2012 Air Charter Safety Symposium A Huge Success

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The Air Charter Safety Foundation (ACSF) just completed its fifth annual Air Charter Safety Symposium at the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) Training Center in Ashburn, Va. The symposium provided two days of learning and discussion on topics such as reducing errors through empowered accountability and crew resource management.
 
“We are extremely pleased with the response from symposium attendees,” said ACSF President Bryan Burns. “The attendees were awed with the quality, depth and range of information presented that they could use in their daily operations. The best part was the interaction between attendees and presenters. It was an extremely successful event.”
 
The theme for this year’s Air Charter Safety Symposium was “Safety is Everyone’s Responsibility,” and the event drew more than 100 representatives from the on-demand/charter and fractional aircraft ownership industries as well as various aviation industry experts.
 
“The Air Charter Safety Symposium that concluded March 1st was an outstanding program,” said ACSF Chairman James C. Christiansen. “Attendees benefited from senior Federal Aviation Administration officials, industry experts and NTSB board presentations that included NTSB Member Dr. Mark Rosekind and NTSB Vice-Chair Christopher Hart. We’re very pleased that the ACSF continues to gain momentum and the validity of the foundation’s mission – to raise the level of safety within air charter and fractional ownership operations – continues to be confirmed through operator and industry participation in ACSF activities.” 
 
Presentation highlights from the symposium included:

  • Keynote Speaker Dr. Tony Kern, CEO of Convergent Performance, discussed how to reduce costly errors significantly by targeting the most important aspects of the human performance equation - compliance and accountability. Dr. Kern introduced the concept of Empowered Accountability, which teaches each individual a new level of personal responsibility and accountability.
  • Mr. Jeff Hare, president of J. Hare Safety and Survival Systems, focused on the risks of cabin fires from electronic devices and strategies for combating a fire should it occur.
  • Mr. Shannon Forrest, crew resource management (CRM) program manager, FlightSafety International, presented a case study in CRM that included situational awareness, decision making, workload management and task prioritization, monitoring and cross-checking, and fatigue and stress management.
  • The Honorable Christopher Hart, NTSB vice-chair, discussed a systems approach to reviewing and analyzing runway incursions and excursions.
  • The Honorable Mark Rosekind, Ph.D., NTSB member, discussed fatigue education and strategies, scheduling policies and practices, organizational strategies, and fatigue management systems and programs.
  • Presentations on aircraft tire safety best practices were discussed by Mr. Keat Pruszenski, manager, customer support engineering, Michelin Aircraft Tire Company, and Mr. Cliff Jenkins, director of aviation for Milliken & Company.
  • Mr. John Allen, director of flight standards, Federal Aviation Administration, discussed the latest FAA initiatives affecting Part 135 and 91K operators, including pilot training, air safety procedures, pilot fatigue/duty time and various other issues to mitigate accidents, emphasizing risk management and the use of SMS.
  • Mr. Robert Breiling, owner, Robert E. Breiling Associates, presented the latest data regarding turbine aircraft accidents.

Presentations from the symposium will be made available to the public on the ACSF’s Web site at www.acsf.aero/symposium.