King County International Airport – Boeing Field (KCIA) has long had a safety program, as mandated by the State of Washington – focused on airport employees. Now, in advance of anticipated FAA direction, KCIA is planning to expand its safety program airport wide. Sam Priest and Ciara Gamble, airport duty managers, are developing a much broader Safety Management System (SMS).

“We’re focusing on making the airport a better operating environment, on the tenant level and bringing everyone together,” said Ciara Gamble. “It’s a group effort. It will definitely be up to every single person here to play a part in it.”

Part of the idea behind the SMS would be to get ongoing stakeholder input into how to make the airport safer operationally.

“In the past, we’ve kind of just mitigated safety controls at the internal airport level and haven’t brought in external stakeholders,” Gamble said.

With a formal SMS, there will be processes for tenants and others to bring safety concerns to the airport, provide input, and help develop solutions.

“It’s more of a formalized inclusion, making sure that safety is the number one goal for the airport, so that all the stakeholders, tenants, users, know what our vision is and there’s actually action that goes into it,” Priest said.

“Instead of just having a policy, we would review incidents or accidents and then we have promotions, a slogan or a statement that represents the airport as a whole. (We would have) safety reports, safety audits, a reporting system, review incidents with all stakeholders, have mitigations in place and create an action plan and make sure people are accountable to these actions,” Priest added.

As a first step in developing an SMS, Gamble and Priest are putting together a safety committee, including representatives from the FAA, the general aviation community, airport stakeholders and employees. The committee will lead Safety Risk Assessments (SRAs) for any incidents or recurring hazards.

“We would meet with those stakeholders and go through the hazards and risks for that particular incident and come up with what mitigations we could put in place to prevent that from happening again,” Priest explained.

The committee will likely meet monthly. Interested parties may email airportsafety@kingcounty.gov for more information or to get involved.

King County International Airport welcomes new leadership to the Roundtable, an advisory board that makes recommendations to the airport’s administrators, the King County Executive, and the King County Council. Kelly Ronan Hafner, from West Seattle, is now chair, and Holly Krejci, from Georgetown, is vice chair.

Hafner has served on the Roundtable since early 2020.

“I have a lifelong love and connection with aviation,” Hafner said. “As I think about airports, the operations that are required to make everything work… I find it fascinating.”

She added that she once lived a mile and a half from Paine Field, her dad is a flight attendant, and her husband works for the Federal Aviation Administration. In fact, she and her husband talked about airplanes on their first date.

As Roundtable chair, Hafner said she is excited about building the sense of community in the group. What is she looking forward to?

“When the Roundtable members can get together in person, do some airport tours, (and) see things in person to better understand some things the airport is facing,” she said.

“One of our big things for this year is to think about how we would define KCIA as a world-class airport,” she said.

Hafner added that the leadership and staff at the airport have kept operations going during severe weather and unprecedented change throughout the pandemic.

“It’s a testament to how great of a team we have working for the airport,” she said.

Holly Krejci, the new Roundtable vice chair, has been on the advisory board since 2016, originally drawn in by work on the Master Plan. She lives across the street from the airport in Georgetown and also comes from a family with aviation background.

She added that she is mindful of aviation’s impacts on the environment.

“The more I understand the impact that aviation has on our climate, the more I think we have to invest in doing things differently,” Krejci said. “There needs to be some urgency and accountability around that.”

And why serve as vice chair?

“It was time to help,” she said.

“One of the things that interests me is really helping the airport develop equity outcomes and drivers for the work they do,” Krejci said. “That’s going to be hard work and it has to be done in and with community, not on behalf of the community.”

It’s that community focus that Krejci is excited to bring to the airport’s vision for the future and its work toward becoming a world class airport.

“I think we all need to collectively determine what that looks like. That’s the work that I’m really excited about,” Krejci said. “That’s where equity and community come in. Everyone’s got to come together and determine what a world-class airport looks like and see themselves in that vision.”

One of the highlights was a water display by an Airport Rescue and Firefighting engine!

If you know high school and college students who might be interested in an internship at King County International Airport, spread the word! Applications are due March 27 for the airport’s annual internship program.

David Decoteau, deputy director for the airport, at right, started his career here as a seasonal maintenance worker and had an internship in airport operations in 2005.

“It gives you an idea of what’s out there, you get some real-world experience,” Decoteau said. “It actually changed my career path. I was going the pilot route. I came and did my internship. I found out what was involved in airport management, and I fell in love with it. I switched my airport career path to airport management.”

This year, positions include:

• High School level Computer-aided Design (CAD) Designer Intern
• Associate/Undergraduate level Finance/Accounting Intern
• Associate/Undergraduate level Airport Operations Intern
• Associate/Undergraduate level Engineering Intern
• Graduate level Engineering Intern
• Graduate level Public Administration/Planning Intern

Decoteau isn’t the only former intern at KCIA. Decoteau and Vanessa Chin both worked their way up from intern to management positions. Chin serves as Business Information Management Manager.

“It’s been a very successful program for most of the people who’ve gone through it,” Decoteau said. “The other interns who I know have done really great things, one of them works for the FAA, one is a pilot. It really gives kids an opportunity to see what’s out there and get some experience.”

Interestingly, Decoteau’s sister, Andrea Lopez, manages the airport’s internship program as a social worker in the Department of Community and Human Services. County service really runs in the family; their father worked for the Sheriff’s Office for 47 years. So, intern today, you might retire from the county in 30 or 50 years!

