Moving Safety Forward: Bombardier concludes 26th Safety Standdown

Bombardier’s 26th Safety Standdown wrapped up on Nov. 10 in Wichita, Kan. The popular annual gathering dedicated to improving aviation safety attracted more than 400 industry professionals on site, with an additional 1,100  participants attending from around the world via webcast.   

Held from Nov. 8-10, this year’s conference theme was “Moving Safety Forward.”  

The agenda was crafted to assist industry leaders with instilling a safety culture and advancing the aviation safety needle. Presenters shared several important concepts, including how to identify, manage, and mitigate aviation safety risks; how to avoid runway excursions; how to analyze international operational security concerns; technology’s role in improving aviation safety, and much more. 

During  the second evening of the event, Charlie Precourt was presented with Bombardier’s 2022 Safety Standdown Award. The annual award goes to an aviation professional who has shown exemplary dedication to improving industry safety through the three key Safety Standdown principles of “Learn, Apply, Share.”  

Precourt, who is retired from a lengthy career at Northrop Grumman, is a former NASA chief astronaut and U.S. Air Force colonel who has accumulated more than 11,000 hours of flight experience in 90 different aircraft types. He continues to give back to the industry through leadership roles with the Experimental Aircraft Association (EAA) and the National Business Aviation Association (NBAA). Precourt was presented with the 2022 Safety Standdown Award in recognition of his significant and lifelong contributions to aviation safety, both military and civilian. 

The 26th annual Safety Standdown featured three days of unique learning opportunities, dynamic workshops and informative presentations.  

Next year’s conference will continue to reinforce the key Safety Standdown principles of “Learn, Apply, Share,” reminding aviation professionals to learn new skills, apply them, and share their knowledge to make an impact as a role model. 

With roots going back to 1996, Bombardier’s annual Safety Standdown is offered free of charge to all aviation professionals, no matter which aircraft they fly, maintain or manage.