September 14, 2023
Experts from around the globe are gathered in Chicago, Ill., this week for ALPA’s 67th Air Safety Forum (ASF). With the theme “Moving Forward Together,” the four-day conference commenced on Monday with two days of private ALPA Air Safety Organization (ASO) sessions and opened to the public on Wednesday, September 13, with hot-topic discussions and keynotes. This annual event offers unmatched collaborative and networking opportunities to discuss critical topics facing not just the piloting profession but the entire industry. Capping off the ASF will be an awards banquet Thursday evening that highlights the outstanding accomplishments of ALPA pilots.
All public ASF sessions Wednesday and Thursday, including the awards banquet, will be broadcast live (watch). Check back here throughout the week to follow along with highlights from the premier aviation event of the year.
Air Safety Organization Kicks Off ASF
The Air Safety Forum formally opened on Monday with private group meetings to discuss successes, priorities, and next steps in the ASO’s four pillars of safety, security, pilot assistance, and jumpseat. These meetings provide the opportunity for ALPA’s ASO volunteers to share their expertise with industry and government officials in tightly focused sessions.
“This is where we put in the work that fuels our success,” said Capt. Wendy Morse, ALPA’s first vice president and national safety coordinator. “These meetings and the collaboration with industry and government help lay the groundwork for future improvements within the industry.”
The ASO’s Security and Jumpseat groups each held forums, complete with panel discussions and keynotes, in addition to council meetings where representatives from each ALPA pilot group discussed pressing issues specific to their carriers and across the industry. The Safety Council held its own session as well as a joint meeting with the Training Council and Human Factors & Training Group to address common concerns across disciplines. The ASO’s Pilot Assistance Group conducted various separate meetings amongst the group’s various disciplines, including Aeromedical, Critical Incident Response Program, Pilot Assistance Canada, Pilot Peer Support, and Professional Standards.
Other ASO safety groups that met Monday and Tuesday include Accident Analysis & Prevention, Aircraft Design and Operations, Airport and Ground Environment, Accident Investigation Board, Air Traffic Services, a refresher for chief accident investigators, Safety Information Analysis Programs, and Safety Management Systems, along with a breakout session specifically focused on safety and security in Canada.
Also meeting in conjunction with the ASF were ALPA’s Remote Operations and Cargo committees.
Public Forum Opens with Address from ALPA’s President
ALPA president Capt. Jason Ambrosi welcomed over 800 registered attendees at the opening ceremony of the Air Safety Forum on Wednesday. “It’s especially appropriate that we are meeting in the very room in which the Convention on International Civil Aviation was signed, creating the organization that would become the International Civil Aviation Organization,” he noted.
Setting the tone for the public portion of the ASF and the next two days of panels, keynotes, and awards, Ambrosi asserted, “Safety is at the core of everything we do. It’s reflected in our advocacy and our strong collective bargaining agreements.” He remarked, “I want to be clear: ALPA will never back down in our fight against those who seek to weaken pilot-training rules or propose an arbitrary, unstudied increase in the mandatory retirement age.”
ALPA’s president spent much of his presentation discussing the upcoming FAA reauthorization bill before Congress and the various challenges to the current standards that have resulted in the safest period in U.S. airline history. “Let’s stop trying to break a system that’s working—saving lives—and get a bill to the president for his signature before the end of this month,” he said, speaking toward special-interest efforts to undermine safety. Read more: ALPA Pledges to Fight to Maintain Highest Aviation Safety Standards.
Relatedly, just yesterday, the Association released new data from the FAA proving that despite special-interest rhetoric, the United States is producing more pilots than ever. Read more: U.S. Pilot Production Continues to Shatter Records.
Briefly touching on the Association’s other top safety and security priorities for both the United States and Canada, Ambrosi concluded by observing, “With your presence here today, you’re joining our effort to make certain that North American air transportation—and the passengers, crews, and cargo we fly—is safe and secure.”
Transportation Safety Board Chair Affirms Need for Two Pilots on the Flight Deck
“Sometimes the events from our past help us to prepare and look toward the future,” asserted Kathy Fox, who chairs the Transportation Safety Board (TSB) of Canada, in her Wednesday morning ASF keynote address. To highlight this point, she acknowledged the recent anniversaries of the 1998 Swissair Flight 111 accident near Halifax Stanfield International Airport and the 9/11 terrorist attacks three years later.
Fox shared the TSB’s perspective that the two biggest challenges currently facing airline safety are the impact of extreme weather events on flight operations and the development of new technologies and the unanticipated problems they can introduce.
Referencing the latter concern, she recognized the emphasis placed on increased automation asserting that, during flight deck design, special attention must be given to how the flight crew understands and interfaces with these new systems and features. Problems such as loss of aircraft control have sometimes led to automation confusion, and blind trust is simply not an acceptable approach.
“For that reason—yes—two well-trained, qualified crew [members] on the flight deck are better than one,” she asserted, backing up ALPA’s long-standing two-pilots priority.
Fox suggested that the best way to manage these two challenges and mitigate safety risks moving forward is through the sharing of information and identifying of best practices through collaborative programs like Safety Management Systems.
