EW #2935  holds a B.A. in psychology (Univ. of South Florida, 1966), an M.S. in management (Wichita State Univ., 1971), and a Ph.D. in engineering (North Carolina State Univ., 1974). He has also done extensive post-graduate work in applied psychology at Georgia Tech. His master thesis examined cost-effectiveness of aviation safety devices. His doctoral dissertation used computer simulation modeling techniques to evaluate safety and health problems and countermeasures.

His writings include numerous technical papers and articles on safety, ergonomics, aeronautical judgment, decision-making, and crew resource management. He has authored an aviation psychology textbook chapter titled “Human Performance Aspects of Aircraft Accidents” as well as an exposé: “Silent Knights: Blowing the Whistle on Military Accidents and Their Cover-Ups.” He served as guest lecturer and/or adjunct professor for a wide variety of government and academic institutions, and has been an assistant editor for the “International Journal of Aviation Psychology.”

He has received scholarships from the General Hap Arnold and Gertrude Skelly Foundations as well as a fellowship from the US Public Health Service. He holds FAA Airline Transport Pilot and Flight Instructor licenses. His military training includes US Army parachute school and five years as a US Air Force Academy and ROTC Cadet. He served as a mechanic in the USAF Reserves. In May 1987 he became the senior technical advisor for the Air Force Directorate of Aerospace Safety.

In 1994 he filed a whistle-blowing complaint describing numerous problems with the Department of Defense safety programs that have caused thousands of unnecessary deaths and wasted billions of dollars. He was re-assigned to non-safety duties as a psychologist for the US Air Force Operational Test and Evaluation Center. His previous work experience includes: Four years as a human factors design engineer with two major aerospace manufacturers, four years as an aviation research psychologist with the US Navy, three years as an accident investigator with the National Transportation Safety Board, and seven years as a program scientist for human performance at the Federal Aviation Administration Headquarters. For over three decades he has made important contributions to the fields of aviation human factors and safety. His major accomplishments are described below.

From 1967-69 he was engineer with the LTV Corporation (E-Systems Division, Advanced Programs Group). There he had primary responsibility for crew station design and system safety on two major weapon systems: a modified C-130 “Gunship” and a modified F-4, project “Redflame.” The latter was one of the first lasers to be used in combat.

From 1969-71 he was a design engineer with Cessna Aircraft (Advanced Design Group). There he worked on several significant civil aviation design and crashworthiness improvement projects. His responsibilities included the flight deck designs of military aircraft and the Citation business jet. The latter aircraft won the 1985 Collier Trophy for its outstanding safety record.

After finishing his doctorate, he served from 1973-77 as a research psychologist at the US Naval Training Device Center. There he evaluated alternative system designs for aircrew training. He also explored potential applications of computer-based training devices for avionics technicians. His work included two landmark studies, “Use of Flight Simulators for Selecting Undergraduate Aviators,” and “Current Simulator Substitution Practices in Flight Training.”

He was then recruited for the HQ NTSB, Human Factors Division. From 1977-80, he pioneered the idea of conducting detailed human performance accident investigations. He was promoted to Senior Air Safety Investigator/ Human Performance Specialist (the first person to hold that title). He conducted the staff study “Formalizing a Human Performance Program” which led to the establishment of a Human Performance Division. He conducted a study on aircraft design-induced error, and drafted the first NTSB recommendation calling for implementing Crew Resource Management (CRM) concepts by the airlines.

From 1980-87, he served as the HQ FAA Program Scientist for Human Performance (Office of Aviation Standards). There he continued to work on aircraft accident and air traffic control incident investigations. His duties included helping prepare testimony for Congressional hearings, speeches for the Secretary of Transportation and the FAA Administrator, as well as submissions for the President’s Annual Aeronautics and Space Report. He was the human factors advisor to important governmental activities such as the Interagency Air Cartographic Committee (DOD, FAA, NOAA) and Aviation Safety Reporting System (NASA, FAA). He served as the agency focal point for developing and evaluating pilot judgment, decision-making and cockpit/crew resource management type programs. He wrote or edited several articles, training manuals, and audiovisual programs on these topics. He also served as a principal investigator under Memoranda of Understanding with foreign aviation agencies to develop and validate these concepts. In addition, he consulted with the US Army, Navy, Coast Guard, and Air Force on applying these concepts to military aviation. He received two FAA Special Achievement Awards for his efforts.

His responsibilities have included unique assignments. In 1987, the US State Department appointed him as the human factors investigator to the international board of inquiry on the Soviet TU-134 accident that killed the President of Mozambique, the first head-of-state killed in an aircraft crash.

In 1988, he was appointed to the Senior Advisory Group for HQ Military Airlift Command’s Air Carrier Analysis System. This Congressionally mandated program monitors the safety of all US and foreign airlines transporting DOD personnel or cargo under contract.

He has served as a consultant for the FAA on the UN sponsored International Civil Aviation Organization’s (ICAO) Flight Safety and Human Factors Study Group. In 1989, he helped draft the ICAO guidelines on human performance training for all newly licensed pilots.

In 1991, he briefed the Deputy Chiefs of Staff for Operations from all USAF major commands on the effectiveness of cockpit management training programs. He subsequently provided similar briefings for the training directors of several international airlines as well as the commanders and/or chiefs of safety for several foreign air forces.

He was tasked by the Air Mobility Command with identifying procedures for overhauling their CRM programs. The Air Force Flight Test Center asked him to assist with their training program for test pilots and control room operators. The Air National Guard Bureau requested that he recommend methods of providing such training in their units. He received the Meritorious Service Award for assisting the Air National Guard.

He continues to serve as a consultant to the Congress and various other US Government agencies in the areas of aircrew training, human factors and accident prevention. He has also has been an expert witness for government and civil legal proceedings.

In recent years, his views have been routinely quoted by the national print media (e.g., Associated Press, Time Magazine, New York Times, USA Today, Washington Post) . He occasionally appears on national television (e.g., ABC, CBS, CNN, Fox, NBC ) to explain civil and military aviation safety issues. He has also been quoted by well-known safety advocates including John Nance and Ralph Nader.