|
AJI Taking Action
Creating a Strategic Plan to Reduce Risk in the NAS
ATO Safety & Technical Training (AJI) initiated a strategic planning exercise at the beginning of FY23. The ultimate goal is to create a strategic plan for FY24-26 that aligns AJI’s people, priorities, and expertise, and is data-informed and stakeholder centric. The strategy will be in place by the beginning of October to coincide with the start of the next fiscal year.
Director of Technical Training Tracey Johnson, who is serving as Acting AJI Vice President, added, “The entire leadership team has been involved in the strategy development process up to this point, and we all agree on AJI’s purpose and vision for the future. One of the reasons why we are creating this long-term strategy is to give AJI direction, no matter who sits in these leadership seats. By collaborating on the strategy together, your vision is my vision for AJI.”
The first phase of the multi-phased approach to creating the strategy involved defining AJI’s aspiration, which was translated into the new mission, vision, and value proposition. The second phase, which is underway, involves understanding the current state of the organization at a deeper level. To that end, more than 90 participants from across AJI participated in 14 focus groups to get the thorough internal input needed to inform the strategy. AJI is also compiling a comprehensive products and services inventory that includes which stakeholders are involved and the perceived impact.
AJI Vice President, Frank McIntosh, on detail as the acting ATO Deputy Chief Operating Officer of Operations, provided further detail on AJI’s strategic objectives, “Having come from the field and having built strong ATO and stakeholder partnerships, it’s obvious there are many things AJI does extremely well, and there are clear targets of opportunity where we can take the safety of the NAS to the next level,” said McIntosh. “As a safety organization, I want us to use our data and operational experience to identify those strengths, opportunities, and gaps, and take a very deliberative approach to creating a new organizational strategy that maximizes AJI’s talent, technology, and expertise.”
|
|
STEM outreach at Rocketry Challenge
The American Rocketry Challenge’s 2023 National Finals brought together 100 teams for a day all about rockets, space, and STEM. AST’s Nick Demidovich coordinated the FAA’s exhibitor tables where Outreach Representatives talked to more than 300 children and their parents. “It’s important to introduce space and aviation to children when they are young to inspire them to dream of the possibilities, and then as those space enthusiasts grow into teens, we want to keep them on track and continue to challenge and engage them,” Demidovich said.
|
|
Talal Asad, an aviation safety inspector (ASI) in the North Texas FSDO with 23 years of aviation experience, recalls how he learned about the FAA through an online ad, describes his job as “every time you see an aircraft fly over or fly in it, it’s my responsibility to make sure that plane flies and lands safely,” and shares why he became interested in working with the agency. “While working in aviation, I have focused on one very important thing—safety. FAA is the world leader in aerospace safety, and I’m proud to be part of a team that sets safety standards for the whole world.”
|
|
Civilian Pilot Training Act Becomes Law
|
June 27, 1939: President Roosevelt signed the Civilian Pilot Training Act of 1939 into law. The act authorized the Civil Aeronautics Authority to conduct a program for the training of civilian pilots through educational institutions and to design regulations governing the necessary training required for a student to obtain a private pilot certificate. The act authorized more than $5,000,000 in annual appropriations for the program, with an ambitious goal to train 11,000 civilian pilots per year. In what proved to be an important development for equity in aviation, the act contained a provision introduced by Representative Everett M. Dirksen (R-Ill.) stipulating that "none of the benefits of training or programs shall be denied on account of race, creed, or color." |
|
|
|
|
