Aerial Fire Fighting Flight Operations Observation Program
Understand how aerial firefighting teams manage changing threats across the fireground.
Aim / purpose
AFF FOOP observes normal work in fixed-wing and helicopter firefighting operations. It considers the coordination of aircraft, ground teams and support functions, and how crews maintain awareness as the fire environment, tasking and available operating margins change.
Observe normal work, understand how threats and errors are managed, and use the findings to guide practical improvements.
Primary operations observed
Mission briefing and coordination
Observe how objectives, roles, communications and operational constraints are shared between aircraft, air-attack and support teams.
Aircraft and fireground interfaces
Examine separation, flight-path monitoring, obstacle awareness and coordination around drop, collection, dip or operating areas relevant to the mission.
Workload and operational pressure
Review task loading, changing priorities, interruptions and the way crews maintain effective cross-checks during repeated operations.
Stop decisions and learning
Observe recognition of changing conditions, communication of abort or hold decisions and the transfer of lessons into subsequent briefings.
Benefits
Turn frontline observations into practical safety intelligence for AFF FOOP.
Operational visibility
Identify recurring pressures, interface problems and effective recoveries that may be missed in event reports alone.
Targeted improvement
Use reviewed findings to prioritise changes to briefings, coordination, procedures and training.
Learning and assurance
Follow actions through to practical outcomes and use later observations to assess whether improvements are working.
Target audience
- Fixed-wing and helicopter firefighting operators
- Air-attack, birddog and agency aviation personnel
- Operational, training, safety and contractor-assurance leaders
Management system fit
Use the observation programme alongside the organisation’s operating procedures, fireground coordination arrangements and SMS. Observation informs assurance and learning; it is separate from the Aerial Fire Fighting training course.
How ISIE supports AFF FOOP
From observations to useful themes
Support the review of recurring threats, coordination gaps and successful recoveries across mission profiles. Findings can help prioritise practical changes to briefings, interfaces and follow-up observations.
Keep specialist review at the centre
ISIE can support the organisation and review of observation evidence, recurring threats, errors and effective recoveries. Interpretation, action ownership and operational decisions remain with the responsible specialists.
A practical deployment pathway
1. Agree the scope
Define activities, interfaces, observation criteria and the questions the programme should help answer.
2. Prepare the team
Agree observer preparation, confidentiality, workforce communication, data access and reviewer responsibilities.
3. Observe normal work
Capture context, threats, errors, responses and effective recoveries using the agreed observation method.
4. Review and act
Review themes, agree proportionate actions, assign owners and plan follow-up observation.
Discuss your AFF FOOP requirements
Agree the programme scope, reporting outputs and follow-up arrangements with TPAS.
Contact us about AFF FOOP
The programme is selected below. Add your organisation and the operational scope you would like to discuss.