Bombardier’s highly-influential Safety Standdown seminar has returned to Wichita, Kansas for another year of invaluable safety knowledge-based training. This dynamic three-day event, to be held on 12-14 November in person and online, features unique learning opportunities, dynamic workshops and cutting-edge presentations by key industry thought leaders. The free safety event is open to all aviation professionals regardless of the aircraft type they operate.

The 2024 seminar centres around the theme ‘Elevate your Influence’ and encourages all aviation professionals to expand their own safety footprints to become safety stewards for the industry. It’s an over-arching premise that stresses how it’s incumbent upon all aviation professionals, be they pilots, flight attendants, maintenance teams, air traffic controllers and more, to learn new concepts, apply them in daily operations and share their newfound knowledge with colleagues. The premise of this ‘Learn-Apply-Share’ ethos is the philosophy of what drives all Safety Standdown events, ensuring aviation industry professionals work collectively to continue to drive safe practices in all sectors.

“Bombardier’s Safety Standdown is a must attend safety event that targets all aviation disciplines; nothing is more important than safety at our collective operations, and the knowledge shared here is absolutely transformational,” says Chris Milligan, vice president, pre-owned aircraft services and flight operations. “Safety Standdown brings together the most sought-after industry experts and thought leaders together to share invaluable information about aviation safety, and we are thrilled to be leading the charge in offering essential safety advice and strategies to help our teams and colleagues share ideas and knowledge to reach new heights in their professional roles.”

For close to three decades, Safety Standdown has offered free safety-based educational opportunities for a wide range of aviation professionals. Bombardier works closely with its advisory council and key sponsors to ensure this event remains free of charge and explores safety knowledge-based learning in all sectors of the aviation industry.

First conceived by a group of Learjet demonstration pilots who were determined to make the Bombardier flight demonstration team in Wichita the safest in the industry, the event continues to grow in size and scope. Attendees span the industry spectrum from flight crews and maintenance technicians to flight dispatchers and schedulers. They also represent a wide range of corporate, commercial and military organisations. Since its inception, more than 10,000 aviation professionals have attended Safety Standdown seminars worldwide, either at live events or through its webcasts.

Headlining this year’s event is Dr Tony Kern from Convergent Performance. Dr Kern will kick off with an action-packed look at how the world of professional sports can help influence all aviation professionals. Dr Kern notes that ‘we are never truly ready, only prepared’, and athletes and aviation professionals can certainly attest. Other presentations include what can be learned from National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) near misses (Michael Graham, board member NTSB), and from aviation failures (Leonard Beauchemin, managing director, AeroTechna Solutions).

Bombardier's commitment to providing essential safety-based learning doesn’t stop with just Safety Standdown. Earlier this year, for example, it hosted the second annual Flight Attendant Safety Summit in Montreal, Canada. The event brought together some 112 cabin crew professionals from five countries, including flight attendants, managers, directors, CEOs and pilots to explore important topics like aviation food safety, enhancing crew member health and galley safety. A similar event will be taking place in Hong Kong. It’s all part of the company’s longstanding philosophy of working to help make the business aviation industry as safe as it can possibly be.