Symposium puts aviation safety in the spotlight

Academics and practitioners from across New Zealand and Australia will gather next week to review the latest developments in aviation safety, management, technology and education.

The University's School of Aviation is hosting a symposium to discuss issues facing the industry.

The symposium, on July 28 and 29, in conjunction with the Aviation Industry Association and the Royal Aeronautical Society is part of Aviation Industry Conference Week at the Palmerston North Convention Centre. Vice-Chancellor Steve Maharey is the keynote speaker at the launch of the main conference on July 26.

The symposium will be a forum for disseminating research and discussing current issues in aviation, with an emphasis on bridging theory and practice.

There will be 13 speakers including School of Aviation chief executive Ashok Poduval, who will give a presentation on the impact of advanced technology on pilot training. He will speak about how training philosophy in the industry needs to be reviewed – something the school has already done – to keep pace with the technology of aircraft equipped with digital avionics.

“The training syllabus for a commercial pilot’s licence is focused almost entirely on physical handling and manoeuvre skills," Mr Poduval says. "The air transport aircraft for which these pilots are being prepared to fly and the light aircraft on which they are trained are now highly automated and demand a different approach for safe and efficient operations.”

The symposium programme can be viewed on the Massey website: http://aviation.massey.ac.nz/massey/learning/departments/school-aviation/aviation-events/symposium-2010.cfm The full conference programme can be viewed on the Aviation Industry Association’s website: http://www.aia.org.nz