AERO Specialties

Being a member of an airside support crew can be harrowing at the best of times. Millions of dollars, the comfort and convenience of thousands of passengers, and, in many cases, the safety and lives of those passengers are in the hands of the ground crews. On top of which, aircraft tugs and pushbacks, baggage and lav carts, and a fleet of other ground support equipment (GSE), are zipping around on the apron. Not to mention that massive aircraft being tugged, pushed-back, or taxiing have to be dodged. And that’s the work environment when the weather is nice, warm, and clear. When winter and the snow hit, every one of those challenges remains, on top of which the crews have to deal with accumulating snow, iced-up wings, ice on the ground, blinding wind, icy fog, storms inhibiting visibility, and often, bitter cold. Particularly frustrating is that the conditions being that much more difficult results in an increased chance of delays, which can place even more pressure...

An argument could be made that an airside work environment, perhaps particularly the ramp, is like an incubator for accident risk. Airports are high-activity, high-stress workplaces, in which huge monetary losses that accrue during ground-time means working as quickly as possible is a must. On top of which, ground crews are driving dozens of specialized motorized vehicles, often hauling volatile chemicals to service massive aircraft, sometimes doing so in inclement weather. The briefest lapse in concentration, miscommunication, equipment failure, or operator-oversight in an aircraft tow tractor or baggage tug can (and does) result in costly and dangerous accidents. One of those accidents can cost hundreds of thousands of dollars in damage to vehicles and aircraft, sometimes even more costly ground-time for the airline, a lot of angry passengers, and worst of all, critical injury or worse for the crew members involved. Costly and dangerous as these accidents are, howe...