Certificate Program in Emergency Response Aviation Safety Management
Based at Sacramento's McClellan Park
Concerns about the structural health of U.S. public use firefighting aircraft have led to the development of a new certificate program to educate emergency response personnel about the critical factors involved in aircraft health management, as well as the decision-making processes and communication skills and technology required for coordination and cooperation during emergency response situations.
This program focuses on aircraft health monitoring for condition-based maintenance and was developed by a consortium that combines the expertise and resources of NASA, the University of California, Davis College of Engineering, the U.S. Forest Service, UC Davis Extension and private corporations. All courses are held at the U.S. Forest Service Wildland Fire Training & Conference Center at McClellan Park, Sacramento. The McClellan facility is a unique resource that contains large aircraft hangars, structural and repair shops, a 10-megawatt nuclear reactor, a robotic X-ray system and ultrasonic laser equipment-all useful in determining and repairing structural problems in aircraft. A fire and emergency response aviation simulator is also available on site.
Program objectives and requirements
This certificate program is designed to provide students with a firm foundation in aviation safety principles and practices underlying emergency response aviation. Through the values of leadership, teamwork and ethics students will learn current and emerging aviation safety management principles and technologies.
Students who successfully complete the certificate will have gained the skills needed to create an aviation environment that encourages crew member and management involvement leading to safe aviation practices and operations.
Who will benefit
- aviation safety officers
- emergency services pilots
- forest fire fighter aviators
- border patrol aviators
- medical-air transport personnel
- law enforcement and homeland security aviators
- aviation services contracting officers
- aviation specialists and consultants
- those involved with the retrofitting, operation and maintenance of aging aircraft
- anyone involved in the field of aviation emergency response
Requirements to earn the certificate
This is a seven-course certificate program whose focus is to provide students with a firm foundation in aviation safety principles and practices underlying emergency response aviation. Students will also learn the practical application of advanced methods for inspection, maintenance, repair and overhaul of emergency response aircraft. Utilizing leading technologies, participants will learn to extend the operational service life of aircraft as well as methods and techniques for successful emergency response situations.
This program is structured to allow participants to complete the entire program in just five weeks, during two quarter sessions. Since most classes are limited to 30 students, we encourage you to enroll early.
| UNITS | F | W | ||||
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| REQUIRED COURSES | Aircraft Health Management | 3 | 
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| Communications: Operations Management | 2 |
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| Communications: Program Management | 1.5 |
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| Human Factors and Operational Risk Management | 3 |
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| Aviation Leadership | 3 |
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| Safety Program Management | 3 |
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Classroom format |
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Required Courses
Aircraft Health Management
3 quarter units academic credit, X435.1. .
Discover the full range of issues affecting and supporting aircraft health management. Gain insights into the critical features facing aging aircraft—both fixed-wing and rotorcraft—particularly aircraft engaged in emergency response aviation. Through academic and field-related topics, examine:
- failure mechanisms of airframe materials
- non-destructive inspection methodologies
- flight-monitoring and instrumentation
- FAA-certification requirements related to maintenance and operations
- maintenance program strategies
- aircraft
modification and re-engineering
Guest lecturers join the instructor to provide additional depth to course material.
Sections of this course open for enrollment:
- Aircraft Health Management starts October 28
Communications: Operations Management
2 quarter units academic credit, X435.5. .
Learn to develop and enhance your ability to become a strong, effective communicator in the high-pressure environment of emergency response aviation. Clear, concise and effective communication is essential to efficient, safe and successful emergency aviation operations. Explore practical emergency situation communications. Examine:
- functional interagency/interoperability issues new communication technologies tools
- interpersonal and organizational behavior
- communication processes
- problem solving, group dynamics, workload management and situational awareness
- emergency management planning
- information dissemination with the public and media
Case studies
detail communication failures that became causal factors in
aircraft incidents and mishaps during emergency operations. Develop
procedures
for your organization in accordance with best established practices.
Sections of this course open for enrollment:
- Communications: Operations Management starts November 5
Communications: Program Management
1.5 quarter units academic credit, X435.4. .
