Emergency procedures feel like the section where briefers go on autopilot— same language every time, nobody really listening.

That’s exactly when it matters most. The IIC authority piece is non-negotiable: any on-airport incident gets handed to the IIC immediately. AirBoss manages the airspace, IIC manages the ground. Only IIC and the firedepartment enter the incident area — crew chiefs report to the IIC first,not to the performer’s team.

I’ve had crew chiefs try to run onto the runway before the fire trucks gotthere. You have to brief that explicitly.

State it plainly: if your aircraft is down on the airport, your crew chief goesto the IIC. Not to you, not to the ramp, not to the aircraft. The IIC directs allground response from that point. Brief the divert field and alternaterunway procedures during the same section — performers need to knowtheir options before an emergency, not during one.

IMSAFE — does that have to be covered in the briefing itself, or can it behandled informally?

It has to be covered. Every performer self-certifies against IMSAFE:Illness, Medication, Stress, Alcohol, Fatigue, and Emotion. You’re notadministering a medical exam — you’re establishing that each performerhas assessed themselves and cleared themselves to fly. Document it.

G-LOC is the one I always make sure aerobatic performers hear. It’s aphysiological risk, not a skills issue.

Brief AGSM for every aerobatic performer, every show day. And forairborne pyrotechnics, you need ACE endorsement verification, the KIOaltitude for any act using pyro, and de-confliction procedures if multiplesmokers or pyro acts are in the schedule. Specialized briefings — ribboncuts, formations, jump ops — happen after the main brief before anyoneleaves the room.

The main Participants Safety Briefing covers shared topics for all actscollectively. Specialty briefings are separate sessions conducted after themain brief closes — they cover categories of acts that need individualizedcoordination that doesn’t belong in the main room.

What triggers a specialty briefing requirement? Is it always mandatory?

At a Basic Air Show, specialty briefings are required for parachuteoperations, formation teams, and any act with unique equipment thatrequires individual coordination. The rule is: if the coordination can’t befully handled in the main brief without disrupting the general session, itgets its own briefing.

Warbids and vintage aircraft are the category that comes up most often inmy experience. Radio compatibility is the first problem.

Verify radio compatibility before show day — not at the morning briefing.Many warbirds have limited or non-standard avionics. A vintage aircraftthat can’t reach you on your primary frequency is a problem you solveduring pre-show coordination, not when the aircraft is taxiing to the holdpoint.

Ground start time is another one. A Merlin engine doesn’t start in twominutes.

Build the extended start time into the slot when you’re scheduling. Formulti-ship warbird formations, the specialty briefing covers break-offaltitudes, abort calls, and join-up procedures explicitly. And you need aclear mechanical contingency: if one aircraft can’t start or must abort,every performer knows the briefed procedure before anyone goes to theiraircraft.

Jump operations are the other mandatory specialty briefing. That one’salways separate from the main brief.

Jump master only, conducted after the main brief before performersdisperse. Cover the jump aircraft’s integration with the one-act-at-a-timerule, weather minimums for jump operations, hold position and altitudewhile jumpers are descending, and — before you release the jump master— confirm acknowledgment of every briefed item.