Wichita, KS — Robert Sumwalt, a veteran member of the National Transportation Safety Board, will be the speaker at the August luncheon of the Wichita Aero Club.
The luncheon will be held Wednesday, Aug. 7, at noon. It will be held, as usual, at the Doubletree Hotel by Hilton at Wichita Airport in the Emerald Ballroom. Tickets are available on-line at the Wichita Aero Club website or by calling 316-681-4471.
Sumwalt was sworn in as the 37th member of the National Transportation Safety Board in August 2006, with President George W. Bush designating him as Vice Chairman of the Board for a two-year term. In November 2011, President Barack Obama reappointed Sumwalt to an additional five-year term. His term of office will run until Dec. 31, 2016.
Prior to coming to the board, he was manager of aviation for the SCANA Corporation, a Fortune 500 energy-based company.
Sumwalt was a pilot for 32 years, including 24 years as an airline pilot with Piedmont Airlines and then US Airways. He logged over 14,000 flight hours and earned type ratings in five aircraft. He served as a member of the Air Line Pilots Association’s (ALPA) Accident Investigation Board, and chaired ALPA’s Human Factors and Training Group. He was a co-founder of that organization’s Critical Incident Response Program, which provides guidance to airline personnel involved in traumatic events such as accidents.
From 1991 to 1999, he conducted aviation safety research as a consultant to NASA’s Aviation Safety Reporting System, studying various issues including flight crew performance, improving flight crew monitoring skills, and air carrier de-icing and anti-icing problems.
He co-authored a book on aircraft accidents and has written extensively on aviation safety matters, having published over 85 articles and papers in aviation trade publications.
In 2003, Sumwalt joined the faculty of the University of Southern California’s Aviation Safety and Security Program, where he was the primary human factors instructor.
The Wichita Aero Club was established in 2008 to foster and promote interest in aviation, provide a forum focused on the industry’s issues and achievements and bring together those with a passion for flight in an environment that expands and enhances professional relationships and furthers cooperation and understanding.