By Lonna Whiting, writer, Alder Airfield Services A pilot flying one of her regular routes prepares her descent onto a runway she’s navigated hundreds, maybe thousands of times before. She expects all to be clear. After all, she’s landed in that very spot time and again without incident. Then one day, the runway appears normal… Read more »
Editor’s note: At La Guardia Airport on March 22, 2026, two pilots were killed, and 43 passengers and crew were injured when the Air Canada plane operated by Jazz Aviation collided with a fire truck upon landing. Since then, safety experts have cautioned against jumping to conclusions about the causes of the incident until investigators… Read more »
Written for Alder by Airport Operations Consultant Samuel Allen, C.M., ACE, this special blog series focuses on hazardous behavioral attitudes that deter safety on the AOA. From overly confident macho men and women to the flaggers who seem to have no fear, Sam defines the most common characteristics of hazardous attitudes in aviation construction work.… Read more »
By Samuel Allen, C.M., ACE Airport Operations Manager Macho attitudes are prevalent in the modern world. An extension of the “Look mom, no hands!” philosophy has ebbed and flowed throughout pop culture to the beat of many different generational drums. Macho attitudes are also rampant in the aviation and construction industries— and both career fields… Read more »
By Samuel Allen, C.M., ACE Airport Operations Manager Despite the airport environment being unlike any other work environment, common problems and challenges persist. In a “normal” setting, multiple chances to get things right are commonplace, often resulting in perseverance being at the forefront of workplace mentalities. Oftentimes though, the airport can be a high-consequence locale,… Read more »
By Ilona A. Munzer, CEO, Alder Airfield Services Each day we have the opportunity to learn something new. I dig that. In airfield construction, learning isn’t optional. It’s survival. Every project teaches us something about sequencing, coordination, communication, about what works beautifully on paper and what needs adjustment in the field. One lesson continues to… Read more »
By Samuel Allen, C.M., ACE Airport Operations Manager Airport construction takes place in one of the most unforgiving and fluid work environments imaginable. Crews operate heavy equipment near active taxiways and runways, often at night, under tight airfield closure windows, and within carefully sequenced construction phasing plans. In this setting, impulsivity becomes a hazardous attitude… Read more »
By Samuel Allen, C.M., ACE Airport Operations Manager Construction sites are inherently hazardous situations, but physical risks are only part of the safety equation. Mindset plays an equally important role. In aviation, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) identifies five “hazardous attitudes” that impair judgment and increase risk: anti-authority, impulsivity, invulnerability, macho, and resignation. Although developed… Read more »
By Ilona A. Munzer, CEO, Alder Airfield Services High-risk. High-pressure. High-stakes. Airfield construction leaves no margin for error. Yet too often, safety on the Air Operations Area (AOA) is folded into general labor or reduced to a checklist. That’s the problem Alder Airfield Services was built to solve. I came to aviation construction through an… Read more »
A friend recently sent me a link to a New York Times article titled “A Construction Worker’s Suicide Highlights a Wider Crisis” focusing on suicide in the construction industry. She asked if I’d read it and was curious how closely it mirrored what day-to-day life in airfield construction is really like. What struck me most… Read more »