I know we all face such a daily torrent of information that it’s difficult to keep up with our own work information, let alone the news of what’s happening around us. That includes the aviation career fields that we are in or even the airports we fly into. Some people have described the information overload as trying to drink water out of a fire hose. Sometimes I feel like I’m trying to drink straight out of the hydrant. Yet, even with all this gush of information, it’s important to stay up-to-date with what’s happening in the world of aviation and sometimes to seek out even more information to get an accurate picture. It might help our own operations avoid a costly or even tragic error.
I encourage my students at Vaughn College of Aeronautics and Technology to look beyond news reports and, if it’s a subject they’re interested in, to try to find the original source documents. The media’s depictions have their own particular slant and shortcuts and usually do not give enough technical information for those of us in the field. I was thinking of the importance of reading original reports as I was reading an article sent to me by a Canadian friend. It discussed the unusual number of runway incursions at Pearson International Airport in Toronto involving its parallel runways and a Transportation Safety Board report analyzing the problem and proposing recommendations. The Canadian TSB is an independent safety agency, the equivalent of the U.S. NTSB.
With more than 40 years experience in the aviation industry, The Honorable John Goglia, was the first and only Airframe and Powerplant mechanic to receive a presidential appointment to the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB). He served from August 1995 to June 2004.
As a Board Member, Mr. Goglia distinguished himself in numerous areas of transportation safety. In particular, he was instrumental in raising awareness of airport safety issues, including the importance of airport crash fire and rescue operations and the dangers of wildlife at airports. He played a key role in focusing international attention on the increasing significance of aircraft maintenance in aviation accidents. He pressed, successfully, for greater integration of civilian and military safety information, becoming a featured speaker at national aviation symposiums attended by military leaders and major defense contractors. He is a leading proponent of airplane child safety seats.
Prior to becoming a Board Member, Mr. Goglia held numerous positions in the airline industry. He started as a mechanic for United Airlines and eventually joined Allegheny, which became USAir. Additionally, he was involved for more than 20 years as a union flight safety representative on accident investigation teams. There, he developed a safety program for his union, the International Association of Machinists, and was its representative for NTSB investigations. For twelve years, he operated his own aircraft service company.
Numerous prestigious groups have recognized Mr. Goglia’s contributions to aviation safety. Aviation Week & Space Technology awarded him a coveted 2004 Laurel for his outstanding service as an NTSB Board member. The Society of Automotive Engineers presented him with the Aerospace Chair Award for outstanding leadership in 2003 and the Marvin Whitlock Award for outstanding management accomplishment in 2002.
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