Professionalism in aviation continues to be a growing focus and concern for the NTSB.  The lack of professionalism found in recent accident investigations has shown how it greatly affects safety. The reoccurrence of this problem in NTSB accident investigations is a serious safety matter. The NTSB already completed a three-day forum on professionalism in aviation in May 2010 and safety recommendations continue to be issued towards this safety concern.

On March 30, 2011, Member Sumwalt was the featured speaker at the John D. Odegard School of Aerospace Sciences’ Spring Aviation Safety Seminar at the University of North Dakota. During the seminar, professionalism in aviation was the focus of his presentation and he addressed the key attributes associated with it. He explained to over 400 students, faculty and staff that being professional is a mindset and maintaining professionalism is vital to keeping our sky’s safe. Member Sumwalt also reviewed several NTSB accident investigations that focused on a lack of professionalism including Colgan Air flight 3407 on February, 2009, Comair Airlines flight 5191 on August 27, 2006, and Pinnacle Airlines flight 3701 on October 14, 2004. Member Sumwalt ended his presentation with emphasizing that, professionalism is, “Doing the right things, even when no one is watching.”  This seminar also met the credit requirements for those who were participating in the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) Wings Pilot Proficiency Program.

You can view the presentation here.