Abstract

TABARES, William A.. Dangers of air operation in Antarctica to manage operational safety of the Colombian Air Force. rev.relac.int.estrateg.segur. [online]. 2021, vol.16, n.1, pp.77-109.  Epub May 07, 2021. ISSN 1909-3063.  https://doi.org/10.18359/ries.5274.

Air activity in Antarctica is considered risky, due to low ambient temperatures and topographical conditions. The Colombian Air Force (FAC)has been operating in the Antarctic territory since 2015 and is projecting its increase in the near future. Therefore, the objective of this article was to identify the dangers of air operation in Antarctica to manage the operational safety of FAC. To this purpose, a non-experimental mixed cross-sectional study was conducted during FAC'S Antarctic mission in the austral summer 2019-2020, and the operational risk landscape methodology in force in FAC was used. The risk landscape obtained showed at the exit of the runway, freezing and human factors such as the riskiest for the operation, a situation that coincides with what was reported in the literature. With the information collected, a tool was developed to mitigate the operational risk of FAC in polar missions. Finally, for the risk management of FAC'S air operations in Antarctica, it was concluded that the fundamental core lies in the ongoing training of personnel involved in polar operations, which are among the most at risk within air activity. In addition, it is recommended to update or review the risk landscape at least once every six months, in order to research the latest weather trends prevalent on the white continent, such as global warming and changing weather that could lead to phenomena that have not been identified in this study.

Keywords : Antarctica; risk assessment; risk landscape; operational security.

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