Alexandria, VA, March 6, 2008 — The Flight Safety Foundation (FSF) of Alexandria, Virginia and the Aviation Safety Foundation–Australasia of Melbourne, Australia announced today that the two organizations have formalized their partnership in order to better spread the FSF safety message throughout Australia and southeast Asia. The relationship will also offer Aviation Safety Foundation access to FSF resources and assistance in order to better serve the Australian aviation community.
“With the Aviation Safety Foundation as our regional partner, we are in a much better position to reach out to a very important part of the world,” commented FSF President and CEO William R. Voss. “The aviation industry in Australia has needed an independent safety voice and they are turning to Aviation Safety Foundation to meet that need. We are very pleased to be a part of that.”
Membership of the Aviation Safety Foundation will now include full membership to the U.S.-based Flight Safety Foundation for no extra cost. Some of the benefits of this combined membership will include a subscription to the Australian version of the FSF journal AeroSafety World, which will now be published in Australia and will include a regional supplement covering local issues; and privileged access to a range of forums, seminars and workshops delivered by both organizations — both in Australia and internationally.
The Aviation Safety Foundation Executive Director Paul Fox was also upbeat about the partnership. “We are excited by the opportunities that this regional partnership offers to our members in Australia. The FSF is clearly the leading independent airline safety body in the world and we are honoured to be working so closely with its team. It is the industry here that will be the real winners, having ready access to the FSF’s depth of knowledge and expertise.”
One of the early outcomes of the partnership will see the Aviation Safety Foundation host the FSF Approach and Landing Accident Reduction (ALAR) Tool Kit workshop in a number of locations across Australia in May. This will be the 27th workshop series that FSF had held throughout the world. Developed with the aim of significantly reducing the worldwide fatal approach and landing accident rate, the ALAR Tool Kit consolidates the data, products, findings, conclusions, and recommendations of 9 years of work by over 300 international aviation experts.
The workshop is designed to instruct airline operators and regulators on the use of the ALAR Tool Kit and enable the attendees to teach others in their organizations how to use the tool kit as well. More details about these upcoming events will be available soon.
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Flight Safety Foundation is an independent, non-profit, international organization engaged in research, auditing, education, advocacy and publishing to improve aviation safety. The Foundation’s mission is to pursue the continuous improvement of global aviation safety and the prevention of accidents. www.flightsafety.org.
Aviation Safety Foundation (Australasia) is the leading independent aviation safety body in Australia. Its mission is to actively promote aviation safety and deliver important training, research, and thought leadership on safety issues within the aviation sector. Representing all areas of the aviation industry, the Foundation is committed to promoting and facilitating safe aviation practices across all industry sectors in the Australasian region. The Foundation is a non-government, not-for-profit, incorporated public company.
Contact: Emily McGee, Director of Communications, 1-703-739-6700, ext. 126; mcgee@flightsafety.org