The United States Air Force attempted to save money by implementing a new flight training system designed to better identify pilot candidates; by better identifying candidates early in the process, it would save money by cutting non-performing candidates and therefore cost the Air Force less by reducing training time and resources. This new flight training system was the T-3A Firefly, but instead of achieving its stated goals, it cost the government $40 million, numerous man-hours, reputations, and the lives of 6 people. This project could have been saved if proper risk management had been implemented. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an Original Essay The first question that should have been asked is, “Is it necessary to switch to this type of trainer?” as most pilots do not fly the highly maneuverable fighter/attack aircraft for which this type of trainer was designed. While the General's sentiment is understandable, training at an appropriate level may be more cost-effective. Subsequently, it was stated that the Firefly had a number of problems, including: brake effectiveness, climbing ability, and cruising speed; however, the Air Force applauded the machine for its maneuverability and stability and decided to choose the Firefly over the competition. The problems were known at the time, and instead of taking them into account, and perhaps fixing the fixes before purchase, the Air Force had to try to fix them as they arose. The fixes, in turn, actually caused many more problems with the trainer, as one piece of equipment had major effects on all other pieces of equipment and represented a serious technical risk that should have been discovered sooner. While the original Firefly was a commercial on the shelf (COTS), the add-ons made it much less similar to the original product and should have remained in testing longer. Additionally, the Air Force allowed the contractor to conduct most of the testing on its product; this is an external risk that should have been negated by assigning its own staff to supervise the tests. Further testing was halted due to late delivery, but the trainer was still put into the yard, where officials found that it couldn't handle rotations (one of the primary purposes for purchasing the Firefly) when a student and an instructor were killed. he should have considered the objectives of the plane and the plane itself as a single design, where the parts influence each other and everything must fit together perfectly. Risk identification, risk assessment and response to risk assessments should have been completed before the initial scope, so only risk monitoring would need to be done after system implementation. Please note: this is just an example. Get a custom paper from our expert writers now. Get a Custom Essay I believe that the reasons for failure could have been avoided, at least in part, by following the four steps of risk management planning. Risks should have had a proper plan on who manages them and in which areas, how to monitor risks throughout the project, and contingency plans. It seems that there was no clear strategy at the beginning of the project, since the Air Force purchased a COTS aircraft, but then upgraded it without thinking about the consequences, but.