On Wednesday, April 19th, the Kent State University Precision Flight Team and the College of Aeronautics and Engineering hosted the 2023 Safety Conference. The Safety Conference brought together over 190 individuals from Kent State University, Bowling Green University, SkyQuest, Cleveland Air Traffic Control, Akron-Canton Air Traffic Control, and the Federal Aviation Administration for discussions and panels by industry professionals on topics encompassing aviation safety and proficiency. The event, which began in 1991 as a Safety Day, was born in response to a 1990 non-fatal aviation accident. In response to this, The Kent State University Flight Program canceled all airport operations for the day so students could focus on safety.
The event was held annually through 1997, but was halted until 2015 when the program was resurrected by the newly hired Aviation Safety Program Manager, Ben Satyshur. Since then, the program has seen substantial growth with attendees and speakers coming from across the state and country. In addition to the speakers and panel discussions, the event still incorporates the original safety stand-down, ceasing all airport operations for the day. This year’s Safety Conference had sessions featuring topics including landing approaches, air traffic control operations, and usage of over the counter medications.
“Safety Day offers the aviation community an opportunity to enhance their knowledge and decision-making skills,” says Precision Flight Team Member Victoria Lorenzon. “Events like this are impactful as they allow students to interact with industry professionals to learn about safety in their current environment and beyond.”
Satyshur stresses the importance of this annual event, adding “The intent is to take a day off from the flying and focus on SAFETY. Safety Conference is important because it is a reset, a refresh, and renewal of our program’s commitment to safety.”
Some professors offered extra credit to students who attended this event. Non-students were able to receive credit for attendance through the FAA’s WINGS – Pilot Proficiency Program. This program, coordinated by the FAA Safety Team (FAASTeam), seeks to increase the safety proficiency of pilots and reduce the number of aviation related accidents that occur annually.
Lorenzon and Satyshur acknowledge the following for their help in hosting this event:
- Liz Porter, Ben Satyshur, and Jim Sebastian who were at the helm of planning Safety Day, in addition to the entirety of the planning committee.
- KSU Precision Flight Team members for their help with setting up the event, and introducing speakers.
- Brian Neff, the Assistant Dean of the Airport, who closed flight training operations to allow students time to come to the Conference and fully focus on safety.
- SkyQuest, Endeavor Air, and Republic which sponsored the event