Did you make it to Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates, in November for our annual International Air Safety Summit (IASS)? I hope so — it was a fantastic event, and we’ve set the bar very high for our next IASS!
The week in the UAE was a busy one. We had three days filled with more than 30 presentations and panel discussions, networking, and question-and-answer sessions about pressing aviation safety issues, such as global aircraft tracking; data collection, protection and analysis; approach, landing and go-arounds; operational issues in Africa and the Middle East; and many others. You will read about some of the presentations and discussions in AeroSafety World in the coming months.
During the course of the week, we introduced the attendees to Flight Safety Foundation’s new chairman of the Board of Governors, Ken Hylander. Ken has been serving as chair-elect for the past year and replaces David McMillan, who now steps into the role of immediate past chairman. Everyone who cares about aviation safety can join me in thanking David for his service over the past two years. His commitment and enthusiasm served the Foundation well.
We also announced the publication on the FSF website of A Practical Guide for Improving Flight Path Monitoring, the final report of the Active Pilot Monitoring Working Group dedicated to this project since 2012. One of the co-chairs of the 28-member working group, Helena Reidemar, was able to join us with a presentation on this study and to answer questions.
As we do at each IASS, we also spent a few moments recognizing professional accomplishments with several awards, including presentation of the FSF-Airbus Human Factors in Aviation Safety Award to Dr. James Klinect, the FSF-Boeing Aviation Safety Lifetime Achievement Award to Dr. Harold Demuren, the Laura Taber Barbour Air Safety Award to Bill Chiles and the FSF President’s Citation to Capt. Kevin Hiatt.
Check out the FSF website for details of all of these IASS announcements and awards on our industry news page..
The feedback we’ve received so far about the summit has been very positive. The packed exhibit hall, the agenda focused on the important safety issues of today, and the attendees from all around the world and every aviation industry segment made this a very useful and exciting event for everyone who attended.
Now, we shift our focus to 2015. Please mark your calendars for several upcoming FSF events. We’ll be in Singapore the second week of February for some conferences, and the 60th annual Business Aviation Safety Summit is fast approaching on May 13–14 in Weston, Florida, U.S.
IASS 2015 is in the planning stages, and we should be announcing the date and location in early 2015, so stay tuned.