About Our Founder and CEO, Captain (Dr.) Samir Kohli, Ph.D

Harvard educated, with a Ph.D. in Aviation Safety (Human Factors), and recipient of the 2014 Cecil A Brownlow Award (Awarded by the US based NGO, The Flight Safety Foundation), Samir has over 45 years of senior management experience in the Aviation Industry. He specializes in managing diverse, distributed and multi-cultural teams in high-risk and high-value operations. He focusses on delivering Enterprise Risk Management, Cost control, leadership and mentoring to operational as well as administrative teams. He has over 20 years’ experience in Aviation Logistics support to Resource Sector Companies in addition to Parts 61, 121, 133, 135, 137, 141 & NCC Aviation Operations and Airport Management. He has implemented Aviation SMS in military airports, civil aviation international airports, flight-training academy and commercial helicopter operating companies delivering services to Resource Sector industry clients.

Starting his career as a Navy Pilot, he has seen three tours of combat duty and Awarded a Gallantry Medal by the President for "Gallantry beyond the call of duty in Combat Operations". He had always been in the limelight since early days having been a recipient of Presidents Silver Medal for Officer Cadet First in Order of Merit, Training Squadron Bronze Medal for Midshipman Best in Seamanship, Adjudged Best Pilot in Ground Subjects during Basic Pilot Training, Chief of Air Staff Trophy for Air Traffic Manager first in Order of Merit, several Commendations and Mention in Dispatches.

He chose to exit the Military Service in January 2006 after 21 years of distinguished service and has been dedicated to Civil Aviation since then. With over 13,000 Flight Hours to his credit in several different aircraft types, he specializes in Helicopter Long Line (more than 200 ft/60 m) External Load Operations.

After exiting Military Service, he built upon his earlier qualifications as an Aviation Auditor and Aircraft Accident Investigator with another course in Aircraft Accident Investigation and Safety Management Systems at ICAO, followed by yet another course in Aviation Safety Management Systems at Airports Council International (ACI), focused on implementing the same at Airports and other Aviation Infrastructure. He supplemented this with a course in Airport Management including Airport Emergency Response at the Unique Zurich International Airport in Zurich, Switzerland. Finally, he rounded up his training initiatives with a “Training Program Developer” course at ICAO, which qualifies him to Design, Deliver and Certify Aviation Training.

In recent years he has remained focused on working closely with the Flight Safety Foundation in delivering the FSF BARS “Managing Contracted Aviation Risk” (MCAR) and “Helicopter External Load Operations” (HELO) training in both English and Spanish. This is in addition to conducting Operational reviews, Risk Assements, BARS based Audits to Operators not registered in the BARS program with a view to conduct a Gap Analysis and assist not only the Resource Sector Company to take an informed decision about contracting the Aviation Risk but also the Operator to be able to improve and later pass a FSF BARS Audit. He has also supported several Resource Sector companies in their Aviation Tenders, starting from selection of Operators to invite to quote, developing a detailed “Request for Quotation” document which clearly lists the details required to be submitted for the quote to be valid, a proprietary “Tender Evaluation” procedure which reduces the information provided by the bidders to a numerical scale and helps make an informed recommendation to the Resource Sector company on “The Economically Most Suitable Bid” combining the Technical and Commercial aspects of the bid to arrive at a balance between Cost, Efficiency and Safety.

Design, Construction and Management of Aviation Infrastructure is yet another area of focus in which Capt. Sam specializes and helps enhance safety of a Resource Sector Companies Aviation Operations.

Ph.D in Aviation Safety - Understanding Pilot Decision Making in Remote Part 135 Operations

Capt, Sam's interest in Aviation Safety Human Factors started when he was nominated to undergo an Aviation Accident Investigation Course during his Military Service. In the years following his qualification as an Accident Investigator, he started to notice a pattern in the various Accidents that he investigated. As he started to study and research the subject of Human Factors, more specifically, Human Descision Making, in a greater detail, this led him on a path to publish five books and complete a Ph.D.

Aviation is a vital component of business transportation systems, especially for the Resource Sector Companies. Air transportation is frequently the only means to move goods, services, and people in inhospitable and inaccessible terrain where mining and petroleum exploration projects are undertaken. These operations are undertaken in compliance with regulations "14 C.F.R. Part 135". Historically, air taxi and non-scheduled/charter air operators (14 C.F.R. Part 135, or equivalent in different regions of the world) form the bulk of service to these operations as also in support of remote communities and have poor operational safety records through high rates of accidents. The problem is still prevalent despite several initiatives by the Governments and Companies to reduce adverse safety events. Accident investigation reports have nominally attributed causal factors of these accidents to “Human Error” and at-risk behaviors such as violations. Extant research in aviation human factors suggests that optimal Aeronautical Decision-Making (ADM) by pilots is essential for safe flight outcomes. There seems to be a paucity in literature that qualitatively explores factors influencing effective ADM of Part 135 pilots who fly in this operationally challenged domain. Documentary analysis of over 500 Fatal Accident Case Studies between the years 2000 and 2020, and semi-structured interviews with a strong sample of over 5,000 Part 135 pilots, with varying experience levels worldwide, operating in remote areas where traditional Aviation Infrastructure and Administrative Support is deficient or even non-existent, were conducted. The study provides in-depth understanding of Part 135 pilot ADM during flight operations in remote areas and helps to frame policies and procedures for safer operations.

Most of the work that we do is based on the findings of this study, taking the theory to practice, and implementing the core learnings to on-ground operations in any Resource Sector Company's Aviation Operations.

Building the Brand

Our Founder and CEO, Captain (Dr.) Samir Kohli, Ph.D., popularly known as Capt. Sam, registered the name "The Erring Human" as his trademark in 2010. At that time, this was merely a concept to popularize the fact that to err is human and since a Pilot is no more or less than any other human, we should be talking of "Human Error" instead of the then popular term "Pilot Error". The error was made not because he/she was a Pilot, but because he/she was a human before being a Pilot and was therefore as fallible and as susceptible to an error as any other Human.

When a soccer team loses a match, do we start a blame game to punish the Goalkeeper? The responsibility for a lost match is fixed at the top, starting from the Team Manager, Team Coach, Team Captain, the way the team played the match, ... You could have the best Goalkeeper in the world and yet loose a match, as also, you could have the worst Goalkeeper and yet win a match. It's more about teamwork and training than a one man show.

In an Aviation scenario, things are not very much different. A Pilot is just like a Goalkeeper of the team. He/She is the last person who has an opportunity to save a loss, he/she is the only person who can use their hands to do so, but in the end, he/she is just a member of the team and if the rest of the team does not play, there's only so much that a Pilot can do!

This philosophy is what is reflected in our LOGO. There is a goalpost in the back. The Goalkeeper, dressed as a Pilot, is diving to save a Goal. Instead of a ball, what's on-coming is an aircraft, reflecting very clearly the parallel between a soccer team and an Aviation team and the Pilots position in the team as merely a Goalkeeper.

This is reflected in everything that we do. Aviation Training to strengthen the human force and build a resilient team; Audits and Operational Reviews focused on Policies and Procedures, always looking for where the humans working the system are likely to fail; Hazard identification and Risk Management to identify the likely failure points and cover the gaps; Mitigation Measures focused at strengthening the Policies and Procedures, building a safety culture of Responsibility and Accountability in the organization; Accident/Incident investigations focused at identifying the Organizational Factors that contributed to a failure; …

In the end, we help any Resource Sector Company to build a strong and resilient Aviation team and conduct its Aviation Operations in the safest manner possible.

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