Nov. 6, 2001

Working to Ensure Safer Skies

FAA Awards $3 Million To GW Consortium for Developing International Aviation Safety and Security Program

By Bob Ludwig

The Federal Aviation Administration has awarded $3 million to a consortium headed by The George Washington University to develop an international aviation safety and security program. The program will be designed to improve the safety and security oversight of foreign air carriers that conduct operations in the United States. The funding may continue for an additional two years for a total of $9 million.

GW and George Mason University, the other university member of the consortium, will develop an executive program to assist foreign civil aviation authorities with meeting air safety and security standards established by the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO). For foreign carriers to operate in the United States, the homeland government must meet these standards for overseeing the safety and security procedures of its airlines and airports.

“Given the current challenges facing US aviation in safety and security, it is clear that we must address these issues globally, and this program will accomplish that goal,” says Vahid Motevalli, director of aviation safety and security programs at GW. “We are very eager to do our part to ensure the safety and security of the flying public by developing this program in cooperation with the FAA and George Mason University.”

This program is designed to provide a forum for executive-level government officials, such as the president, minister of transportation, or director general of aviation, to develop the best practices for meeting their country’s obligations as signatories to ICAO standards.

The international aviation safety and security program will provide a sophisticated and high-level environment for requirements of national aviation safety oversight and security programs that meet the ICAO standards. Participants will have an opportunity to exchange ideas with aviation experts and other US government representatives through an understanding of the legal framework, the latest safety and security practices, procedures, and materials, and the technical and human resources needed to implement and maintain effective aviation safety and security oversight programs.

Irwin Price, executive dean of GW’s Virginia Campus, calls this new program “an example of partnership between universities, government, and industry to address some very pressing needs in aviation.”

 

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