Food safety and flying have a lot in common.

As a pilot, driving a Cessna 182, I can only be as safe as the airplane I am flying in. This includes the airframe, structure, avionics and equipment. While steering 3,000 pounds of aluminum 10,000 feet above the earth at 170 miles per hour, if there is an equipment failure, even if only subtle, it could result in disaster. Things get even more dicey on final approach, when the airplane slows, the earth nears, and the margins for safety decrease exponentially, until the left and right mains softly (hopefully) grace the pavement.

Food safety is no different. As a food safety professional, the safety of the food you produce can only be as safe as the facility and equipment it is produced within. When moving 300,000 pounds of product through a processing room, even a subtle employee mistake or equipment failure could spell disaster, putting hundreds of thousands of pounds of product at risk, and potentially threatening the health or lives of consumers. Whether commanding an aircraft or producing food, we must always navigate with extreme diligence and caution.

Indeed, a few years back, my wife and I were visiting our son James (who is a U.S. Airforce helicopter pilot) in Minot, N.D. We flew into Minot for Memorial Day weekend to spend some time visiting and, a couple days later, started prepping to make the jump back to Wisconsin.

After methodically pre-flighting the aircraft, everything appeared, on its face, to be in order. The visual inspection verified that the aircraft and equipment, by all accounts, looked to be in perfect working order. Just another uneventful flight, on another uneventful day. Or, so it seemed.

After firing up the engine, running through the checklists, checking the radios and receiving clearance to taxi from Minot (“Magic City”) Tower, we bumped the throttle and started the long taxi to the end of Runway 31. As we approached the departure end of the runway, we asked for and obtained clearance. “Magic City Tower, Cessna Triple One Eight Two, ready for takeoff.” Magic City promptly replied, “Cessna Triple One Eight Two, you are cleared for departure, Runway 31.”

As we turned onto the runway and applied full power, the engine roared and the aircraft began to accelerate. As we gained speed and watched the runway lines disappear at a quickening pace under the nose, Jessica suddenly grabbed my arm and asked if I smelled something burning. I did.

Looking out the window at the left main landing gear, I saw that it was engulfed in flames. Jessica then looked out her window, and screamed, “My side is on fire too!” We were seconds away from leaping into the sky piloting an aircraft with an uncontrollable fire.

“Magic City Tower, Cessna Triple One Eight Two, aborting takeoff — WE HAVE A FIRE.” The tower quickly confirmed the call, and dispatched the fire engines.

Trying to control and slow the aircraft before the flames reached the nearly 100 gallons of 100 octane fuel in the wings was challenging, but eventually we slowed enough so that Jessica could egress the aircraft. She jumped out of her door, through the flames, and onto the runway. Thankfully, other than smelling like burning oil, rubber and aluminum, she suffered only a minor scratch. I was able to exit the aircraft a few moments later, once I brought her to a stop.

That flight taught me a lot of lessons about flying and food safety. Even when everything appears, on its face, to be normal, there could be a subtle problem lurking quietly in the shadows, ready to pounce. Whether it’s a preventable failure or a subtle oversight, the consequences, whether in the air or firmly on the ground, can be just as devastating.

Be sure to always preflight your equipment and your employees, and navigate with extreme diligence and caution, lest an unexpected failure makes your world go up in flames.

When your world goes up in flames

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