Aviation Professionals To Gather In Wichita October 6-9

Aviation professionals are invited to attend the 18th annual Bombardier Safety Standdown USA. This year's activities focus on reducing distraction through the use of proven attention control techniques. The conference will be held at the Hyatt Regency Wichita Hotel in KS October 6-9, 2014.

"Attention is critical to performance and decision-making abilities," said Pat Daily, President, Convergent Performance, Safety Standdown presenter and attention control expert. "We're here to provide aviation professionals with the tools and strategies necessary to identify and transform behavioral practices critical to aviation safety performance."

"Aviation safety is key to the success of our business and has an impact on everyone who flies, from airlines to pilots and passengers," said Eric Martel, President, Bombardier Business Aircraft. "We are proud of how the Safety Standdown program has grown over the years, and we look forward to welcoming more than 400 aviation professionals from across the industry to Wichita for this year's conference," he added.

The seminars selected for the 18th edition of Safety Standdown USA include: a presentation on fatigue in aviation by the Honorable Mark Rosekind, Member of the NTSB; a discussion on runway incursions and excursions by Al Gorthy of the FAA), and a workshop on aircraft upset events and recovery training by Randy Brooks of Aviation Performance Solutions. Also part of the lineup are hands-on workshops providing safety training on aircraft evacuation procedures, live firefighting and hypoxia awareness. A webcast of Safety Standdown events will be available on Monday, October 6, between 1-5 p.m. and Tuesday, October 7, between 8 a.m. and 12 p.m. The full agenda, on-line registration, and a link to the webcast are available online.

Originally conceived in 1996 as a human factors safety-training event for the Learjet flight demonstration team, the conference quickly garnered a reputation for excellence beyond Bombardier's customer base. In response to growing interest within the industry, Bombardier opened the seminar to all pilots in 1999. By 2010, Safety Standdown expanded beyond the seminars into a year-round global human factors program offering online and social media resources.

As of August 2014, more than 7,700 corporate, commercial and military pilots, crew members, maintenance personnel, flight department managers and aircraft owners have graduated from Safety Standdown seminars around the world, including Brazil, Canada, China, Mexico, Switzerland, and the U.S.

A highlight of Safety Standdown USA will be the presentation of the 3rd annual Eugene Cernan Safety Award to an outstanding aviation professional and Safety Standdown alumni who has gone above and beyond professional expectations. The award will be presented during a gala dinner on October 8, 2014, by its namesake, Captain Eugene Cernan, NASA (ret.), Commander Apollo XVII.

At this year's event, Safety Standdown will launch its mentorship program that provides next generation aviators with career guidance from seasoned professionals, with an emphasis on Bombardier Safety Standdown principles. Additional information on how this program will bring professionals into the field of aviation through a dynamic relationship-building experience will be provided at this year's seminar.

FMI: www.safetystanddown.com