San Diego, CA, April 20, 2011 — During the opening session of its 56th annual Corporate Aviation Safety Seminar today, the Flight Safety Foundation presented its annual Business Aviation Meritorious Service Award to Bombardier Aerospace in recognition of its annual Safety Standdown.
“The business aviation community is safer with the addition of the Safety Standdown,” commented William R. Voss, President and CEO, Flight Safety Foundation. “This is a visionary concept that started out 15 years ago as an internal exercise for Bombardier’s Learjet flight operations team and has since evolved into an important safety seminar that touches on many aspects of aviation operations. It’s especially exciting to see the Safety Standdown expand into Europe, Latin America — and now Asia.”
Nearly 5,000 aviation safety professionals have participated in a Safety Standdown so far. The seminars cover such areas as professional discipline, human factors for aviation maintenance technicians, advanced aerodynamic and flight attendant workshops. Safety Standdown has been endorsed by top aeronautical training institutions and is officially recognized by the Federal Aviation Administration and the National Transportation Safety Board.
“There continues to be a need across civil aviation for crucial knowledge-based training and through our format of workshops and seminars led by subject matter experts, Safety Standdown provides true and lasting benefits to all aircraft operators regardless of the type of aircraft they fly or its manufacturer,” stated Puja Mahajan, Director of Flight Operations, Bombardier Business Aircraft. “The program exposes students to information that is critical for safe flight, and is designed to make very single pilot crew member and flight operations manager more aware and therefore more secure.
“I encourage aviation professionals to attend Safety Standdown to discover first-hand how they can apply the latest safety knowledge to their operations.”
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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. The Foundation is an official observer of the UN’s International Civil Aviation Organization. Follow FSF on Twitter @flightsafety or at facebook.com/flightsafetyfoundation.
Contact: Emily McGee, Director of Communications, 1-703-739-6700, ext. 126; mcgee@flightsafety.org