Air Force Operational Risk Management Program and Aviation Safety

Aviation mishaps are extremely costly in terms of dollar value, public opinion, and human life, The Air Force drastically reduced Class A mishap rates in its formative years. The rate plummeted from 44.22 mishaps per 100,000 flight hours in 1947 to 2.33 mishaps in 1983 and has held steady around 1.5 mishaps since. The Air Force implemented the Operational Risk Management (ORM) program in 1996 in an effort to protect their most valuable resources: aircraft and aviators. An AFIT thesis conducted in 1999 by Capt Park Ashley studied the Army similar Risk Management (RM) program. Ashley concluded that since his analysis found that RM did not affect the Army's mishap rates, the AF should not expect to see its rates decline due to ORM implementation.Air Force Inst of Tech Wright-Patterson AFB OH School of Engineering and Management is the author of 'Air Force Operational Risk Management Program and Aviation Safety', published 2003 under ISBN 9781423502296 and ISBN 1423502299.