Learn techniques to identify and evaluate communication issues and options required to develop effective communication strategies. Enhance communication and cooperation skills within your emergency aviation service organization. Efficient communication is a key component in aviation management. Discover methods of communicating major policy decisions during frontline, emergency situations and to:
- incorporate effective communication techniques into your own communication style based on models for efficient/inefficient, effective/ineffective and professional/unprofessional communication usage
- identify the strengths and weaknesses of various styles of communication in order to recognize opportunities to strengthen your own style
- better understand personality and behavior styles through communication analysis and project the impact of these styles on the outcomes
- identify
situations where effective communication is critical
Sections of this course open for enrollment:
- Communications: Program Management starts November 3
Human Factors and Operational Risk Management
3 quarter units academic credit, X435.8. .
POST Certified Plan IV credit pending.
This course focuses on the physiological and psychological factors affecting the decision-making processes during emergency response aviation operations. Using case studies to examine judgment, training, resource management, aero-medical physiology, stress awareness and management, you will examine the characteristics of aviation professionals who operate, maintain and support aircraft and how this affects the safe outcome of emergency response missions. You will benefit by:
- learning to identify the four levels of human failure
- evaluating how human factors affect operational effectiveness and suitability
- acquiring the knowledge, skill and ability to recognize human factors that contribute to an aviation-related mishap and take corrective action to reduce the likelihood of an occurrence
- exploring medical and physiological factors that affect decision making at all levels
- understanding the role training and standardization have in human performance
- evaluating how weather conditions should affect your decision to proceed or not proceed in a particular operation
This course is not currently scheduled.
Aviation Leadership
3 quarter units academic credit, X435.6. .
NTSB accident reports, FAA emphasis areas and academic study continually confirm the vital importance of leadership action and commitment to the effectiveness of an organizational safety program. This course provides a solid framework of effective and practical leadership skills for the public and private sectors, with a special emphasis on the emergency services aviation industry.
This course emphasizes the importance of performance standards, values and ethics, and provides techniques and proven methods for building trust and integrity throughout your organization. You will benefit by:
- learning to manage unanticipated situations and assess capabilities for assured performance
- gaining decision-making techniques for high stress, time-critical environments
- managing people effectively and resolving internal and external conflicts
Guest lecturers will join the instructor to provide additional depth to course materials.
This course is not currently scheduled.
Safety Program Management
3 quarter units academic credit, X435.7. .
Safety program management is one of the most rewarding—and yet difficult—professional fields in both the public and private sectors. This course provides detailed instruction for creating, maintaining and continuously improving aviation safety programs. The curriculum is long on practical information that readily transfers to the workplace, and is strongly referenced and reinforced by best practices and theoretical models of excellence throughout.
One of the greatest challenges for effective safety program management is the implementation of change—this course is designed to help you develop your skills in change management, based upon the "bookends" module. This is a course for anyone interested in understanding, developing or improving an aviation safety program.
You will benefit by:
- examining the significance of culture and working within the existing cultural framework of your organization, as well as reviewing the basics of organizational behavior as they relate to day to day safety program management
- developing a program with a safety infrastructure that complies with regulations to ensure a solid foundation for improvements
- creating a course project and Web-based search tasks to develop your incident tracking system and investigative skills
- exploring the human factors affecting aviation operations from a psychology viewpoint as well as automation, leadership and training modules
- learning to deal with ongoing, unexpected situations to develop a highly reliable organization
- exploring safety training modules that emphasize how the relevance and style of training is vital to its effectiveness
- learning to leverage a variety of experts who bring a spectrum of experience, options and opinions to your safety program management
Guest lecturers will join the instructor to provide additional depth to course materials.
This course is not currently scheduled.
Advisory Board
- William R. Broadwell, Assistant Executive Director, American Helicopter Services and Aerial Firefighting Association
- Dennis Brown, Regional Aviation Safety Officer, U.S. Forest Service
- Joe Fernandez, Director, Aircraft Health Management Program, Office of Research, UC Davis
- Mike Hill, Associate Professor, Mechanical and Aeronautical Engineering, UC Davis
- Dennis Hulbert, Regional Aviation Officer, U.S. Forest Service
- Bill Larsen, FAA/NASA (ret.)
- Frederick J. Leonelli, President, FJ Leonelli Group, Inc.
- David McGee, Director, Technology Transfer Center, Office of Research, UC Davis
Housing options
Please note that numerous housing options are available including use of McClellan Park's barracks at $24 per night. For more information, visit their website at http://www.fs.fed.us/r5/fire/mcclellan, then click on Logistics, then on WFTC Dorm Request.
For More Information
Download an Aviation Safety Management Certificate Program brochure for a list of current quarter courses and enrollment information. 
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