A safety forum has been established by flight safety officers of two European business aircraft operators.
The forum will be dedicated to discussing, sharing and developing best practices within similar companies in the UK and the rest of Europe. The move was prompted by the introduction in January of new regulation requiring every commercial flying organisation to implement a safety management system.
"An implementation plan had to be in place by January that will provide for a fully functional safety management system in two to three years," says Steven Gwilliam, forum co-founder and flight safety officer with Air Partner Private Jets.
"To help put together a safety management system within the timeframe it seems sensible to get together with other flight safety officers to discuss best practices and learn from one another's experience," he says.
The first meeting was held in March with officers from a number of UK companies, including London Executive Aviation, BookaJet, Hangar 8 and TAG Aviation, whose flight safety officer Malcolm Rusby is a forum co-founder.
"It was very worthwhile, so we plan to have quarterly meetings and we would encourage other flight safety officers to join the group," says Gwilliam.
Source: Flight International
