Annual Safety Standdown seminar assembles aviation's leading safety experts.
Bombardier Aerospace is expecting 425 pilots, safety specialists and media to attend its annual Safety Standdown training seminar, one of the premier aviation safety events in the world.
Now in its eighth consecutive year, Safety Standdown 2004 takes place Oct. 26-28 at the
Hyatt Regency Hotel in Wichita, Kansas. This year's theme is "Flying 101: Investing in the Future", which acknowledges the continuing need for knowledge-based pilot and crew safety training in the 101st year of powered flight.
The three-day conference is available to all pilots and crew regardless of which aircraft type they operate and is endorsed by the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), the National Test Pilot School (NTPS), and Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University, which gives all attendees continuing education credits for participating. There is no registration fee.
Safety Standdown's objective is to help reduce the number of accidents attributed to human error. Statistics indicate that pilot error rates have remained constant, although manufacturers continue to design and build increasingly reliable aircraft, avionics and engines.
"Industry training has simply not kept pace with the realities of the operating environment," observed Bob Agostino, director Flight Operations, Bombardier Business Aircraft.
"Our objective is to help flight crews apply the latest expert knowledge about safety, so we have designed Safety Standdown to focus uniquely on competency building, with the end result being an elevated safety environment for crews and their passengers.
"This is about headwork - not hand-eye coordination skills they acquire in aircraft, full motion simulators and fixed training devices," he noted.
Safety Standdown attracts numerous respected pilots and industry-leading researchers and medical authorities as speakers. The 2004 edition features: Dr. Tony Kern of Convergent Knowledge Solutions to discuss professional airmanship; Dr. Mark Rosekind of Alertness Solutions will speak about sleep deprivation and fatigue countermeasures; retired U.S. Air Force Col. Dr. David Jones will address aviation psychiatry; and the keynote speaker is Capt. Gene Cernan, the last man to walk on the moon.
Other notable speakers are original Mercury astronaut Wally Schirra, two-time Space Shuttle commander Col. Steve Nagal, and world-renowned aerobatic pilot Bob Hoover.
Among the scheduled attendees expected at Safety Standdown 2004, nearly half operate non-Bombardier aircraft in 40 U.S. states and eight countries, and many represent well-known Fortune 100 companies. This year, pilots from the U.S. Air Force, U.S. Navy, Royal Canadian Mounted Police, and U.S. and Canadian Cost Guard will also participate.
About Bombardier
A world-leading manufacturer of innovative transportation solutions, from regional aircraft and business jets to rail transportation equipment, Bombardier Inc. is a global corporation headquartered in Canada. Its revenues for the fiscal year ended Jan. 31, 2004 were $15.5 billion US and its shares are traded on the Toronto, Brussels and Frankfurt stock exchanges (BBD, BOM and BBDd.F). News and information are available at www.bombardier.com.
Bombardier is a trademark of Bombardier Inc. or its subsidiaries.
For information
Leo Knaapen
Manager, media relations
Cell: 514-918-9352
Leo.Knaapen@aero.bombardier.com
www.bombardier.com