An Air National Guard (ANG) program designed to cut through bureaucracy has led to several flight safety solutions, including pilot fatigue and controlled flight into terrain (CFIT).

The Disruptive Solutions Process program allows for common sense solutions that save lives. For instance, some older models of F-16 fighters lacked built-in voice-activated warnings that instruct pilots to pull up when they get too close to terrain. Air Force engineers and vendors had an easy fix for the problem, but no access to decision makers.

By connecting these engineers to the disruptive solutions group, the ANG was able to push the solution out and get that voice warning put into those jets.

Another Disruptive Solutions Process-initiated program, Flyawake.org, aims to mitigate fatigue among pilots, air traffic controllers and others. The program takes algorithms developed at Walter Reed Army Medical Center in Washington, D.C. for the analysis of air mishaps, and puts them to work to prevent mishaps in both military and civilian sectors.

The program's most successful project to date---Maintenance Resource Management---is credited by the Air Force Safety Center with reducing major human-error caused, maintenance-based aviation mishaps by as much as 75 percent in three years.