Marines onboard the aircraft.
"This accomplishment is a testament to the dedication of all the Marines of HMH-363 here today, as well as the thousands of Marines that have served with this unit over the past decade," said Lt. Col. Justin Wisdom, commanding officer of HMH-363. "While deployed on the unit deployment program, these helicopters flew a lot of hours over international waters, and over foreign territories.
"Pilots can get comfortable with the local environment, but when you are conducting operations in unfamiliar territory, the risk level rises that much more," Wisdom explained.
Working with helicopters and equipment more than 30 years old can also increase the probability of a mishap, but it can be compensated for with hard-working maintenance crews, according to Kirby.
"Most of these helicopters are older than I am," said Kirby. "The Marines that work around the clock in HMH-363, fixing and preparing these machines for action, are really the people to thank for reaching this goal. The dedication these Marines put into their work goes a long way to ensure safe flying operations."
Unaware that he was flying the final hours to complete 20,000 hours, Capt. Anthony Fiacco, a flight line officer and pilot with HMH-363, said he would have done nothing different had he known.
"I'm just happy to be a Marine in such a safe unit," said Fiacco. "The use of operational risk management before our flights means that we look at all the aspects of the mission, as well as the current condition of the personnel conducting them.
"If there is some sort of problem a pilot may be having, depending on mission requirement, that pilot may be replaced simply for safety concerns, and I think that is a good way to operate to ensure the safety of all the Marines onboard."
Using operational risk management, conducting proper safety checks, and properly maintaining and repairing equipment over the past decade has allowed HMH-363 to reach 20,000 hours mishap-free, and Wisdom hopes future commanding officers are here for even greater milestones.
"As long as these Marines keep doing their jobs the way they are suppose to, HMH-363 should be celebrating 40,000 and even 60,000 mishap-free hours in the years to come," said Wisdom.