Get more details about the airport internships. Applications will be accepted starting March 7. 

Along with the global aviation community, leaders and employees at KCIA were saddened to learn that the only Antonov 225 in existence has been destroyed. While the loss of this unique aircraft is upsetting, it pales in comparison to the loss of human lives from the conflict in Ukraine.

The An-225 Мрія (Mriya), as it was also known, is shown here in an August 2007 visit to King County International Airport-Boeing Field. It came to the region to pick up a load of four Boeing 777 engines. Only the world's largest airplane, which translates as "Dream" in Ukrainian, could accomplish such a mission. The photo was taken by deputy director David Decoteau during his first stint at KCIA.

"Our thoughts are with everyone in our community affected by the crisis in Ukraine, and we share hope for a peaceful end to the unprovoked attacks on a sovereign nation," said John Parrott, airport director. 

King County International Airport (KCIA) is now a member of the Western Airports Disaster Operations Group, or “WESTDOG,” a group of airports west of the Rocky Mountains working together to respond quickly in case of emergency. Davey Pilley, Airport Operations Manager, is the airport’s lead for WESTDOG.

“We meet quarterly with member airports and discuss things that are going on in the industry related to emergency response,” said David Decoteau, deputy director at KCIA.

Decoteau has now enlisted four airports, including KCIA, in WESTDOG and is passionate about its value.

“It’s partnerships for emergencies,” he said. “If we had a disaster in the region, we have the ability to get resources. We can also pay it back to other agencies that we can help and provide resources.” 

WESTDOG is modeled after a group of airports in the southeastern half of the country, SEADOG, that grew out of a need for collaboration during Hurricane Ivan in 2004. In the Pacific Northwest, the risk is more likely to be earthquakes.

“As we learned in 2001, there’s a high probability our airport will sustain damage during a quake,” Decoteau said. “But our airport could shift to being a rotor craft base, getting supplies or food in and out.”

Through WESTDOG, KCIA could request staffing or other resources to support emergency response to keep the airport operational for helicopters in such a disaster. Decoteau said membership in WESTDOG can help KCIA adopt other best practices to prepare for emergencies.

“I know we’ve done a lot at Boeing Field, but what other types of things can we do to prepare our airport?” he asked. “We’re such a critical airport to support our community in case of a regional emergency.”

King County International Airport is now a registered agency of the Institute for Sustainable Infrastructure (ISI), an organization that encourages systemic changes in the planning, design, and delivery of sustainable, resilient, and equitable civil infrastructure.

“It really involves incorporating sustainable practices into our Capital Improvement Project (CIP) work at the airport,” said David Decoteau, deputy director. “There’s a handful of airports that are supported agencies. We are thrilled to be on the front end of this.”

ISI developed and manages Envision – a framework similar to LEAN – a sustainability rating system that evaluates all types of public and private infrastructure projects.

“The idea is that now we are a supported agency, we can start implementing these practices at our agency,” Decoteau said.

King County International Airport has created a new coloring book for the enjoyment of its younger passengers and patrons.

“This coloring book is more than just a child’s amusement toy,” said Chief Greg Thomas of the Aircraft Rescue and Fire Fighting Unit (ARFF), who produced the book. “It is an interactive tool that uses creative approaches to explaining the many facets of the airport and the people who work and travel here. Everything about the book shows our pride and vision of the King County International Airport as a ‘world class airport.’”

The coloring book also has games and puzzles for the younger crowd to enjoy.

“The book takes the opportunity to be a teaching tool for airport safety and has a page on burn safety written in Spanish,” Thomas said. “One aspect is the book shows what a firefighter looks like in full bunker gear to help eliminate any fear that a child may have should they see one of us in an emergency. We can look pretty scary to a small child.”

Thomas decided to produce a new coloring book after reviewing the airport’s old coloring book. The old book centered on fire services, and not on the airport overall. The new book recognizes all aspects of the airport, including Operations, Engineering, Maintenance, Business Information Management and Air Traffic Control.

The cover of the book is a picture of the airport coin that was created by several people at the airport. It features the image of Dr. Martin Luther King and is drawn in a design of a compass. The Cover states, “This beautifully artistic sample of creative coloring belongs to:______________________, a friend of the King County International Airport.”

The book was created using several different styles of pictures to color.

“The styles change to engage the user from looking at an almost ‘cartoon-like’ helicopter to the more sophisticated Boeing Super Hornet Fighter Jet used by the Blue Angels. The book also pays homage to the Blue Angels themselves,” Thomas explained. “It’s designed to promote discussion.”

“I particularly like the page dedicated to the Duwamish tribe, the first peoples of this area. The airport is currently on Duwamish ancestral lands,” Thomas said. “There is a page that includes all of our “True North Values” which speaks to our diversity and goal of being welcoming and a place where all people can thrive. This page tells people who we are, what we value and where we are going.”

The book concludes with a page on how to contact the Police, Fire Department (ARFF) or Operations at the Airport if the reader needs help. This is intended to support the airport’s “Operation Blue Lightning” commitment to prevent human trafficking.

“While it looks like a simple child’s distraction, this book is actually a creative tool to convey the airport’s philosophy, goals, visions and attitude towards our present, past and future,” Thomas said. “I also like that we didn’t forget the adults. We left a page blank that reads ‘This page is for grown-ups (because they like to color too).’”

The coloring books are available at the business office in the airport terminal and near the Kenmore Air office. The limited printing included 150 books; they are available only while supplies last.