Kansas State Polytechnic plans aviation safety stand down

Aviation safety practices will be the focus of an event at Kansas State University Polytechnic in Salina later this month.

The Wildcat Safety Stand Down will be held from 4 to 8:30 p.m. on March 31 at the school’s College Center Conference Room and is open to all pilots. The stand down, the first of its kind at Kansas State Polytechnic, was created by the school’s student flight team as a way to increase its outreach efforts.

The inaugural event will feature presentations from four experts: Tom Turner, executive director of the Air Safety Foundation at the American Bonanza Society; Seth Short, a Navy pilot and 2005 alumnus of the school’s professional pilot program; John “Dusty” Dowd, owner of Syracuse Flying Service and an air race pilot; and Troy Brockway, pilot and professor of aviation at Kansas State Polytechnic.

Turner will speak on how pilots can master their aircraft, while Short will discuss the military’s safety culture. Dowd will present on safety in agricultural aviation and in air racing, and Brockaway’s presentation will focus on upset recovery as well as implementation of a safety management system in a collegiate or training program. Credit for the Federal Aviation Administration’s WINGS Pilot Proficiency Program is available.

The stand down costs $50 and includes dinner. Some of the proceeds will support the flight team when it travels to Ohio in May to compete at the National Intercollegiate Flying Association’s SAFECON competition.

For more information, see polytechnic.k-state.edu/profed/safety.

This story was originally published March 14, 2017 at 11:24 AM with the headline "Kansas State Polytechnic plans aviation safety stand down."