Awards Highlight Exceptional Member Service to the ALPA Air Safety Organization
The Air Safety Forum also provides an opportunity for the union to recognize members for their untiring support of the Air Safety Organization and ALPA priorities, and several awards were presented during Wednesday’s sessions—presidential citations, Airport Safety Liaison of the Year, Airport of the Year, and a special recognition of ALPA’s recently retired director of Engineering and Air Safety.
Four ALPA pilots were recognized with presidential citations for their significant contributions in support of the union’s Air Safety Organization:
- Capt. Jeff Sedin (United) for his role in advancing aviation safety,
- Capt. Bill Schild (FedEx Express) for his contributions to aviation security,
- Capt. John White (United) for his efforts in support of pilot assistance initiatives, and
- F/O Paul Emery (United) for his work on aviation jumpseat issues.
“Truly, these pilots are among the finest examples of the spirit of volunteerism and service to the profession as well as air transportation,” said ALPA president Capt. Jason Ambrosi in presenting the citations.
Ambrosi, along with Capt. Steve Jangelis (Delta), ASO Aviation Safety chair, and Sedin, Airport & Ground Environment Group chair, also recognized Capt. Robert Devadason (JetBlue) as the 2022–2023 Airport Safety Liaison of the Year for his coordination with Washington National Airport, citing his efforts at “building relationships with airport stakeholders and representing pilots’ perspectives at airport meetings.”
The trio also welcomed back one of the day’s keynote speakers, Jamie Rhee, commissioner of the Chicago Department of Aviation, to honor Chicago O’Hare International Airport as the ALPA Airport of the Year. The airport has an “extraordinary commitment to achieving the highest safety standards, going above and beyond for flight crews, and maintaining a strong relationship with ALPA.”
Ambrosi was joined by ALPA general manager David Krieger to celebrate the career of longtime director of ALPA’s Engineering and Air Safety Department, Keith Hagy. Ambrosi called Hagy’s departure after 37 years with ALPA “the end of an era,” recognizing his tremendous accomplishments throughout his career.
The ASF will conclude with an awards banquet honoring these ALPA champions and many more.
Reduced Crew Operations Pose Enormous Safety Threat
Capt. Jason Ambrosi, ALPA president, led a panel discussion with representatives from stakeholder organizations around the globe about reduced crew operations during the ASF on Wednesday. The increasing possibility of a reduction in the number of crewmembers on the flight deck—and the colossal threat it poses to air safety—has raised significant concern among aviation safety advocates.
Panelists included Capt. Paul Reuter, professional affairs board director with the European Cockpit Association; Capt. Craig Bomben, vice president of flight operations and chief test pilot for Boeing; Capt. Bill Secord (FDX), ALPA Reduced Crew Operations committee chair; and Mr. Gordon Margison, senior technical officer with IFALPA.
“We’re working with our allies at the European Cockpit Association and the International Federation of Air Line Pilots’ Associations to raise public awareness through the ‘Safety Starts with Two’ campaign, and making our voices heard,” said Ambrosi. “This is something that is on the horizon, it’s real, and it needs our utmost attention.”
Learn more about ‘Safety Starts with Two’.
Unruly Passenger Events Continue to Be a Significant Challenge for the Airline Industry
Aviation security experts discussed ongoing challenges associated with unruly passenger events on Wednesday at the Air Safety Forum. Capt. Wolfgang Koch (Delta), ALPA Aviation Security chair, led a panel discussion that brought together representatives from the FAA, TSA, and FBI to address the surge of inflight passenger incidents in recent years.
“Back in December of 2020, before the pandemic hit its peak, we prosecuted about 100 cases every month nationwide,” said Taneesha Marshall, assistant chief counsel in the FAA’s Aviation Litigation Division. “Then in March of 2021, we had 720 cases come in in one month. Those numbers were so significant and unprecedented that we created a special team within my division just to address passenger interference cases.” Although the numbers have decreased considerably since the peak in 2021, as of January this year the FAA was still seeing approximately 300 cases every month.
Other panelists included David Rodski, the FBI’s airport liaison agent coordinator for Baltimore Washington International Airport, and Serge Potapov, TSA executive director of Flight Programs, Flight Operations Division.
Exploring Ways to Further Increase Runway Safety
Another ASF panel Wednesday brought together pilots, controllers, and representatives from the government and industry for “Runway Safety: The First and Last Point of Contact.” The panel was moderated by ALPA’s Capt. Jeff Sedin (United), chair of the ASO Airport & Ground Environment Group, who noted that runway incursions have been making news headlines this year and asked the panel to explain ways they are addressing incursions and other safety issues.
Bridget Singratanakul, a runway safety representative with the National Air Traffic Controllers Association, highlighted that there are 52.5 million arrivals and departures in the United States each year, with just 1,730 runway incursions recorded last year. “You’re doing exceptional at your job,” she remarked.
The panel, which also included representatives from the FAA and Chicago Department of Aviation, discussed various ways to lower that number, including increased use of new technology, reinforcement of proper training, constant communication, and of course one of ALPA’s hallmarks, collaboration with all participants in the process.
Capt. Robert Devadason (JetBlue), an airport safety liaison (ASL) at Washington National Airport and this year’s ASL of the Year honoree, reinforced that final avenue, commenting that all parties “have the same goal in mind: safety.”
More to Come—Watch Live!
The ASF is broadcasting live September 13–14, wrapping up with the awards banquet Thursday evening.
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