Rob Lee, a former director of human factors, system safety and communications with the Australian Transport Safety Bureau (ATSB) who previously was the first human factors specialist with the ATSB’s predecessor, the Bureau of Air Safety Investigation (BASI), has died at age 74.
Lee, who had a doctorate in psychology, was credited with transforming BASI “from a purely reactive investigative agency to an innovative multi-skilled organisation that concentrated equally on proactive accident prevention and safety enhancement,” the ATSB said in announcing his death, on April 27.
He also served as a human factors analyst on numerous aircraft accident investigations around the world.
Before joining BASI in 1983, Lee was a senior psychologist with the Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) and a human factors specialist on RAAF aircraft accident investigation teams. He also was a group captain in the RAAF Specialist Reserve; a lecturer on aviation psychology, human factors, systems safety and air safety investigation within the Australian Defence Force; co-author and editor of aviation human factors publications; and the recipient of numerous awards for his work.