Fri, Feb 19, 2010
Goal Is To Improve General Aviation Safety
The Society of Aviation and Flight
Educators (SAFE) recently announced the formation of its Flight
Training Safety (FTS) Committee. Responding to a number of recent,
high profile events, the new committee has been charged with
advancing general aviation safety through research into, and
application of, modern safety practices.
According to FTS Committee Chair Steve Lasday, "The focus of
attention from the media, manufacturers, training organizations,
civil aviation regulatory authorities, and the public is shifting
in a major way onto flight training. It's time for us to take an
intelligent and proactive stance regarding initiatives that could
have a significant impact on general aviation." Lasday continued,
"Although a number of larger schools already incorporate some form
of safety management into their operations, general aviation as a
whole has lagged way behind other segments of the aviation
industry." The goal is to generate deliverables that are flexible
enough for even the smallest flight or maintenance operation to
adopt.
The FTS Committee is currently comprised of five highly
experienced individuals:
- Committee Chair Steve Lasday, a former instructor pilot at ERAU
and safety manager at an overseas flight training organization, has
extensive experience with safety in flight training operations.
Lasday has been involved with event reporting system development,
Safety Management Systems (SMS), safety education, and event
investigation.
- SAFE Chair Doug Stewart is a six-time Master Instructor, the
2004 National Flight Instructor of the Year, and a Designated Pilot
Examiner. Stewart also owns and operates a Part 61 flight
school.
- SAFE Vice Chair Mark Adams is a three-time Master Instructor,
an Airbus Flight Standards Check Airman, Human Factors Subject
Matter Expert, and a former Part 141 flight school owner.
- Six-time Master Instructor Rich Stowell is the 2006 National
Flight Instructor of the Year. He is an authority on stall/spin and
upset recovery training methods.
- Michael Maya Charles is a former MD-11 captain and check airman
for a major airline, an active flight instructor for over 37 years,
and author of "Artful Flying".
A lot of work product has been generated for other sectors of
aviation already; work that the SAFE FTS Committee intends to adapt
specifically for the general aviation training environment. The
Committee has identified four areas to address initially, in order
of priority:
- Development of a General Aviation Flight Training Safety Audit
Program.
- Development of a Safety Management System aimed at flight
training operations.
- Enhancement and widespread implementation of General Aviation
Flight Data Monitoring Systems.
- Development of a comprehensive Upset Recovery Training package
for pilots of light airplanes.
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