Alaska Organization Created To Help Reduce Aircraft Accidents In The State

Alaska’s Medallion Foundation is now expanding its services and offerings worldwide. The organization provides aviation safety audits, safety training and programs tailored to individual companies’ needs. The Medallion Foundation was developed to reduce aviation accidents in Alaska by fostering a new safety culture using and promoting elevated safety standards.

“Our expertise begins by working with carriers to develop strong aviation safety programs designed to mitigate the day-to-day risks they experience. We follow this up with regular aviation audits to ensure each carrier retains the highest safety standards,” said Jerry Rock, Executive Director for Medallion Foundation.

To meet the demand for auditing services Medallion’s team of auditors have over 100-years of combined aviation safety experience. Audits are carefully developed through a needs assessment to deliver a targeted, unbiased product to the client. Medallion specializes in providing aviation auditing using a combination of ISO 9001 procedures and industry best practices to compare an operator’s actual performance to policies, procedures and safety practices. “Our clients are increasingly aware of the need to be assured that the contracted air carriers are not only maintaining regulatory safety requirements, but exceeding them,” said Rock.

Medallion’s aviation audit services include industry specific aviation safety programs, transportation security, third party safety compliance audits and gap analysis assessments. Proof of the team’s success is firmly rooted in the extreme challenges of operations in Alaska. Medallion expertise also works well for international companies facing their own operational and environmental challenges.

The Medallion Foundation was formed in 2001 by the Alaska Air Carriers Association to meet a goal of reducing commercial aviation accident rates and to save lives. Meeting that goal Medallion is credited with improving fatal controlled flight into terrain accidents among Alaskan Part 135 (air taxi) carriers. A study conducted by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health/Alaska Pacific Regional Office, Anchorage, Alaska found that during the period of 2000-2010 that the rate for CFIT fatal accidents declined by 57 percent. Credit was given to Medallion’s CFIT-Avoidance program for this dramatic improvement.

Medallion operates the Five Star/Shield Program which audits member carrier’s safety programs focusing on culture changing programs developed by each carrier. The culture change is supported by the guidelines of the Five Star/Shield Program that exceeds federal regulations. Specific programs such as the Controlled Flight Into Terrain Avoidance,  Safety, Operational Control, Maintenance and Ground, and Internal Evaluation are audited yearly not only for maintenance but improvements within each program. “Any company that has a flight department can and should be audited for its safety procedures and guidelines,” said Rock.

Industries Medallion is targeting include oil & gas, mining and natural resource development, police departments, hospitals, air medical, cruise ship businesses using aviation tours as part of their programs. Additional entities such as state aviation departments can benefit from our audits for example, Fish and Game, U.S, Federal aviation services with National Park Service, BLM, or companies contracting for firefighting, school athletic team transportation, aerial application businesses or any aviation service provider operating that has a flight department. “We can audit air carriers from single pilot operators to large company organizations, using audit and training classes to implement positive change in aviation safety culture,” according to Rock.

FMI: www.medallionfoundation.org