SC Aviation Safety Council Safer Pilots, Safer Skies

The 2013 Safety Fly-In featured AOPA Foundation President Bruce Landsberg! Our signature annual event was attended by nearly 100 pilots and aviation enthusiasts who also heard excellent safety talks by Safety Council member Gere Gaige and US Navy Commander Dean Grant. A special thanks to our sponsors and contributors, including the SC Aviation Association, SC Department of Aeronautics, Eagle Aviation and others!

At the Safety Council’s Fall meeting, we were pleased to recognize the first recipient of what will be known as the annual “Cecil Tune Safety Award.” Fittingly, the inaugural award was presented to Cecil Tune, a dedicated 50-year aviator who has touched the lives of many with a profound, positive message of what it means to be a safe and competent aviation professional. Cecil’s continuing contributions to aviation safety in South Carolina and beyond are too numerous to list. Suffice it to say he is the consummate ambassador for aviation safety. Congratulations and our sincere thanks to Cecil Tune!

Foreign Object Debris (FOD) costs our industry millions of dollars in damage each year and we view it as an ongoing threat. A clean hangar, ramp and runway today does not guarantee they will be clean next month. And the burden of FOD damage prevention does not fall on any one entity. The smart, proactive solution requires buy-in and action from all stakeholders: airport tenants, governmental entities, pilots, mechanics and others. The SC Aviation Safety Council is pleased to report significant progress and support for our FOD Initiative as key industry players are aligning themselves for action at South Carolina’s 60 airports. This safety initiative is designed to reinforce the state’s emerging role as a world leader in aviation and aerospace by letting industry know “it’s safe to land in South Carolina!”

I spoke with a claims adjuster recently who said he was busier than ever. When asked with what, he replied, “botched landings.” It seems springtime winds, among other factors, were more than some pilots bargained for and thus they ended up off the sides or end of a runway with a cracked up airplane to prove it. Our June edition of Safety Update! highlights that runway excursions are a major safety issue. We are also pleased to help spread the word about two great seminars coming up this summer that focus on stabilized approaches and landings. Plus, read about calculating and using Visual Descent Points as a way of helping fly safer, more stabilized approaches.